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Operational Automations and Modern Microsoft Integrations

Updated: Nov 19


Agility and efficient workflows are keys to business growth. Operational automations remove manual tasks impeding progress and productivity, to help businesses flourish more rapidly. 

Ops teams should identify processes most likely to save time and money through automation. Consider factors such as their repetitive nature, potential human error risks, scalability requirements, and any possible benefits from digitization. 


Implementation of Operational Automations in SharePoint 


Workflow automation is growing quickly as organizations recognize the benefits of process-based software to reduce human errors and enhance efficiency. Enterprises that Workflow automation is gaining popularity as enterprises recognize the benefits of process-based software’s role in reducing human errors and enhancing efficiency. While some businesses rely on third-party tools for automating processes, Microsoft SharePoint offers powerful capabilities for tailoring business solutions specifically for each organization's requirements. 


Centralized Collaboration: By having access to a digital work environment, teams can collaborate on documents, tickets, and tasks from any location at any time - ensuring the correct people are working on each task at the right time, eliminating bottlenecks so no tasks go undone. 


Automated Processes: SharePoint’s ability to create automated workflows provides an effortless process management experience. This reduces the manual effort needed for tasks and frees teams to focus on core functions while helping organizations better track business-critical information. 


With its user-friendly interface and expansive library of templates, Power Automate empowers System Administrators to build automations tailored specifically for their individual needs, from document approval processes to milestone tracking. This invaluable tool makes their jobs easier by enabling them to implement automated workflows quickly and easily. Furthermore, its pre-configured flows can be activated upon certain activities like uploading or editing a file within SharePoint, creating items in lists, libraries, or any cataloging method that fits an organization best. 


SharePoint has long been an integral component of many business processes, making it an ideal platform for creating and implementing operational automations. By making all process documents and digital assets readily available to everyone involved with a process while streamlining data flow via roles-based security to facilitate data flow - SharePoint simplifies identifying bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement. 


A simple example of operational automation involves using SharePoint's Status Workflow to automatically launch an approval chain whenever a file is uploaded. This saves employees both time and increases productivity by freeing up resources so they can focus on tasks with higher value like nurturing leads or growing sales. 

 

Modern Microsoft Integrations 

Modern businesses rely on interconnecting software applications and services, but integration may not come easily for every organization. Power Automate provides the necessary framework to break down silos and streamline workflows like never before - helping ensure efficiency and compliance with internal policies as well as increasing efficiency and compliance rates. 


Power Automate, part of the Microsoft 365 suite, provides powerful robotic process automation (RPA) and digital process automation (DPA) features. Organizations configure these smart bots to mimic user actions, automating tedious tasks while freeing up human capital for more value-adding activities to help businesses scale automation with minimal risk and accelerate development for increased productivity. 


Power Automate is designed for user-centricity, but also offers a low-code interface so anyone in an organization can build custom "flows" that streamline processes and automate interactions between applications or service providers. This reduces manual data entry and decreases human error risk while strengthening security posture by aligning workflow automation with existing access controls and protocols. 


Because Power Automate is fully integrated into the wider Microsoft 365 ecosystem, it works seamlessly with familiar applications, including Microsoft BI, Power Apps, and the Portal. Making it easy for users to build custom automations using the same platform they use daily - further increasing productivity and collaboration! 


Thanks to its robust functionality and seamless integration into the Microsoft ecosystem, Power Automate is a game-changer in business automation. By combining cutting-edge generative AI technology like Microsoft Copilot with robust automation features, this solution empowers businesses to transform their operations like never before. 


Logic-Based Business Processes 

Business logic refers to the real-world rules defining how an application behaves within a system to meet specific business needs. This technology can be used to automate workflows, streamline processes, and speed up task completion times - helping your team regain time, increase productivity, and make important decisions for organizational expansion more efficiently. 


Reducing human error and ensuring faster resolution times requires automating tasks involving copying data directly between sources, filling out forms, and identifying discrepancies in large data sets. Automation enables this by providing consistent experiences to employees and consumers alike. Automation helps foster trust, transparency, and accountability among your organization’s workforce and customer base. 


Successful automation implementation requires your operations team to identify which functions can be automated and how they impact the business first. Depending on the complexity of each process, gathering input from all stakeholders may help streamline the implementation process. Preparing your IT team in advance will help them address unforeseen issues without hindering productivity. 


By utilizing a low or no-code workflow platform with preloaded integrations, teams can speed up development time and streamline integrations. These platforms are user-friendly – even for non-technical employees – simplifying the creation of visual blueprints of business processes and components. They give you the flexibility needed for any unique operations environment with built-in retry policies and configurable error messages that manage unforeseen problems without stopping the entire workflow. 


As with any tool, when planning and implementing automation it's essential to start small and iterate. Select a few processes with high returns on investment and prioritize those that save the most time. As your automation gains traction, you can expand its use across other parts of your business. It is also wise to collaborate with IT and other key stakeholders to ensure you’re creating an intuitive user-friendly tool. 


Automated Workflows 

Workflow automation reduces human errors and expedites task completion times, freeing employees to focus on more strategic projects that drive business expansion. Automation makes your organization more cost-efficient while keeping up with changing market dynamics. Additionally, by eliminating menial repetitive tasks that don’t utilize employees’ talents, it boosts employee morale. 


Workflow automation may seem complex at first, but setting clear goals about why your company needs automation will improve productivity, make the task simpler, and yield tangible benefits. 

Start by finding a workflow automation tool with integration capabilities to connect existing systems and applications with automated processes. Look for features such as conditional logic, loops, and parallel processing because they should allow complex workflows to run more smoothly while security measures should also be in place to protect sensitive data in compliance with industry regulations such as HIPAA or GDPR. 


Once you know what level of automation you require, decide what it should look like. Keep your workflow's complexity, timeframe for completion of each step, and whether any judgment needs to be applied at critical decision points in mind when choosing between full automation, semi-automation, or manual mode. If it can all be done without judgment being necessary at decision points, then full automation may be appropriate. Otherwise, semi-automation or manual mode will suffice. 


Once you’ve designed your workflow, it's easy to test it by selecting the Preview icon to open a window that demonstrates what an automated workflow will look like once active. Simply toggle Activate to activate it and track its progress by clicking the Workflow Status Field located within the Info Section. Ready To Run, In Progress, Completed with Errors, or Failed will all appear here. 

You can alter your automated workflow by dragging and dropping actions in the list. For editing purposes, use the Change Action link within an Action card to open a popup menu that allows you to edit any action; alternatively, use Delete as appropriate. 

 

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