The Power of Power Automate for Sys Admins

This is not new!?

The automation of tasks is not something new, it is not cutting-edge technology. If we think about it, we have been using it for many years, even in a more rudimentary form, when we record macros in Excel.

However, in recent years, process automation has taken on an increasingly prominent role in companies. Whether due to the need to reduce costs, the advantages of being able to allocate resources to less repetitive tasks, or the possibility of performing tasks 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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Microsoft Power Automate?

Launched in 2016 under the name Microsoft Flow, it was rebranded in 2019 to its current name, Microsoft Power Automate. Since its launch, it has received various updates and features, notably the ability to automate business processes and the well-known robotic process automations (RPA).

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But... Power Automate for System Administrators?

Yes. And why??

In recent years, and in corporations where IT functions are less segregated, a system administrator has quite diverse tasks, ranging from endpoint management, software distribution, patch management, security management, and in between, reporting on all these tasks and the state of the infrastructure.

Thus, it becomes increasingly important to reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks that do not add value to daily activities, but at the same time, need to be performed.

This is where Power Automate can help.

Some examples:

- Onboarding users in the company (creating users in M365; adding to security groups; etc.).

- Approval flows.

- Creating and sending emails.

- Getting notifications.

There are many examples on the internet of how to automate various daily tasks.

For example, I have a flow to start my workday. Basically, when I press the button, it opens all the applications (Outlook, websites, etc.) that I need to start my work. It may seem extremely simple, but the truth is that it saves me the time I used to spend every day when I arrived at the office.

Final Words

Additionally, Power Automate has various connectors that extend its functionalities and create even more automation.

Initially, it may be challenging to understand how Power Automate can truly help because each person has their workflow and diverse needs, so there is no silver bullet.

For me, the easiest way to implement Power Automate to help in my daily activities was as follows:

- For 1 month, I noted down all the tasks I did.

- At the end of that month, I reviewed the list and identified the repetitive tasks I did.

- I researched and created the necessary flows.

- I then had more time to dedicate to other value-added tasks.

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To learn more about Power Automate:? Microsoft Power Automate – Process Automation Platform | Microsoft?

Smile On, Hang On!

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Written by: Diogo Sousa