Introduction

The recent explosion of information and services has added a significant workload to business users, who face increasing challenges when performing their roles. Part of those challenges involves performing repetitive tasks on a computer, whether updating a CRM application, processing PDF invoices, or following up with customers through email.

To alleviate this burden on business users and focus on tasks that add value to their core business, the field of robotic process automation (RPA) has emerged as a crucial aspect of digital transformation within many organizations.

Power Automate Desktop is an RPA tool developed by Microsoft, part of the broader Power Automate platform, which includes cloud-based services for automating workflows and integrating various applications and services.

Power Automate Desktop specifically focuses on automating repetitive tasks on a user's desktop environment. These tasks may involve interacting with desktop applications, websites, files, and other user interface elements.

Power Automate Desktop provides a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface that lets users design automation workflows without extensive programming knowledge.

It seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft Power Platform, enabling users to leverage other Power Platform services, such as Power BI and Power Apps, for comprehensive automation and data analysis. It offers a broad range of connectors to interact with various applications and services, both Microsoft and third-party, facilitating integration and automation across diverse systems.

Power Automate Desktop is crucial for automating routine and time-consuming tasks. By automating these tasks, organizations can significantly increase operational efficiency and reduce errors associated with manual processes.

RPA tools like Power Automate Desktop contribute to cost reduction by automating tasks requiring human intervention. This is especially beneficial for repetitive tasks that do not require complex decision-making.

Automation reduces the chance of human errors, leading to more accurate and consistent results—this is particularly important in industries where precision is critical, such as finance or data entry. By offloading repetitive tasks to RPA, business users can focus on more value-added activities, boosting overall productivity and job satisfaction.

Power Automate Desktop can automate data entry tasks and validation processes, reducing manual effort and errors. It can also generate reports by automating data extraction and formatting from various sources and email-related tasks, such as sending alerts, processing emails, and extracting information from emails or files.

Power Automate Desktop interacts with and automates tasks within legacy systems that lack modern APIs and integrates with other Microsoft products, creating a unified automation and data management ecosystem.

Power Automate Desktop is a powerful RPA tool vital in automating desktop-based tasks, contributing to increased efficiency, reduced costs, and improved accuracy in business processes. Its integration with the broader Power Platform and Microsoft ecosystem positions it as a versatile solution for organizations seeking comprehensive automation capabilities.

Throughout this book, we'll explore how Power Automate Desktop (the free version) can be used to automate some tedious business processes. By doing that, we'll learn how to leverage some of its essential features and automate repetitive and dull manual processes.

GitHub repo

You can download the workflows for this book from the GitHub repo.

Tip: If you want to save time, avoid mistakes, and follow along more quickly (and don’t want to recreate each workflow manually), please check the Appendix section at the end of the book. This way, you can see how to import the finished and ready-to-use workflows easily from the GitHub repo into Power Automate Desktop—this will save you a lot of time.