Microsoft - Vertex Computer Systems

MS Power Automate: Everything you need to know to grow your business

Posted on December 4, 2023February 2, 2024 by Niharika Kanchustambam

In the age of digital acceleration, businesses are constantly seeking innovative ways to enhance efficiency and streamline operations. One such revolutionary tool that has taken the corporate world by storm is Microsoft Power Automate. Formerly known as Microsoft Flow, Power Automate is a cloud-based automation service that empowers both coders and non-coders to automate repetitive tasks seamlessly. Let’s explore the vast landscape of Microsoft Power Automate and understand why it has become indispensable for modern businesses.

The Importance of Microsoft Power Automate

When it comes to automation, simplicity, and versatility is the key. Microsoft Power Automate stands tall as a user-friendly, drag-and-drop workflow-based automation software. Its primary objective is to liberate businesses from manual, time-consuming tasks, allowing them to focus on strategic endeavors. Here’s why Power Automate holds immense importance:

1. Effortless Automation:

Power Automate enables businesses to automate a wide array of tasks without the need for intricate coding. By visualizing processes through flowcharts and implementing sequential, rule-based flows, businesses can automate complex workflows effortlessly.

2. Seamless Integration:

One of Power Automate’s key strengths lies in its extensive integration capabilities. It seamlessly connects with 500+ applications, including Microsoft services like SharePoint, Azure, and Excel, as well as third-party applications like Twitter and Gmail. This integration prowess ensures a cohesive digital ecosystem for businesses.

3. Real-Time Notifications:

Businesses can stay ahead of the curve by receiving real-time notifications. Power Automate triggers alerts and notifications, ensuring stakeholders are promptly informed about critical developments. Whether it’s customer complaints or new leads, relevant teams can receive instant alerts via email, enhancing responsiveness.

4. Data Synchronization and Collection:

Power Automate simplifies data management by synchronizing information across various applications. It facilitates seamless data collection, enabling businesses to digitize processes. From CRM updates to converting PDFs to text, Power Automate streamlines data-related tasks with precision.

Why Businesses Should Embrace Microsoft Power Automate

In a competitive landscape, efficiency and agility are paramount. Microsoft Power Automate emerges as a game-changer for businesses, offering a plethora of advantages:

1. Task Automation for Everyone:

Power Automate is designed for both technical and non-technical users. Its intuitive interface empowers employees to automate tasks without relying on developers, fostering a culture of self-sufficiency within organizations.

2. Enhanced Productivity:

By automating repetitive tasks, employees can focus on value-added activities that drive innovation and growth. Power Automate liberates time and resources, leading to heightened productivity and accelerated business outcomes.

3. Tailored Business Processes:

Businesses can tailor workflows to match specific processes. Whether it’s invoice approval, mailroom activities, or customer engagement, Power Automate provides the flexibility to create custom, rule-based workflows aligned with unique business requirements.

Microsoft Power Automate: A Comparative Analysis

When selecting an automation solution, businesses must make informed decisions based on thorough comparisons. Let’s delve into how Microsoft Power Automate stands out from the rest in key areas, helping you understand why it’s the ideal choice for your automation needs.

1. Pricing Flexibility:

Microsoft Power Automate outshines competitors with its versatile pricing plans, ensuring accessibility for businesses of all sizes. Unlike other platforms, Power Automate offers options like license by user and pay-as-you-go plans, allowing organizations to choose plans tailored to their budgetary constraints. Explore the detailed pricing plans and find the perfect fit for your business here.

2. User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX):

Power Automate sets a new standard with its intuitive UI/UX, making automation creation a breeze. Unlike many alternatives, its drag-and-drop interface simplifies the process, ensuring a seamless experience for users. Transitioning from concept to execution has never been easier, giving businesses a competitive edge.

3. Integration Capabilities:

Power Automate stands tall with its extensive integration capabilities, seamlessly connecting Microsoft services and third-party applications. This robust connector ecosystem is unparalleled, facilitating smooth data flow across platforms. Power Automate fosters collaboration and enhances operational efficiency through its unparalleled integration network. This sets Power Automate apart from other platforms.

4. Scalability and Customization:

In a league of its own, Power Automate offers unmatched scalability, accommodating the evolving needs of businesses. Whether you’re a startup or an enterprise, scaling automation initiatives is effortless. Moreover, its customization capabilities empower businesses to create tailored automation solutions, a feature often lacking in other automation platforms.

Exploring Microsoft Power Automate Use Cases

Microsoft Power Automate’s versatility shines through its diverse range of applications. Let’s explore some compelling use cases that highlight its transformative potential:

1. Personalized Customer Engagement:

Automate responses to customer inquiries and feedback, ensuring personalized interactions. Power Automate triggers responses based on predefined rules, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

2. Efficient Document Management:

Streamline document-related tasks such as saving email attachments, categorizing emails, and updating databases. Power Automate automates these processes, reducing manual errors and improving document management efficiency.

3. Streamlined Approval Workflows:

Automate approval processes for documents, requests, and transactions. Power Automate ensures swift approval cycles, reducing delays and enhancing collaboration between teams.

4. Data Synchronization Across Platforms:

Power Automate synchronizes data seamlessly between various applications. Whether it’s CRM updates or data extraction from PDFs, businesses can maintain data consistency across platforms.

Embracing Microsoft Power Automate with Vertex

In the pursuit of operational excellence, businesses need a trusted partner to navigate the realm of automation. Vertex, with its expertise in Microsoft Power Automate, stands as a beacon of innovation. Our team of experts collaborates with businesses to identify unique challenges, design customized workflows, and provide comprehensive training and support.

By partnering with Vertex, businesses can:

Optimize Efficiency: Streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and enhance overall efficiency through tailored automation solutions.
Drive Innovation: Empower employees to focus on strategic initiatives, driving innovation and business growth.
Ensure Seamless Integration: Leverage Power Automate’s integration capabilities to create a cohesive digital ecosystem, fostering collaboration and data flow across platforms.

Don’t just automate; innovate with Microsoft Power Automate and Vertex. Transform your business processes, elevate productivity, and embark on a journey of unparalleled efficiency. Contact Vertex today and embark on a transformative automation experience that propels your business toward a future of limitless possibilities.

5 key features of Microsoft Power Apps that can help your business grow

Posted on September 20, 2023January 29, 2024 by Vidya Sagar Butalapalli

In today’s digital age, businesses are looking for innovative ways to improve their operations, increase productivity, and enhance customer experiences. One such tool that is gaining popularity is Microsoft Power Apps. Power Apps is a low-code platform that allows users to build custom business applications without the need for extensive coding. In this article, we will explore 5 key features of Power Apps that can help your business grow.

1. Low Code Development:

One of the key features of Microsoft Power Apps is its low-code development platform. This platform enables businesses to create custom business applications without requiring extensive coding skills. Power Apps offers a simple drag-and-drop interface, making it easy for users to build custom apps in less time. This feature also empowers business users to create apps that meet their specific needs, without relying on developers or IT departments.

Low-code development is particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that may not have the resources or budget to hire a team of developers. With Power Apps’ low-code platform, SMBs can create custom applications that help automate business processes, streamline operations, and increase productivity.

2. Integration with Other Microsoft Tools:

Power Apps integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft tools, such as Power BI and SharePoint. This feature allows businesses to bring together data from multiple sources, create custom dashboards, and share data across different applications. Integration with other Microsoft tools also makes it easier to automate workflows, streamline processes, and improve collaboration among teams.

For example, Power Apps can be used to build custom forms that feed data directly into a SharePoint list. This data can then be analyzed using Power BI to gain insights and create custom reports. This integration allows businesses to create a more comprehensive view of their data, making it easier to identify trends, make informed decisions, and gain a competitive edge.

3. Access to Common Data Service:

Power Apps provides access to the Common Data Service (CDS), a cloud-based data storage and management service that allows users to store and share data across multiple applications. With CDS, businesses can manage data more effectively, create and manage data models, and ensure data quality.

This feature helps businesses reduce data silos and gain a more comprehensive view of their data. With CDS, data can be shared across multiple applications, enabling businesses to gain insights that would be difficult to obtain otherwise. For example, data from a customer relationship management (CRM) system can be combined with data from a project management system to gain a more complete view of customer interactions.

4. Mobile-First Design:

Microsoft Power Apps is designed with a mobile-first approach, which means that the apps created using Power Apps are optimized for use on mobile devices. With the increasing use of mobile devices in business, it’s crucial to have mobile-friendly applications that can be accessed from anywhere, at any time.

Mobile-first design in Power Apps ensures that the apps created are responsive, meaning they automatically adapt to different screen sizes and orientations. This feature enables businesses to create apps that are user-friendly, regardless of the device being used to access them.

By using Power Apps’ mobile-first design, businesses can create apps that enable employees to work from anywhere, at any time, increasing productivity and efficiency. Additionally, customers can access these apps from their mobile devices, improving their experience and engagement with the business.

5. AI Builder:

Another key feature of Microsoft Power Apps is AI Builder. AI Builder is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that allows businesses to create custom AI models without requiring extensive knowledge of data science or machine learning.

AI Builder offers pre-built AI models that can be customized and tailored to meet the specific needs of a business. These models can be used to automate business processes, such as extracting data from forms, predicting outcomes, and recommending actions.

With AI Builder, businesses can improve decision-making, increase efficiency, and enhance customer experiences. For example, an insurance company could use AI Builder to analyze customer data and predict which customers are most likely to submit a claim. By doing so, the company could proactively reach out to these customers and offer them additional support, reducing the likelihood of claims and improving customer satisfaction.

In conclusion, Microsoft Power Apps is a powerful low-code development platform that offers businesses the tools they need to build custom apps, automate workflows, and streamline their operations. With features like mobile-first design, AI Builder, integration with other Microsoft tools, and access to Common Data Service, Power Apps offers a comprehensive solution for businesses looking to boost their productivity and drive growth.

At Vertex, we understand the challenges businesses face when it comes to managing their data and automating their processes. That’s why we offer a full range of data management and automation solutions, including Microsoft Power Apps, to help businesses improve their operations and achieve their goals.

Our team of experts can work with you to understand your business needs and design customized Power Apps solutions that help you optimize your workflows, streamline your operations, and drive growth. Whether you’re looking to build custom apps, automate your processes, or improve your data management, Vertex has the expertise and tools you need to succeed.

So why wait? Contact Vertex today to learn more about how Microsoft Power Apps and our other data management solutions can help your business grow and thrive.

Enterprise IT Transformation with Microsoft

Posted on March 3, 2023May 13, 2023 by Arnab Chaudhuri

Application Integration for Digital Transformation

Application Integration is the process of enabling different digital applications – each developed for a specific purpose – to work with each other. When configured properly, integration allows distinct systems to seamlessly communicate.

In today’s world, Enterprise IT Transformation invariably includes leveraging the Cloud. As organizations re-engineer their business processes, leveraging On-Premise systems and investments that are already in place and integrating them with new cloud-based solutions is key to cost-effectively stand up new capabilities and services.

Cloud-based app integration is pivotal in business process augmentation, involving various tools and technologies. With clear planning, app integration can reduce IT silos and improve connectivity to integrate applications that unify management, ease access, and limit manual intervention by utilizing various ready-to-plug-in Microsoft Azure Cloud tools and services.

Microsoft offers several App Integration options to build solutions that connect applications and services on-premises and in the cloud.

Azure Integration Services enable scalable systems that can orchestrate business processes to connect On-Premise and cloud services using Service Bus, Logic Apps, API Management, and Event Grid.
Power Automate (earlier MS Flow) is a service-level offering that can be used to build codeless workflows to integrate business processes using hundreds of inbuilt connectors with disparate M365-based or marketplace applications.
Robotics Process Automation through the Power Automate platform using UI Flows builds end-to-end business process automation solutions. Coupled with AI-enabled Power Virtual Agents, it lets domain experts in your company create bots with a guided, no-code graphical interface to automate repetitive and manual efforts to improve productivity.
Azure Integrated Security powered by Azure Active Directory and Microsoft Graph allows seamless security integration among users in an organization and all tools and services hosted in Cloud or On-Premise. Features likes Azure B2B and Azure B2C helps extend application access capabilities and controlled permission management to vendors and partners outside the organization.
Microsoft BizTalk ESB Toolkit provides the capabilities to build message-based enterprise applications using a collection of tools and libraries that extend BizTalk Server’s capabilities of supporting dynamic messaging architecture to enable rapid mediation between services and their consumers.

App Integration Use Cases

Why Vertex?

As a Gold Certified Microsoft Application Integration Partner, we have certified resources ready to go on all these empowering technologies. Vertex can help you evaluate your integration landscape and cloud integration strategy and build a migration path. Microsoft has recognized our expertise in the areas of Application Integration and Enterprise Business Process Automation.

An Introduction to the Azure DevOps Toolset

Posted on July 15, 2022May 13, 2023 by Sudip Nandy

This is the third in a series of blog posts about DevOps. We started the series talking about the organizational mindset to achieve zero-defects code, then spent some time talking about how IT teams may need to evolve to create the right organizational culture for DevOps success.

In this post, we start to delve into DevOps toolsets, specifically Microsoft Azure DevOps Services.

It has been said that tools don’t make the mechanic, but that the right tools in the right hands can make everyday jobs far more efficient. I say that as an introduction to this article about DevOps toolsets. Tools (or one person) will not automatically transform an IT department into a DevOps shop, but a department that has adopted the culture and organization to follow DevOps practices WILL benefit from a suite of DevOps tools as they mature.

Just some of the benefits of a DevOps toolset include the standardization and automation of development processes, improved collaboration within and among the teams, consolidated code repositories, work-item tracking, automated testing, and release pipelines.

Read our Whitepaper: Design for Scale Using Microsoft Azure Services

Microsoft’s Azure DevOps Services is probably the most comprehensive toolset out there. While it is broad in its scope, pay-as-you-go licensing allows organizations to choose the components that they need now and to add additional components as they mature and grow.

Let’s look at a few Azure DevOps’ components:

Azure Boards

As releases get smaller and increase in frequency, it gets harder to collect and track work items. Azure Boards combine flexible work item tracking with drag-and-drop sprint planning. Your team will be more productive with Boards, Backlogs, and Sprints all kept together. What’s better, Azure Boards can be connected to your GitHub repository to link comments and PRs to work items.

Kanban, Scrum, Agile, Lean? Azure Boards works with any number of project management methods and is easily adapted to the needs of your team.

Azure Pipelines

Azure Pipelines automates builds and deployments, regardless of language or platform. What’s more, you can run parallel pipelines for Linux, macOS, and Windows. As you’d expect, Pipelines completely integrate with your Git repositories.

You can also ensure continuous delivery (CD) of your product to the cloud environment of your choice. Azure, of course, along with Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform.

Microsoft uses Pipelines themselves at the .NET Foundation. Before Pipelines, their engineering team was dealing with dozens of different git repositories, a broad range of tools, and several different continuous integration (CI) systems, creating confusion and inhibiting productivity. Just one of their components runs more than 600,000 automated tests for each pull request. With more than 50 pull requests per week, each with multiple iterations, the number of tests was in the billions.

The .NET Engineering Services team brought in AzureDevOps and Pipelines to bring all repos under a common directory structure, set of commands, and build-and-test logic. The team eliminated further barriers to productivity by moving all existing workflows from the different CI systems into a single system.

Azure Repositories

With support for everything from a ‘hobby’ project to the largest codebase in the world, Azure Repositories offers unlimited & private Git hosting as well as support for Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC). What’s more, Azure Repositories allows you to set up continuous integration & continuous delivery (CI/CD) to automatically trigger builds, tests, and deployments with every completed pull request whether using Azure Pipelines or your own tools.

Azure Repositories also protect your codebase and your quality metrics with completely customizable branch policies. You can keep code quality high by requiring code reviewer signoff, successful builds, and passing tests before pull requests can be merged.

An added bonus is that Azure Repositories features a code-aware semantic search tool that understands classes and variables, making it easier to find what you’re looking for.

Azure Test Plans

There are manual test plans and automated test tools, but Azure Test Plans bring them together.

Manual test plans can be created, executed, and tracked with actionable defects and end-to-end traceability. Assess quality throughout the development lifecycle by testing your desktop or web applications.

Exploratory test sessions allow the design and execution of tests simultaneously to maximize quality in modern software development processes.

As noted above, automated testing is a major component of Azure Pipelines.

Azure Artifacts

When you’re ready to release, Azure Artifacts adds fully integrated package management to your CI/CD pipelines with a single click. Create and share Maven, npm, NuGet, and Python package feeds from public and private sources with teams of any size.

Because the packages are pre-built, they are easily shared & managed, and can easily be added to Azure Pipelines for testing and release.

Integration Reduces Risk

Because Azure DevOps is flexible enough to integrate with your existing tools and processes while offering all of the tools you need for DevOps success, it ultimately reduces the risk of migration to DevOps. Integration with Microsoft Power BI allows managers to track metrics across the development organization to ensure that their migration to DevOps is on track and to quickly identify and correct where there might be weaknesses.

Click here to learn more about the metrics that you should be tracking to measure the succes of your DevOps organization.

Better Operations Equals Better Business

While DevOps certainly offers many benefits to IT teams, the gains go well outside of that silo.

Faster development cycles allow businesses to push out new features faster, allowing them to be more agile in responding to their competition and to new requests from customers. Furthermore, a tightly integrated CI/CD platform means less downtime – and less downtime equals more revenue!

Partner With a Certified Azure DevOps Leader

Vertex has thirteen engineers certified at Microsoft’s highest level in Azure DevOps. Look to the DevOps experts at Vertex to guide your way to the efficiencies of DevOps and to help you choose the right tools to create repeatable, clean releases. We Got IT.

Cream Rises: Two Vertex Coders Finish in the Top Ten of the Microsoft Cloud Skills Challenge

Posted on February 10, 2020May 18, 2023 by Sudip Nandy

The India Microsoft Cloud Skills Challenge is a contest that attracts some of the brightest minds in software engineering and pushes them to perform feats of coding ingenuity. For 72 hours in mid-October, over 1,000 people in India battled in this tournament of intellect, creativity, and skill.

Vertex is pleased to share that our own Bhavani Pallekonda, Software Engineer, and Jagadeesh Srirangapuram, Senior Software Programmer, rose to respective second and ninth places. Vertex congratulates Bhavani and Jagadeesh for their initiative and hard work as they completed a series of tutorials, browser-based interactive coding, and scripting. The Microsoft Cloud Skills Challenge is part of the Partner Leadership Conclave 10, a virtual event that gives developers a chance to show off their skills and compete for prizes. “It’s an interactive way to learn the new things,” Pallekonda says. “Also, we were excited to complete the tasks.” Srirangapuram, who loves a good challenge, found the experience rewarding. “Initially, I never expected this high of a result,” he says. “But, it was fruitful. It was exciting to be challenged at each stage of the competition. I exceeded my expectations.”

Two top-ten finishers prove our team’s talent, hard work, and spirit of success. “It’s a pleasure to see two of our associates place so highly,” says Sudip Nandy, Head of Delivery, Hyderabad. “Not a small achievement against more than 1,000 competitors. I’m extremely proud of them.”

Additionally, 14 other Vertex employees took part in the contest, and all finished respectably. “It was gratifying to see so much interest from our team,” Sudip continued. “Vertex was well represented, and I know that if challenging weather conditions in Hyderabad didn’t interfere – causing power outages – all our contestants would have come through with flying colors.”

Not only is this distinction a feather in the cap of our associates, but it also gains Vertex visibility in the Microsoft Partner Network. “Congratulations to the team for participating and kudos to Bhavani and Jagadeesh for making the top ten,” says Ganesh Iyer, Principal. “This is an incredible achievement and will help elevate our brand as an elite partner in the Microsoft ecosystem.”

A round of applause to Vertex’s full team of participants:

Thomas Anthony
Nihanth Balabhadra
Viswa Bandaru
Seetharam Bheemavarapu
Muralikrishna Chinigi
Prashanthi Geedula
Gopala Rao Gollapalli
Abdul Hak
Satish Kulala
Pradeep Madasu
Bhavani Pallekonda
Suvarchala Pantam
Jagadeesh Srirangapuram
Seetharama Rao Tungaturti
Gopinath Vemulapalli
Sudeep Yadagiri

Digitally Transform With Microsoft Power Platform

Posted on June 19, 2021April 19, 2023 by Sudip Nandy

Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of applications that work together with the entire Microsoft Fusion ecosystem to enable the creation of software applications in no-code, low-code, and code-first environments.

The Development Tools

While Power Platform pulls in most of the Microsoft ecosystem of tools including Office 365, Dynamics 365, Azure, and hundreds of other apps, it is based on four main components: Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Virtual Agents.

Power Apps

Power Apps is a suite of apps, services, and connectors, as well as a data platform, providing a development environment that allows non-professional developers to quickly build professional-grade applications, connect with diverse data sources (such as SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, SQL Server, and so on), embed dashboards, and deploy to iOS and Android app stores.

Power Apps is embedded with rich business logic and workflow capabilities that can easily transform your manual business processes into automated digital processes. The resulting apps can run seamlessly in both browsers and mobile devices and “democratizes” the previously developer-only app building experience to enable all users to create feature-rich custom apps without writing code.

Power BI

Power BI is a complete data, analytics, artificial intelligence, and visualization tool that integrates with the Power Platform ecosystem. With pre-built and custom data connections, industry-leading data security, tight integration with Excel and built-in AI capabilities, it allows you to easily derive meaningful insights from your data

Power Automate

Power Automate gives you the power to streamline repetitive tasks and create paperless processes, greatly increasing productivity and reducing errors. You can Use low-code, drag-and-drop tools and hundreds of pre-built connectors that automate repetitive, mundane tasks with ease. Furthermore, you can use Process Advisor and get guided recommendations for creating flows and deep insights that take the guesswork out of what to automate. Finally, AI tools make your automation even richer. Quickly process forms using document automation, process approvals, detect images and text, or create with prebuilt models.

Power Virtual Agents

Take your automation to the next level with Power Virtual Agents. Virtual Agents are sophisticated, AI-powered chatbots that can resolve common issues and answer questions around the clock. There’s no need to write code and the chatbots can easily be integrated with the products and services you use every day. Look up records, personalize conversations, hand off conversations to live agents, and call APIs. Choose from hundreds of pre-built connectors, or build custom workflows using Power Automate.

The Development Process

Applications are developed using a methodology called Fusion Teams that brings together professional developers, IT Professionals, Business Analysts and Citizen Developers.

The IT Professional basically acts as a Project Manager and is ultimately responsible for ongoing governance and delivery of the application as well as building security and governance guidelines and dealing with sensitive data. They work with Business Analysts, who may or may not also serve as Citizen Developers.

The professional developer comes into the picture to begin building the service that will become the solution. They access and analyze the legacy data and build the API that ultimately serves as the connection to the MS Power Platform ecosystem.
Once the API has been created, the Citizen Developer defines the user interface and uses open-source tools to create logic for the app.

Vertex Computer Systems is YOUR Power App Partner

With over 125 Microsoft certified professionals across 11 disciplines, Vertex Computer Systems has the technology experience and a mature delivery process that will make us a valuable solution partner for you.