How Microsoft Apps and Automation Can Save Your Organisation Time and Money

Every business wants to save money. The more you can save on things like operational expenses, productivity sinks and common challenges, the more you can invest in the growth of your organisation. In today’s world, where business owners are facing an unpredictable economy and an ever-changing array of new challenges, saving cash has never been more important.

The good news is there are tools out there capable of accelerating the profitability of your business, boosting team performance, and cutting costs at the same time. In the new technology landscape, the age of “apps and automation” has paved the way for low-input, high-return strategies for organisational growth.

In fact, according to studies, 30% of employees say automation saves their business time, and 44% say it saves crucial time. A further 33% of workers also believe automation allows them to accomplish more with access to fewer resources.

Here’s how Apps, Automation and Analytics using the Power Platform can generate better results for your organisation.

Leveraging the Power Platform for Apps, Automation and Analytics

In today’s fast-changing world, companies can’t simply stand still if they want to stay ahead of the competition. Achieving better business results, money-saving opportunities, and better business performance means investing in new and innovative technology.

Countless companies have found that implementing automated solutions and intelligent apps into their workflows have generated massive returns on their investments. According to the 2020 InSight Report, 53% of employees believe they can save 2 hours of work per day through automation. Furthermore, 73% of business leaders say automation can save up to 360 working hours per year!

Unfortunately, in the past, the high cost and resource requirements associated with building automated workflows has created a significant barrier to entry for smaller brands. Old-fashioned automation strategies required significant investment in technology, time, and expertise.

Microsoft’s Power Platform offers a welcome alternative. This low-cost and high-return platform provides companies with a suite of tools which allow them to create solutions in minutes that would have otherwise taken weeks, or months to produce.

The “low code” offering means users with varying technical skills can develop their own apps, automations, and even custom bots to address specific business needs, from handling HR requests to dealing with IT and sales.

What’s more, Microsoft’s strong partner platform means companies in need of additional help to leverage and implement their automation strategy have a range of options available. With the help of a partner like Resonate, companies can create advanced, and specialised applications, designed to solve the issues holding their organisation back.

The Benefits of Leveraging the Power Platform

Through access to the Microsoft Power Platform and the phenomenal support offered by Microsoft partners, companies can implement citizen-led development strategies, workflow automation campaigns, and plans to build custom employee apps.

The Power Platform combines five core development elements into one easy-to-use environment. These tools allow users to create everything from streamlined workflows for collecting and managing data, to powerful virtual assistants and chatbots.

Here are just some of the main ways Apps, Automation and Analytics via the Power Platform can save your organisation crucial funds:

• Improve employee efficiency: Tools like Microsoft Power Automate allow for the creation of simple workflow automations with easy-to-use templates and guidelines. Companies can use these tools to automate the flow of data in an ecosystem, reduce repetitive tasks for employees, and eliminate unnecessary work. By reducing the number of repetitive low-value jobs your employees need to do each day, you can ensure they have more time to focus on the tasks which generate income and opportunities for your business.
• Unlock new business opportunities: Microsoft Power Platform helps companies to access the agility they need to evolve and thrive in a world of changing customer demands. The Power BI ecosystem for instance, provides companies with all of the data they need from different dashboards and applications in one place. This makes it easy to share insights with teams, track data, and convert information into actionable insights. You can even combine Power BI with power Automate and Apps to create workflows based on your discovery.
• Free up your IT Team: Opening the door to a new era of citizen developers in your workplace means you can free your IT team up to focus on other tasks. Users with limited technical abilities can create simple workflows, bots, and apps themselves. Power Apps even allows users to access simple templates for creating the apps most likely to improve their workflows. This means your IT teams can focus their attention on creating more complex applications with the help of an experienced partner like Resonate.
• Enhance the Employee experience: Employee turnover and lost engagement can cost businesses millions every year. Creating a more efficient and streamlined work experience for your staff members means they’re more likely to thrive in your business. What’s more, happy employees are less likely to seek employment elsewhere. With Power Automate, you can reduce the frustrating tasks your employees have to complete each day, giving them more room to focus on the meaningful parts of their jobs.
• Augment your staff: Microsoft’s Power Platform can also help you to augment and optimise your staff with the creation of powerful new virtual assistants and chatbots. The Power Virtual Agents environment makes it quick and easy to create and manage all kinds of chatbots. You can create tools to help with managing customer queries or troubleshooting issues your employees might face. You could even create a virtual agent which helps your employees to find information faster, so they can complete their work at speed.

Power Platform Helps to Cut Costs and Increase Growth

Tools like Microsoft Power Platform are making the cost-saving benefits of apps and automation more accessible to every business. The best thing about this platform is its flexibility. Not only does the technology integrate with your entire Microsoft stack, alongside other common workplace tools, but it can easily adapt to suit your business needs.

With Power Platform, companies can create automation strategies to respond to the specific pain points and friction areas in their business operations. The technology makes it easy to start implementing meaningful changes and seeing results fast, without spending a fortune on technology or expertise.

With Resonate to partner with you on the creation of more advanced and specialist apps, you can easily enhance your automation strategy, and take your cost-savings opportunities to the next level. Get in touch with a member of our team to see how we can help you make the most of your Power Platform experience today.