Introduction

In today's fast-paced business environment, employees often find themselves bogged down by repetitive, mundane tasks that detract from more strategic initiatives. Recognizing this challenge, Microsoft Digital has introduced the Automation Catalog for Teams, a solution designed to streamline workflows and enhance productivity across organizations.

Background

As organizations expand and projects grow in complexity, the burden of routine tasks becomes increasingly evident. A survey conducted by Microsoft Digital revealed that employees were spending approximately 60% of their time on duplicative and unnecessary tasks, with 64% indicating a struggle to find the time and energy to perform their jobs effectively. To address this, Microsoft developed the Automation Catalog, leveraging the Power Automate platform within Microsoft Teams.

Key Features and Use Cases

The Automation Catalog offers over 50 pre-built automation templates categorized into six primary areas:

  • Calendar: Automations like daily consolidated task lists and notifications for canceled meetings.
  • Email: Tools for flagging important emails and responding to common inquiries.
  • Tasks: Streamlining task management across various tools.
  • Azure DevOps: Automating common software operations for engineering teams.
  • Wellness: Assisting employees in scheduling time for learning or self-care.
  • Onboarding: Standardizing and simplifying the integration of new hires.

One notable template is the "I'm running late" automation, which allows users to send a pre-populated, customizable message with just a few clicks. This ease of use underscores Microsoft's commitment to making automation accessible to all employees, regardless of technical expertise.

User Experience and Accessibility

Emphasizing a no-code/low-code approach, the Automation Catalog enables users to implement automations by simply entering values or selecting from drop-down lists. This democratization of automation aligns with industry trends, where low-code platforms are projected to account for more than 65% of application development by 2024.

Governance, Security, and Crowdsourced Innovation

Security and compliance are paramount in deploying enterprise-wide automations. The Automation Catalog integrates with Power Platform's governance frameworks, ensuring that all new template submissions undergo thorough review by catalog administrators. This crowdsourced model encourages innovation while maintaining robust oversight, allowing employees to submit automations that, once approved, become accessible to the entire organization.

Collaboration and Development

The development of the Automation Catalog is a result of collaboration between Microsoft Digital and the Power Automate product team. This partnership positions Microsoft as both a user and developer of its technologies, ensuring that the solutions are practical and beneficial for real-world applications. The catalog is published within the Power Platform, providing a foundation that is both discoverable and compliant.

Impact and Adoption

Since its launch in June 2022, the Automation Catalog has garnered over 23,000 unique users and saved an estimated 250,000 hours of work. These figures highlight the significant impact of automating time-consuming processes and the value employees find in these tools.

Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Microsoft plans to extend the Automation Catalog to a broader range of enterprise customers, with private previews already underway. Each organization will have its own curated catalog, with administrators empowered to govern submissions and access according to local policies. Additionally, Microsoft is exploring deeper integration with Microsoft 365 and the Copilot suite of AI-powered tools, aiming to position the Automation Catalog as a source of knowledge for future AI assistants.

Conclusion

Microsoft's Automation Catalog for Teams represents a significant advancement in workplace productivity tools. By providing accessible, pre-built automation templates within a familiar platform, Microsoft empowers employees to focus on strategic tasks, thereby enhancing overall efficiency and job satisfaction.