In today's age of digital transformation, automation is not just a small luxury —it's a necessity. Microsoft Power Automate, known as Microsoft Flow up to 2019, is one of the elements at the forefront of this revolution.
This platform, often categorized as no-code/low-code, offers a versatile solution for automating flows and tasks across numerous applications, without requiring the help of advanced developers. This is achieved through an extensive repertoire of built-in connectors, which reduce the need for coding knowledge to a minimum. Nevertheless, there are certain limitations to be aware of, particularly when dealing with on-premises data sources, as not all are supported by the Power Automate On-premises Data Gateway found in Power Automate Cloud.
Fortunately, as this platform continues to gain momentum in the realm of business process optimization, custom Power Automate connectors such as Connect Bridge for Power Automate have emerged to tackle the challenge of unsupported data sources, whether on-premises or cloud.
Connect Bridge: A Power Automate Custom Connector
Connect Bridge for Power Automate (certification pending), is a custom Power Automate connector that allows for the easy creation of Cloud flows through both on-premises and cloud systems. It connects from Power Automate Cloud to Connect Bridge, Connecting Software’s proprietary software integration platform. Connect Bridge can establish connections from any software application from the past 30 years to a wide range of target systems through its extensive selection of over 400 connectors.
As a result, the Power Automate connector for Connect Bridge seamlessly bridges the gap between Power Automate Cloud and on-premises and cloud systems. These include Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, NAV, SharePoint, and all the 400+ systems Connect Bridge has a connector for. This is done by going over the Power Automate On-premises Data Gateway, which easily solves the issue of unsupported on-premises data sources.
A game changer for Cloud users: The Power Automate connector for Connect Bridge can link Power Automate Cloud with on-premises systems in a breeze. Users working with cloud iterations of applications can also harness this connector's capabilities by writing SQL statements to set up their integrations, which is often a simpler process compared to navigating through the OData or XML languages commonly used in Power Automate flows.
A game changer for Desktop users: For Power Automate Desktop users the process is even simpler, neither the Power Automate connector for Connect Bridge nor the Power Automate On-premises Data Gateway are required. You can directly connect from Power Automate Desktop to the Connect Bridge integration platform and its connectors, which will enable you to build integrations using SQL syntax within the Power Automate flows.
Using Power Automate Workflows
Now that we have explored the capabilities of Connect Bridge for Power Automate, let's delve into the specific issue it resolves for Power Automate Cloud users, namely, in the context of the Power Automate On-premises Data Gateway.
Starting with the essentials, Power Automate workflows, or simply 'flows', stand at the heart of Power Automate. Users can effortlessly create automated connections and workflows between various applications using a range of pre-built connectors. These Power Automate flows are versatile, spanning from straightforward tasks such as data entry, to more intricate processes featuring decision trees and conditional logic. The primary goal is to streamline tasks, making flows incredibly time-saving solutions.
Power Automate Desktop vs Online: A Rundown
Power Automate Cloud, which is the primary variation of Power Automate, and Power Automate Desktop are the most used versions of the platform. They cater to different environments and automation needs, providing users with the flexibility to automate their business processes in the ways that are most convenient to them. Let’s have a look at their differences:
Power Automate Cloud: When looking for cloud-based automation, Power Automate Cloud is the best option. It operates in a web-based environment, which makes it ideal for automating tasks that involve cloud-based applications and services such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, SharePoint and OneDrive. Though, for some applications, like Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics NAV, on-premises connectors are also available. This means it is possible to use Power Automate Cloud to connect to on-premises databases, which is particularly useful when needing to automate processes that involve a combination of cloud and on-premises resources.
Power Automate Desktop: On the other hand, Power Automate Desktop is tailored for on-premises and desktop automation. It is designed for scenarios where you need to interact with local applications, navigate through on-premises systems, and automate tasks directly on your local machine. It's designed to bridge the gap when dealing with data sources hosted on local servers as opposed to on the cloud. In short, Power Automate Desktop is designed for users whose desktop applications and local environments are central to their automation needs.
Thus, the choice between Power Automate Cloud and Power Automate Desktop is dependent on specific automation needs and the location of the resources and applications you are trying to use in building an automated workflow.
The Challenge: On-premises Data Gateway and Power Automate Cloud
As noted, Power Automate Cloud stands as the most used edition among Power Automate users, allowing them to automate processes with convenient pre-built connectors for the applications they wish to build workflows across. As per this Microsoft guide:
“The On-premises Data Gateway acts as a bridge to provide quick and secure data transfer between on-premises data (data that isn't in the cloud) and several Microsoft cloud services.”
This means the Power Automate On-premises Data Gateway is used by the pre-built Power Automate connectors to allow them to support on-premises versions of applications. As such, the On-premises Data Gateway is a crucial requirement to facilitate data exchange between Power Automate and on-premises data sources, such as Microsoft SharePoint 2013 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
However, challenges may arise when connecting such systems with cloud services like Power Automate. The limitations of the Power Automate On-premises Data Gateway in supporting specific on-premises data sources can result in data transmission issues. This hinders the exchange of information between on-premises applications and Power Automate, limiting the potential for streamlining workflows and maximizing automation benefits.
Fortunately, alternative solutions for this technical gap are at hand, and the Power Automate custom connector for Connect Bridge stands out from the crowd. Designed to tackle this specific problem while still operating over the On-premises Data Gateway, our connector enhances the functionality of Power Automate beyond its native capabilities. Leveraging the Power Automate API, it offers a reliable connection to a wide selection of on-premises data sources, even in complex environments.
Solving the Power Automate On-Premises Data Gateway Challenge with Connect Bridge
In an era where process automation is king, being restricted by software limitations is just not an option. With the new Power Automate connector for Connect Bridge, any business can harness the power of automation when building flows on Power Automate Cloud, regardless of doing so through cloud or on-premises applications.
Power Automate Cloud users can rely on the Power Automate connector for Connect Bridge to connect to on-premises data sources while addressing the native limitations of the On-premises Data Gateway. This connector has a free 15-day trial available for users looking to test it in their own environments.
👉 Access the free trial contact form
And for Power Automate Desktop users, the standard Connect Bridge iteration is the ideal solution to create flows between over 400+ on-premises and cloud systems without struggle. It allows you to use standard SQL statements for an even further streamlined experience.
👉 Access the free 15-day trial contact form
To recap, whether you are a Power Automate Cloud or Desktop user, we invite you to reach out and allow us to enhance your integration capabilities!
About the Author
By Diogo Gouveia
“After completing my studies in the United Kingdom, I joined the Marketing team at Connecting Software to create content on software integration and a variety of other IT topics. If you have any observations or suggestions, please reach out."