Understanding Microsoft Automation Options – Again

Microsoft has more automation options than there are flavors of jelly beans. Understanding what each one is capable of can be a chore in and of itself. Here is a quick primer on some of the tools:

  • Azure Automation
  • Power Apps
  • Azure Logic Apps
  • Azure Function Apps
  • System Center Orchestrator

Azure Automation
Azure Automation is a service that helps you automate manual, long-running, error-prone, and frequently repeated tasks that are commonly performed in a cloud and on-premises environment. It allows you to use runbooks (based on Windows PowerShell or Graphical Runbooks) to automate processes and workflows.
Azure Automation delivers a cloud-based automation, operating system updates, and configuration service that supports consistent management across your Azure and non-Azure environments. It includes process automation, configuration management, update management, shared capabilities, and heterogeneous features.

Pros:

  • Can automate a wide range of tasks and processes
  • Can run on a schedule or be triggered by an event
  • Can be used to automate processes across a variety of systems and platforms

Cons:

  • Requires some coding knowledge such as PowerShell
  • May require more setup and configuration compared to other services

Azure Logic Apps:
Azure Logic Apps is a cloud service that helps you automate and orchestrate tasks, business processes, and workflows when you need to integrate apps, data, systems, and services across enterprises or organizations. Logic Apps connects to your on-premises and cloud-based systems and services, and it provides over 200 connectors that you can use to create your logic app workflow.

Pros:

  • Provides a visual designer for building workflows
  • Offers a wide range of connectors to other systems and services
  • Can be triggered by a variety of events and can run on a schedule
  • Can be configured for multi or single tenant, which grants ability to scale in the appropriate manner

Cons:

  • May require more setup and configuration compared to other services, especially for apps that use the “Standard” model.

Azure Function Apps:
Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that enables you to run code on-demand without having to explicitly provision or manage infrastructure. Functions can be triggered by a variety of inputs, including HTTP requests, timer triggers, and changes to data in other services, and it can be used to build a variety of applications and services. Function Apps are best used for data-in/data-out operations. You can build function apps that have a longer session life, but that requires advanced configuration and potentially higher cost.

Pros:

  • Serverless compute model (pay-per-use)
  • Can be triggered by a variety of inputs and events
  • Can be used to build a wide range of applications and services

Cons:

  • Requires coding knowledge
  • May not be suitable for more complex or customized scenarios, especially if you opt for long running functions

Power Apps and the Power App Platform:
Power Apps is a low-code platform for building custom business applications. With Power Apps, you can create custom business applications for web and mobile devices that can connect to your business data stored in the Common Data Service (CDS) or other data sources.

Pros:

  • Low-code platform for building custom business applications – especially useful for business users that don’t need IT involvement
  • Can connect to a wide range of data sources
  • Provides a visual designer for building apps

Cons:

  • May not be suitable for more complex or customized scenarios, and should not be used for business critical processes
  • May have limitations in terms of app functionality and capabilities

System Center Orchestrator (SCORCH):
SCORCH is a workflow automation software product that enables you to automate system and application processes across an enterprise. SCORCH is part of the System Center suite of tools and is designed to work with other System Center products, as well as other Microsoft and third-party products. It is the only wholly on-prem tool in this post.

Pros:

  • Can automate a wide range of tasks and processes across an enterprise
  • Provides a visual designer for building workflows
  • Offers a wide range of connectors to other systems and services
  • Can be triggered by a variety of events and can run on a schedule
  • Can be configured to be completely on-prem, should your company not allow cloud services

Cons:

  • First and foremost – dead product walking. Do not invest in SCORCH at this time. Microsoft might choose to invest in this product in the future, but do not invest time in this tool until that happens.
  • May require more setup and configuration compared to other workflow automation tools
  • May not be suitable for more complex or customized workflow scenarios
  • May require a significant investment in terms of time and resources to set up and maintain
  • May have dependencies on other System Center products or require integration with other Microsoft or third-party products