Robotic Process Automation

Concept

Software robots that mimic clicks and keystrokes to automate repetitive tasks in applications that offer no API. In Microsoft's world this is Power Automate for desktop.

Description

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) lets software robots operate user interfaces the way a person does: open applications, copy data between screens, fill forms and trigger follow-up steps. It is the right tool when a system has no API or connector. In the Microsoft ecosystem, attended and unattended RPA is done with desktop flows in Power Automate for desktop, often combined with cloud flows that start the robot and with AI steps for documents. Because UI-based automation breaks when screens change, APIs and connectors should be preferred where they exist.

Glossary

Related topics in brief

• Power Automate Desktop · Related to · Product
  Robotic process automation (RPA) tool for Windows that records and runs desktop flows to automate repetitive tasks in desktop and web applications.
• Power Automate · Related to · Product
  A service for automating workflows between apps and services. Cloud flows react to triggers such as a new email or file, desktop flows automate Windows applications, and both can include AI steps.
• Automation · Related to · Concept
  Using software to run repetitive tasks and processes without manual work.
• Low-code tool · Related to · Category
  A tool for building apps and automations with little or no programming.
• Process Mining · Related to · Concept
  Analysing event logs from business systems to reconstruct how processes really run, where they stall and where automation pays off. Microsoft offers it in Power Automate as process mining.

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