DynamicsCon Fall 2021 Preview: How to become a Power Automate Desktop hero

Editor's Note: MSDW is a media sponsor of DynamicsCon 2021.

Goloknath Mishra has spent twelve years in the Microsoft Dynamics space, both with partner organizations and now with a customer. Over that time, he has helped build the user community in Singapore and Odisha, India as the user group's leader. We talked to him about his upcoming session at DynamicsCon, "Zero to Hero with Power Automate Desktop".

Golok's session will explore the architecture and use of Power Automate Desktop (PAD). Desktop flows using PAD are gaining attention quickly as a way to relieve users from mundane, redundant daily work, he told MSDW. And, he believes, PAD is also playing an important part in Microsoft's broader RPA story.

As a new entrant in the RPA market, it's important to understand what enhancements Power Automate has, [including] the updates coming to Power Automate Desktop. I want to help people understand how to move toward their use of those capabilities.

Power Automate Desktop turns existing Cloud version of Power Automate to full-fledged RPA in the market with the capability of Desktop and Web Automation including automation of legacy applications. Each leading RPA in the market has their own desktop automation, but Power Automate didn't have it before.

The session will look at the history of RPA over the last eighteen years and how Microsoft's offering has improved, most recently through advances in PAD and its desktop and on-premises systems integration capabilities. PAD now offers either direct cloud connectivity or a connection using the on-premises data gateway to communicate with on-premises systems.

Golok says he is watching Microsoft's updates and the community to better understand customer demand for the Power Automate, along with PAD. New and upcoming features of PAD worth paying attention to, he says, include process migrator to migrate from WinAutomation to Power Automate Desktop for those who were using legacy WinAutomation RPA, as well as the use of RPA with Dynamics 365 apps, OCR, cryptography, performing cognitive operations, and the ability to connect to Azure & AWS to automate tasks.

Now working for a Microsoft customer as a platform specialist, Golok had previously held consulting roles at large services organizations where he helped organizations deploy Dynamics 365 and Power Platform solutions. In those past roles he gained experience with RPA products from other vendors like UiPath. He recalled: