Camunda vs. Microsoft Power Automate

Camunda Platform is well suited for scenarios where there are different stages in a business flow and the flow is driven by user action at each stage. For example placing of an order on an ecommerce platform. Depending on whether user was able to make the payment or not the workflow would go to dispatch or retry stage. Now the retry stage would trigger further actions like sending follow up emails etc. Likewise, dispatch stage would have a different set of actions. Since every order is important and we need to know where it stands, using Camunda Platform is imperative. Camunda Platform might not be a right choice where just a one off thing needs to be done. For example, uploading of product information by user or periodic processing of heavy images by a worker. These are all either one step processes or periodic automated processes where we can track the status without using a business modeler like Camunda Platform.

Incentivized

I am using Power Automate in my organisation to automate workflows for updating SharePoint list data and sending emails, and for scheduling tasks and jobs, as well as for integrating with third-party apps such as SAP, Power Apps, and SQL for CRUD Operations.

Incentivized

• Asynchronous functionality of Camunda Platform and different types of gateways.

• Sending confirmation email to clients and user once the flow is triggered.
• Fetching or Dumping files from one location to another if the flow is triggered.
• Schedule flow helps to send alerts and triggers the flow at a specific interval of time to carry out the required task.
• Power Automate also be used to convert any file format to a specific file format and save it to the required location

Incentivized

• Camunda expects that you will develop your own user interfaces. This is either a benefit or a barrier depending on your perspective on packaged UI.
• As an open source vendor, Camunda is under-covered in analyst reports.

• Steep learning curve.
• It can be slow to develop simple solutions compared to other automation platforms such as Smarsheet.
• Troubleshooting and developing can be frustrating without proper access to edit the code directly.
• Only able to edit through the GUI and with expressions.
• Many ways to do the same thing can be frustrating when you need to rework your flow.

Incentivized

The tool is very useful when used with its various native connectors, taking great advantage of the integration between the components and systems of the Office365 universe. However, its cost is still high, and automation using more advanced components containing AI resources becomes unfeasible for some companies. Due to the financial crisis that many companies are currently experiencing, investment in automation systems or tools is taking a back seat.

Incentivized

Power Automate features a clean and intuitive user interface that allows users to create, manage, and monitor workflows easily. The UI is designed to be accessible to both technical and non-technical users, with drag-and-drop functionality for building workflows. Power Automate supports integration with a wide range of Microsoft and third-party applications. This flexibility in integration allows users to automate workflows across various systems, enhancing overall productivity and efficiency.

Incentivized

Camunda provides pretty standard product support offerings.

both Community support and Microsoft official support typically respond to (and resolve) reported issues in a VERY expedient manner, usually going above and beyond for education and bugfixing. I have been thoroughly impressed with the level of support I had been provided in the past.

Incentivized

after reviewing the main features of Power Automate, the Microsoft trainer focused on some of our real life use cases implementation, from simple to more advanced.

Incentivized

although it was productive, it is more difficult to stay focused and in a 7 hours a day online training (including screen share issues and the fact that the trainer just can't precisely show the exact location of your mistake)

Incentivized

I was part of the migration of classic SharePoint workflows and Nintex workflows. We didn't spend much time learning the new platform because of its user-friendly interface and intuitive drag-and-drop functionality. We have mostly O365 E1 and E3 licensed users, so they can participate in our Citizen Development program and utilize Power Automate to build day-to-day business processes.

Incentivized

Lacks good documentation. Training and documentation is geared towards those who are already technically adept. Does not have as many data integrations as other full fledged products. Paid version of Camunda is not as fully fledged as other products.

Incentivized

Microsoft Power Automate is worlds ahead of Zapier in so many ways. The looping, DOM access, and flow controls are much better. I feel that accessing different data within previous connectors used in a flow is much easier in Microsoft Power Automate as well. The custom connector creation process is a lot more pleasant in Microsoft Power Automate. The DateTime data type is handles MUCH better in Microsoft Power Automate, which is reason enough to use it.

Incentivized

I have not done any participations

Incentivized

Microsoft's professional services provide hands-on support throughout the implementation lifecycle of Power Automate.This includes initial setup, configuration, integration with existing systems, testing, and deployment. They ensure that workflows are correctly designed, optimized for performance, and aligned with security best practices.

Incentivized

• The positive impact is that we are able to ensure the business process is being followed and that results in orders getting processed successfully leading to customer satisfaction and revenue
• Another positive impact is that we are able to track any anomalies and any errors in the order flow and retry them so that users don't have a negative experience.
• A negative point is that it is an overhead to maintain so there is significant engineering effort getting invested there

Incentivized

• You can automate a lot of process very easy like automatic mails for status updates and such. This will save a lot of time and is more accurate, faster and up-to-date than a user can be.
• Task approval is centralized and automatic reminders save us a lot of time.
• The ROI is good if you have a lot of use cases and things to automate

Incentivized