Microsoft Power Automate is an advanced automation platform offering a range of features, including AI-powered automation, robotic process automation (RPA), business process automation (BPA), digital process automation (DPA), and process/task mining. The platform aims to empower organizations to securely automate their operations at scale by leveraging low-code and AI technologies.
$15
per month per user
Oracle APEX
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Oracle APEX (or Oracle Application Express) is an online low-code application builder that allows users to develop a database-drive application, customize the application's UI, and then give their users access to the application via URL. Oracle APEX includes a suite of pre-built productivity applications and examples, such as a Survey Builder, Bug Tracking, P-Track project management, etc
If you are in a team that needs to develop automated solutions but have no coding experience and no access to a developer, Power Automate is one of the best places to start. It is incredibly flexible and likely has triggers and actions that can connect with your platforms, especially if you use the Microsoft stack. Additionally, using webhooks, you can connect to many different endpoints to get systems working together.
Based on our organization's experience, Oracle APEX is a versatile and powerful tool, but its suitability depends on specific business needs, technical requirements, and the nature of the application being developed. Scenarios where Oracle APEX fits well: Business Process Automation/Workflows Reporting and Dashboards for Data Analytics AI based systems such as Select AI Chatbots for data insights based on LLMs Native-like Mobile Applications using PWA feature of APEX Scenarios where Oracle APEX may be less appropriate: Very Complex and highly interactive applications Use cases based on a non-oracle Database
I REALLY wish I could just drop in a block of python or PowerShell code sometimes. The visual low-code things are great for moving around data but sometimes it would be faster if I could just tap out some code.
The DOM (Document Object Model) is not entirely apparent and takes a lot of trial and error, and sometimes it's even different between different connectors. I would love to be able to just see the path to access some specific variables from earlier processes.
Can't think of any - the Application Express development team does a fantastic job adopting and supporting emerging trends with each new release.
Requires Oracle RDBMS; i.e., is not portable to other RDBMS platforms. On the surface this may seem like a con but it is as it should be - Oracle database is best RDBMS available and tight integration with Oracle RDBMS promotes creation of reliable performant apps.
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.
I felt very comfortable using Oracle Application Express from the start. I designed my data model and quickly developed the basic CRUD pages for master tables. Then I designed the main functionality and was able to test and deploy it in a couple of days work. I will probably share the app with other members of the team and continue adding some features in the short term.
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.
its easy to use as a developer and applications designed using apex are easy and intuitive to use as an end user. Even non-coders can build good applications, the more code you can write the more you can enhance the application but you can get up and running quickly with almost no technical know how.
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.
Very active and knowledgeable community support includes quick and helpful responses from the Oracle employees on the product development team. I've never had to raise an official support request - everything is dealt with via forums and user groups - or via direct emails. The supposrt commuinty is one of the great things about Apex.
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.
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)
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.
Using it on the cloud is really simple, the entire process of configuring and provisioning an Oracle Database takes only a few minutes (less than 10) and then Oracle APEX is already deployed on the database, so you just have to start using it. I would strongly recommend using APEX on Oracle Cloud Free Tier.
I have many years of experience with Nintex applications and it stands up very well against Microsoft Power Automate. I hope Microsoft Power Automate can become the better workflow application. With the Integrated AI builder and continuous updates I expect they can become the better one in a few years.
If you are expert in SQL and PLSQL and use Oracle Database, then the best choice is Oracle Application Express. The functionality is already complete and very easy to use, so it's useless to find another tool if you are using Oracle. You don't use Oracle APEX only if: (1) you are using other database than Oracle, and (2) your application load is unpredictable.
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.
In the mid-size organization, we had a BI tool that had a significant license cost involved. With Oracle back-end we were able to switch to APEX and move all reporting at literally zero cost.
For Oracle PL/SQL users the learning curve is very quick and easy, there are ready templates that you can start with and eventually create complex reports.
You can track authorization and authentication on data editing and usage. High performance as it is native oracle sql codes.
Centralized data capturing, makes your datawarehouse writable for lookup tables or reference tables.
