Yes, USD students, faculty, and staff have access to Power Automate through USD's Microsoft 365 environment.
Microsoft Power Automate is a Microsoft 365 tool that helps you automate repetitive tasks and create workflows between applications and services. Power Automate is available to USD students, faculty, and staff through Microsoft 365.
What can I do with Power Automate?
Power Automate can help you save time by automating common processes. For example, you can:
- Automate repetitive tasks and business processes.
- Send automatic notifications and reminders, such as reminders for overdue tasks.
- Move information between systems on a schedule.
- Connect Microsoft 365 applications and other supported data sources.
- Connect to publicly available APIs.
- Automate certain tasks on your computer, including processes involving Excel.
- Create workflows that integrate with Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft also provides Power Automate templates that can be a good starting point for finding workflows that meet your needs.
Licensing and Connectors
USD students, faculty, and staff have access to Power Automate through USD's Microsoft 365 environment.
Standard connectors are included with the Microsoft 365 licensing described on the source page. Premium connectors and other premium Power Automate capabilities may require an additional license.
When building a flow, check whether the connectors you plan to use are Standard or Premium before relying on the workflow for a business process.
Using Power Automate with Microsoft Teams
Power Automate can be used with Microsoft Teams to create and manage automated workflows. Flows can also be shared with team members, allowing a Team to participate in managing a workflow rather than relying on a single individual.
This can be especially useful for departmental processes that need to continue when responsibilities change.
Getting Started
- Sign in to Microsoft 365 using your USD account.
- Open Power Automate.
- Browse the available templates, or create a new automated, scheduled, or manually triggered flow.
- Select the applications or services you want to connect.
- Configure and test the flow before using it for an operational process.
Microsoft provides guided training and documentation for learning how to create and manage Power Automate flows.
Learn More
Visit Microsoft Learn: Get started with Power Automate for tutorials, examples, and guidance on creating and managing Power Automate workflows.
Important Considerations
When creating Power Automate workflows for university business:
- Use your USD account and approved university services when working with university information.
- Consider who should own and maintain a flow if it supports a departmental process.
- Avoid designing an important business process that depends solely on one person's account when shared ownership is appropriate.
- Be aware that some connectors and capabilities may require additional licensing.