Microsoft Flow is a relatively new platform from Microsoft that allows you to build automated workflows between applications. These workflows are called "Flows" for short. Flows can connect all sorts of data sources together to make life easier. So for instance, you could create a Flow that automatically sends a text message when you get an email from a VIP client. Or a flow that automatically creates an Outlook task when an email is flagged for follow up. Or even automatically add an event from your Google calendar to your private Outlook calendar. The possibilities are really endless and things can get very complex with conditions that branch off into different actions but even basic Flows can help save a lot of time.
Microsoft provides a bunch of templates to get you started. You connect your accounts and provide some basic information and the Flow is ready to go. We're going to build an interactive toy today. I'm going to show you how to build a flow that you can interact with to see how it works in real-time.
I've created a sample flow that will write any tweet with the hashtag of #NeoCloudFlowDemo into an Excel document. Give it a try and let me know what you think! The flow runs every 5 minutes so once you tweet, wait it out and then check the document by clicking here. In coming weeks I will demonstrate how I created this flow and other examples of production Flows that we've developed for our clients. In the short term, here's a screen shot of what this Flow looks like in the Flow Designer:
Creating and maintaining Flows for our customers is included as part of our Concierge IT Service. We create Flows that help make your life easier. There is no additional charge for this service!
If you'd like to learn more about Flow, have any questions or comments, or would like more information about our services, please contact us today.
