Microsoft Flow is growing across its breadth of services for businesses or even a normal user. It has transformed into a service for automating workflow across the growing number of apps and SaaS services that business users rely on.
With this pace, Microsoft Flow has reached another milestone: users can now trigger flows using physical buttons. This capability will enable a number of users to connect Flow to the real world. With the variety of services which Flow can connect to, and the deep Flow logic you can put in – imagine what all is possible, all with a physical button press.
This will dramatically simplify workflow and thus save time when doing repetitive tasks, for which until now, you could use Flow Buttons to trigger flows on demand directly from your Flow Mobile app or website.
Also Read: Windows 10 Mobile Flow app is available
Here are some of the common business scenarios or workflows where physical buttons have an edge:
- Need a simple way to order more inventory in a production floor? Push the button. It will create a PO with approval in your CRM.
- Need a simple way to call Tech support in a conference room? Push the button. It will dispatch a mail to your support team, or open a support ticket in your system.
- Need a simple way to track your consulting work hours for various companies? Push the button. It will log your hours and location in an Excel file or a Google sheet.
- Need an effortless way to keep track of product sales at a customer touch point? Push the button. It will update a dedicated Sharepoint list.
To deliver the functionality, Microsoft is partnering with two of the leading products in the physical button space: Flic by Shortcut Labs, and Bttn by The Button Corporation.
Check out some of the Physical Button templates here .
Need a little more inspiration? Read the full story here about how to connect your flows to physical trigger buttons etc.