Power Automate Licensing Options
In one of our previous articles, we discussed the components of the Power Platform and the licensing of Power Apps. Now it’s time to explore another piece of Microsoft’s low-code, no-code platform: Power Automate. This powerful tool for automating business processes allows the creation of multi-step workflows across various applications and services.
Power Automate streamlines company operations, saving time and effort, which translates into increased operational efficiency. Understanding the licensing options for Power Automate services is crucial for making informed decisions about effectively utilizing this platform in your business.
Microsoft offers several licensing options for Power Automate, tailored to different user needs and organizational requirements. These are:
- Power Automate Premium
- Power Automate per user
- Power Automate Process
- Power Automate per flow
Base products
Power Automate Premium (per user) allows the creation and execution of unlimited cloud flows (DPA) using API-based digital process automation. It also enables the automation of legacy applications through desktop flows using attended robotic process automation (RPA), which simulates human work. To run an unattended RPA bot, the Power Automate unattended RPA add-on is required.
Power Automate Premium includes partial functionality of the Process Mining license (full functionality available as an add-on) for desktop capabilities, as well as up to 50 MB of storage space for Process Mining-related data. Additionally, it provides access to the AI Builder tool, supporting scenarios such as form processing, object detection, prediction, and text classification.
Usługa Power Automate per user, similar to the Premium version, allows the creation and execution of unlimited workflows and business processes for a single user, excluding Process Mining, AI Builder, and Unattended Desktop Flows (automation that runs on computers without user presence).
Licencja Power Automate Process (per bot) license allows the use of a single bot for unattended process automation (unattended RPA) or for processes (flows) that need to be accessed by an unlimited number of users within an organization. It is suitable for teams or company departments using only one bot.
Power Automate per flow provides users across a department/organization with workflow automation for a single process. It’s worth mentioning that this subscription does not include Unattended Desktop Flows and can be purchased with a minimum of 5 licenses. Each subscription includes Power Automate service capacity allocated to a specific flow.
Depending on whether you need licenses for unlimited flows or a single Flow in a department, Microsoft recommends Power Automate Premium or Power Automate Process. These offer the most features and flexibility. They also include partial functionality of AI Builder and Process Mining, which are part of the add-on licenses discussed in the second part of this article.
Add-ons
Power Automate Hosted RPA add-on – is an add-on for Power Automate Premium and Power Automate Process, allowing users to run robotic process automation (RPA) as a service with hosted machine options. Hosted RPA enables a bot to operate autonomously, independent of the user, on a virtual machine or in a virtualized environment. Each hosted RPA license provides capacity for a single bot hosted by Microsoft.
Power Automate unattended RPA add-on – is an unattended RPA add-on for Power Automate Premium or Power Automate per Flow, licensed per bot. Unattended bots can be deployed on a local machine, remote desktop, or other virtualized environments. Running an unattended RPA bot on a virtual machine requires the separate purchase of any necessary compute resources.
For both Hosted RPA and Unattended RPA, if there are services or applications that the bot needs to access unattended, these must be covered by a separate license. For example, if the bot needs access to the Office suite, in addition to the unattended license, a Microsoft 365 license (Microsoft 365 Unattended License add-on) must also be purchased.
Unattended license information for M365 is available at the following link
Power Automate Process Mining is an add-on license for Power Automate Premium. It’s a capacity-based license that provides quick ROI for customers by identifying key optimization opportunities and improving existing processes. One license includes 100 GB of process exploration data, 2 GB of Dataverse database, and 1 TB of Dataverse file storage per tenant per month.
AI Builder is a tool that enables the use of artificial intelligence in applications and business processes. AI Builder supports various scenarios such as forecasting, business card reader, or form processing. The AI Builder license is capacity-based and expressed in the form of “service credits”. AI Builder is offered in capacity packs (Tier 1-3).
Additional Information
Some Power Apps licenses include the right to use the Power Automate service, but it’s important to note that using Power Automate in Power Apps is limited to the context of the application. If a flow has nothing to do with the Power Apps application, a full Power Automate license will be required. Dynamics 365 licenses also include rights to use Power Automate through built-in triggers and actions. However, if an embedded flow is not within the context of a Dynamics 365 application, a full Power Automate license is required.Licencje Dynamics 365 również obejmują prawa do użytkowania Power Automate w ramach wbudowanych wyzwalaczy i akcji, jednak, jeśli osadzony przepływ nie znajduje się w kontekście aplikacji Dynamics 365, wymagana jest pełna licencja Power Automate.
Summary
Understanding the licensing policy of Power Automate services is crucial to maximize the potential of this platform. Choosing the right licensing plan should consider the organization’s needs and how they utilize process automation. This enables companies to optimize their operations, achieving greater efficiency and time savings.
If you’re interested, feel free to contact us, and we’ll tailor the offer to your needs and select the appropriate subscription billing version.
You can find the current Power Platform licensing guide at the link below.