{"id":179256,"date":"2017-09-27T10:12:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T15:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ntegrait.com\/just-go-with-the-flow\/"},"modified":"2017-09-27T10:12:00","modified_gmt":"2017-09-27T15:12:00","slug":"just-go-with-the-flow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ntegrait.com\/just-go-with-the-flow\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Go with the Flow. \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is your business\u2019 productivity suffering? It may be due to a poor workflow. \u00a0Using Microsoft Flow can help.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Microsoft<\/p>\n

Is the productivity of your business slipping? Do projects take longer to complete than they should? Perhaps this has nothing to do with inadequate staff training or lack of motivation, but your workflow.<\/p>\n

The workflow consists of the steps you take from the start of the project to its completion. A poor workflow impedes productivity and decreases the quality of work. A good workflow offers many advantages and is worth the time to set up.\u00a0 How do you achieve this?\u00a0 I tell my clients to use <\/strong>Microsoft Flow<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is Microsoft Flow?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Microsoft Flow makes simple, repetitive tasks easy to accomplish by handling them automatically\u2014Different applications can \u201ctalk\u201d with each other to collect and share data while keeping you aware of major changes. Flow works with many popular applications such as Outlook, Office 365, Dropbox, Facebook, Slack and more.<\/p>\n

How Flows Work<\/strong><\/p>\n

With Flow, you can automate tasks (flows) without being a technology wizard. Flows can range in complexity, from simple tasks like saving an email to Dropbox, too much more complex ones like searching Twitter feeds for people who post about your company, following their account, and adding their names to an Excel file.<\/p>\n

We advise our clients to automate tasks quickly using templates in Flow. There are hundreds of ready-to-go templates, plus thousands of user-created ones that are available online to download. There\u2019s is a good chance that you\u2019ll find the template that works for your needs right out-of-the-box or at least one that only requires a few tweaks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, every business is different, and all of them have unique needs. That\u2019s why Microsoft made it so simple for you to create your own flows. Instead of bogging down employees by requiring the use of a scripting language to create flows, everything is created visually using triggers and actions from a series of menus.<\/p>\n

How to Create a Flow<\/strong><\/p>\n

To give you an idea of how easy it is to use Flow, the following are the steps to create an automated process that sends a notification to your phone every time you receive an email from a particular address. This is a very useful flow, and it\u2019s adaptable for a number of situations.<\/p>\n

In order for this flow to work properly, you will need a Flow account, a subscription to Office 365, the push notification service, and the Flow mobile app for your phone<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Sign into your Flow account and select\u00a0Create from blank\u00a0<\/strong>from the\u00a0My flows\u00a0<\/strong>menu tab.<\/li>\n
  2. Click on the\u00a0Office 365 Outlook icon and select\u00a0When a new email arrives<\/strong>\u00a0from the list of triggers.<\/li>\n
  3. Choose the folder you want to check for the email, and then click on\u00a0Show advanced options.\u00a0<\/strong>Fill in the email address you want to monitor in the\u00a0From<\/strong> Select\u00a0Hide advanced options.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Choose\u00a0New step under the\u00a0Add an option<\/strong> Find the\u00a0Notifications \u2013 Send me a mobile notification\u00a0<\/strong>under the\u00a0<\/strong>action tab and select it.<\/li>\n
  5. Inside of the\u00a0Text<\/strong>field, write the message you want to receive on your phone. Close the\u00a0Add an option<\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. Select\u00a0Create flow\u00a0<\/strong>at the top of the page, and give the flow a name and save it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Don\u2019t worry if all this seems a little confusing. There are\u00a0<\/strong>many tutorials to walk you through the process<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in greater detail.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    How to Get Flow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    You can\u00a0sign up for free<\/a>\u00a0online. There are three different versions of Flow: Flow Free, Flow Plan 1, and Flow Plan 2.<\/p>\n