In this chapter, I’ll briefly explain how automation became mainstream in every aspect of our lives. I’ll review the correlation between people and automation and how it impacts us. Then I’ll define Power Automate and the platform it belongs to. Finally, I’ll discuss what makes up a flow in Power Automate, the different automation types Power Automate provides, its correlation with Microsoft 365, and when and why to use Power Automate.
Life Before Automation
I reckon that a long list of things might cross your mind if someone said, “life before automation,” such as how life used to look before computers, cell phones, cars, or any modern technology, but what I’d like to highlight here are a couple of humanity’s milestones that were vital and relevant to automation.
In 1206, Ismail Al-Jazari invented the first crankshaft (Figures 1-1 and 1-2), a piece of machinery (technology) that transforms continuous rotary motion into a linear reciprocating motion. It was fundamental to modern machinery such as the internal combustion engine, automatic controls, and the steam engine, which was an essential stepping stone in the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s.
Figure 1-1. Ismail Al-Jazari’s crankshaft
Figure 1-2. Modern crankshaft
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