In an enterprise, processes and workflows are crucial for any business to run. Enterprises need a complete mechanism for running smooth workflows, automating business processes, and integrating multiple applications they already use.
With the growing cloud adoption, there is an increasing need for integrating applications, workflows, and data within the cloud.
For integrating and automating the business-critical process, Microsoft Azure Logic Apps provides a mechanism to help you create workflows by orchestrating SaaS components.
It is a scalable integration platform with multiple capabilities that make it easy to integrate all Azure applications.
What are Azure Logic Apps?
Azure Logic Apps, an integration platform as a service (iPaaS), is used for creating and running automated workflows. It is a cloud-based platform that allows you to install and run Logic Apps locally, on-premise, or on the cloud. By increasing scalability and portability, Azure automates business-critical workflows for any location.
With Azure, you can create large and complex workflows and see more steps simultaneously without scrolling. You can also carry out stateless workflows to improve performance for requests and response scenarios.
For troubleshooting, Azure provides Monitor and Application insights.
Microsoft Azure is fully managing Azure Logic Apps. Thus, you no longer need to be concerned about scaling, hosting, managing, maintaining, and monitoring solutions built with these services.
It also builds a connection between you and your trading partners to work seamlessly, using electronic data interchange (EDI) standards such as X12, AS2, EDIFACT, and more.
While using these capabilities to create server less applications and solutions, you can choose only to focus on the functionality and business logic.
Since Microsoft annually invests 1 billion dollars in cybersecurity research and development and employs 3,500+ security experts, it ensures complete data privacy and security. It also helps Azure build user trust being the most certified cloud provider.
Azure does not charge you any upfront costs and termination fees for Logic Apps and only requires you to pay for the apps you use.
It provides many services, including Azure Logic Apps and Azure Functions. To understand the difference between both, let’s compare Azure Logic Apps and Azure Functions.
Azure Logic Apps vs. Functions
Logic Apps and Functions are Azure services that develop server less workloads. While Azure Logic Apps creates server less workflows, Azure Functions is a server less computing service.
Listed below is a comparison between Azure Logic Apps and Azure Functions.
Both services can generate complex orchestrations. Orchestration is a batch of steps or functions known as actions in Logic Apps that you can perform to execute a problematic or compound task.
For example, when you execute several instances of a function, at the same time to process multiple orders, you may wait for all instances to end and then perform a function that computes out-turn on the aggregate. The workflow for such tasks is developed with Logic Apps, and the sum is calculated with Azure Functions.
To create orchestrations for Logic Apps, you can use a GUI or edit configuration files. To develop orchestrations for Azure Functions, you can write code or use the Durable Function extension.
While building orchestration, you can connect Logic Apps with Functions or connect Functions with Logic Apps to mix and match services. You can also choose to develop each orchestration based on your personal preference and the capability of the services.
Though Azure Functions has about a dozen built-in binding types, you can write code to build custom bindings.
On the other hand, Azure Logic Apps has a collection of connectors and an enterprise integration pack for B2B scenarios, and it also allows you to build custom connectors.
Functions can run locally or in the cloud, but Logic apps can run only in the cloud. While Logic apps have a collection of ready-made actions, each activity you perform is an Azure Function, and you will need to write code for all activity Functions.
Azure Logic Apps vs. Power Automate
Logic Apps and Power Automate are services that integrate you with other systems to create workflows. Both services provide a designer-first experience for the user and provide integration with many SaaS and enterprise apps.
Being built on top of Logic Apps, Power Automate shares the same connectors and workflow designer with Logic Apps.
Power Automate makes it easy for any office worker to perform simple integrations. For instance, any of your staff members can complete the approval process on a SharePoint Document Library without going through IT or developers.
While Power Automate provides self-service and can be used by business users, office workers, and SharePoint administrators, Azure logic Apps offers advanced services for the users like pro integrators and developers, and IT pros.
Logic Apps also offers advanced integrations- like B2B processes- for that, it is required to have organizational-level Azure DevOps and security practices. Over time, your business workflow can grow in complexity. Correspondingly, you can begin with a workflow and then convert it into a logic app, as required.
Whereas Power Automate enables you to design and test your workflows in non-production environments and promote them to production when they are all set up, Azure DevOps tests, supports, manages, automates, and does source control in Azure Resource Manager.
Why is it the Best Integration Platform?
There are many reasons why Azure Logic Apps should be your go-to platform for integration services. By offering a ton of features and capabilities, Azure stands out from traditional workflow applications. Here are a few features that make Azure an out-of-the-box workflow development platform:
Cost-Effective Integration
Azure provides one of the most cost-effective integration services on the market. Since Microsoft fully manages infrastructure maintenance for you, you do not have to pay any upfront costs.
It also allows you to develop and test the integration features before running the workflows without additional costs.
Scalable and Lightweight Service
As a cloud-based, server less compute service, Azure Logic Apps is scalable and takes care of hosting, monitoring, and scaling in the form of a single managed service.
It is a lightweight platform that automatically scales out and runs your workflow with the resources it needs.
Better Business Experience
Using Logic Apps Designer, Logic Apps simplifies creating workflows with its user-friendly, drag-and-drop design interface.
You can also build automated system integrations and business processes with minor coding by using numerous pre-built connectors available in Azure Portal via your browser.
In-built Monitoring
Its in-built monitoring tools make it simple for you to get a historical overview of your integrated data, services, apps, and processes.
You can check everything- from performance to your current status, run and trigger history fast and easily.
Conclusion
Azure Logic Apps makes it easy and fast to connect disparate systems and integrate different applications. Its numerous in-built triggers, connectors, and actions cover many of your typical business scenarios.
Enabling you to integrate on-premise systems with the new ones available on the cloud, Azure helps you run smooth business workflows.
Moreover, with Microsoft taking crucial measures to ensure the security and privacy of your data, you can share and integrate workflows, processes, and data more securely than ever.
It is what makes the App a go-to integration platform for all types of workflows.
