Power Automate Integration and Nisus Central
Power Automate runs the flow.
Central runs the operation.
Status: The Nisus Central package is in early access. Today the connection is set up through Central Agent's local HTTP interface, and the NisusAI team sets it up with you.
Nisus Central is an on-premises management layer that adds a shared work queue, human approval, central credentials and an audit trail to Power Automate Desktop flows. Flows stay in Power Automate; Central runs them in the same queues and on the same screen as UiPath and other robots. Cloud flows take part by triggering a desktop flow on a machine where Central Agent is installed.
The need
What Power Automate does not cover on its own
Power Automate is excellent for quick flows inside Microsoft 365. In enterprise, multi-platform setups these needs stay open:
- Queue-based work distribution and retry rules for desktop flows
- Monitoring next to UiPath and Blue Prism robots
- Approvals and audit trails recorded with user identity
- Error tracking with categories and screenshots
- Machine-level monitoring and capacity visibility
- Processes whose data must stay on-premises
Power Automate licensing and connector terms still apply. Central adds the management layer without changing the flow.
Integration
Connect Power Automate Desktop to Central in 4 steps
The path: web service call in the desktop flow → local bridge on the Central Agent → Central services. The call stays on the machine, and no password or key is stored in the flow.
Install the Agent
Install the Nisus Central Agent on the machine that runs desktop flows.
Register the robot
Enter the robot key in the Agent. The platform licence sets the number of concurrent robots.
Add Power Automate to Tools
Define Power Automate Desktop in the Agent's Tools settings; Central starts and tracks flows through it.
Add the call to the flow
Add an "Invoke web service" action. The Agent exports every function as a Postman collection.
Nisus Central
What Nisus Central adds to Power Automate
Queues and work distribution
Power Automate picks work items from Central queues. Status, retry count, deadline and postpone date live in one place.
One screen for every platform
Power Automate on the same dashboard as UiPath, Blue Prism, Copilot Studio, Automation Anywhere and n8n.
Human approval
The flow pauses at an approval step. The decision is recorded with the user's identity and the work resumes where it stopped.
Central credentials
Usernames and passwords are stored in Central. The flow retrieves them securely at run time.
Error records
Error category, error detail and a screenshot are kept for every run.
Machine monitoring
Online status, CPU, memory and disk usage of every machine, live.
Scheduling
Cron-based schedules, dynamic robot allocation and a concurrent-job limit.
FTE and cost reporting
Hours returned to the business and savings, ready for management.
Ready functions
69 ready-made functions, one action
The Central Agent's local bridge speaks JSON. Each function can be switched on or off individually in the Agent.
| Capability | In a Power Automate flow |
|---|---|
| Take work from a queue | Call GetNextPendingTransaction and store the JSON in a flow variable |
| Complete the work | CompleteTransaction with result, error detail and screenshot |
| Bulk add to a queue | BulkAddTransactions from Excel or a list |
| Read a credential | GetCredentialAssetByName; the password is never stored in the flow |
| Human approval | SubmitForApproval adds an approval step |
| Search | SearchTransactions filters by status, reference and date |
Comparison
Power Automate alone vs. Power Automate + Central
| Topic | Power Automate alone | Power Automate + Central |
|---|---|---|
| Flow design and execution | Yes | Yes, stays in Power Automate |
| Work queues for desktop flows | Limited | Yes, with retry and deadline rules |
| One screen with UiPath and Blue Prism | No | Yes |
| Per-user approval record | Limited | Yes, exportable |
| Error records with screenshots | No | Yes |
| Machine monitoring | Limited | Yes |
| FTE and cost reporting | No | Yes |
| Data location | Microsoft cloud | On-premises, your own servers |
Example scenario
Invoice production line
Invoices arriving in Outlook are processed on an iterative production line shared by Power Automate and other robots.
- 1
Collect
A cloud flow catches the email; a desktop flow adds invoices to the queue.
- 2
Process
The desktop flow takes the next invoice and enters it into the ERP.
- 3
Approve
Invoices above a threshold go to approval; the decision is recorded with identity.
- 4
Record
The result and any error, with a screenshot, are written to Central.
- 5
Retry
Failed invoices are reprocessed by the queue rule.
- 6
Report
Invoice volume, duration and FTE gain on the dashboard.
Fit
Who is it for?
A good fit
- Organisations using Power Automate Desktop together with UiPath or Blue Prism
- Teams that need queues, retries and deadlines for desktop flows
- Finance and procurement processes that need approvals and audit
- Teams whose data must stay on-premises
Not a fit
- Small teams with a single automation and no need for queues, approvals or audit
- Teams that are happy with a single platform and have no on-premises data requirement
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How are unattended Power Automate Desktop flows managed at enterprise scale?
As the number of flows grows, three needs appear: a shared queue in which the flows divide the work, one screen where approvals are collected, and monitoring that shows which machine is doing what.Nisus Central adds all three to Power Automate flows.
Which process should run in Power Automate and which in an RPA robot?
Work inside Microsoft 365 suits Power Automate better; work that runs through older desktop applications suits an RPA robot better.Because Nisus Central connects both to the same queue, each process is placed in the tool that suits it and all of them are managed from one place.
What is the difference between Power Automate approvals and a Central approval?
A Power Automate approval lives inside the flow.A Central approval is shared by every tool: approvals from a UiPath robot, an n8n flow and a Power Automate flow land on the same screen and are kept in the same record.
Do we need to change our Power Automate flows?
No.The flow stays in Power Automate. You add web service calls for queue, result and approval steps.
Do we need to keep passwords or API keys in the flow?
No.The call goes to the Central Agent on the machine, which handles authentication.
Can cloud flows connect too?
Cloud flows join a Central process by triggering a desktop flow on a machine where the Agent runs.
Which functions are ready for Power Automate?
69 functions cover queues, transactions, jobs, assets, credentials, approvals and logs.The Agent exports them as a Postman collection.
How do we set up a work queue for Power Automate Desktop?
The flow takes the next item from a Central queue with the GetNextPendingTransaction call and writes the result with CompleteTransaction.Retry count, deadline and postpone rules live in Central.
How do we add human approval to a Power Automate flow?
With the SubmitForApproval call.The flow pauses at the approval step, the decision is recorded with the user's identity and the work resumes where it stopped.
How are unattended Power Automate machines monitored?
Online status, CPU, memory and disk usage of every machine with the Central Agent appear live on the Central dashboard.Flow errors are recorded with category, error detail and a screenshot.
Bring your Power Automate flows under enterprise governance.
See the queue and approval flow with one of your own flows.