What is Azure Logic Apps?

• Azure Logic Apps is a cloud service that helps to automate and orchestrate tasks, business processes and workflows
• Logic App works with connectors, triggers and workflows (See: Azure Logic Apps Concepts)
  • defines the workflows
  • consumes a range of APIs exposed as connectors
  • performs the sequence of actions defined in the workflow whenever the trigger gets fired
• Logic Apps is extensible
  • There are many pre-built components
  • If there isn’t a pre-built component for the service you need, you can create your own i.e.e Azure Functions
• Example:
  • Send email notifications when events happen in various systems, apps, and services
  • Move uploaded files from file server to Azure Storage
• Links:
  • Official documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/logic-apps/
  • https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/logic-apps/logic-apps-overview
  • https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/modules/intro-to-logic-apps/

Logic Apps definiion language (JSON) -> Compose SaaS -> Output

Comparison with other event-driven Azure Services

• Similarity:
  • Logic Apps and other event-driven services (Power Automate, Functions, WebJobs) can solve integration problems and automate business processes
  • They can all define input, actions, conditions and output
• Logic Apps and Power Automate:
  • Power Automate is built on top of Logic Apps
  • They share the same workflow designer and the same connectors
  • Power Automate for simple integrations (i.e. an approval process on a SharePoint Document Library), while Logic Apps for advanced integrations (i.e. B2B processes)
  • You can start with a flow at first, and then convert it to a logic app as needed
  • Users:
    • Power Automate: Office workers, business users, SharePoint administrators
    • Logic Apps: Pro integrators and developers, IT pro
• Logic Apps and Azure Functions:
  • both enable serverless workloads
  • Azure Functions is a serverless compute service, whereas Azure Logic Apps provides serverless workflows
  • For Azure Functions, you develop orchestrations by writing code (Durable Functions extension). For Logic Apps, you create orchestrations by using a GUI or editing configuration files
• WebJobs:
  • A feature of Azure App Service
  • Runs a script or code in the context of an App Service web app
  • A WebJob can run any program or script that runs in the App Service sandbox
• WebJobs SDK:
  • A framework designed for WebJobs to respond to events in Azure services
  • WebJobs SDK runs as a .NET console application, which you can deploy to a WebJob
  • A WebJobs SDK console application can run anywhere console applications run
• A flow (Power Automate) can call a logic app. A logic app can call a function, and a function can call a logic app

When to use logic apps

• When you need to integrate apps, systems, data and services across enterprises or organizations
• Design and build scalable enterprise integration solutions
  • app integration
  • data integration
  • system integration
  • enterprise application integration
  • business-to-business (B2B) communication
• When you need to get multiple applications and systems to work together

Why to use logic apps

• Logic Apps help businesses to move toward digitization by connect legacy, modern and cutting-edge systems more easily and quickly
• Companies can improve their agility and increase focus on their core businesses while Logic Apps can handle building, hosting, scaling, managing, maintaining and monitoring your apps
• Tools: visually build workflows with easy-to-use tools
• Templates: get started faster with logic app templates
• Pay only for what you use
• Reusability
• Enterprise integration
• Built-in extensibility