Toolblogs

Copilot in Power BI: What It Can and Can't Do for Report Builders (2026-10-25 · Business Intelligence)
Every Copilot experience in Power BI as at October 2026, what you need to switch it on (including cross-geo processing for South Africa), how to prepare a semantic model so Copilot answers well, its limits, and what it costs in capacity.
Getting Started With UiPath Maestro and Agent Builder (2026-10-25 · RPA & Automation)
A practical guide for RPA developers: how UiPath's agentic stack fits together, building a first agent in Studio Web step by step, orchestrating it with robots and people in a Maestro BPMN process, how it's metered, and good practices.
Power Automate Desktop in 2026: The Gaps That Finally Closed (2026-10-25 · Power Platform)
The Power Automate Desktop gaps from 2021 (scoped variables, versioning, testing, queues, config, browser automation, error handling and more) and how each one closed in 2025–26, plus what's still in preview and what's still missing compared to UiPath.
Copilot Studio Computer Use: Automating Apps Without APIs (2026-10-25 · AI & Agents)
How Copilot Studio's computer use automates websites and desktop apps with no API: how it works, where it runs, step-by-step setup, real costs per step, security, and when to choose it over RPA or an API.
A Beginner's Guide to Vibe Coding: What It Is and What to Consider (2026-10-25 · AI & Agents)
What vibe coding is, how to build your first AI-coded project step by step, and what to consider before you share it: secrets, POPIA, security, licensing, costs and when not to vibe code at all.
A Centralised Industry Collaboration Function for ICT Higher Education (2026-09-24 · Et al.)
Ad hoc internships and handshake sponsorships aren't enough. A governance-oriented framework for linking employability, mentorship, POPIA compliance and innovation in ICT higher education.
From Side Hustle to Main Gig: Turning an Idea Into a Running Business With AI (2026-09-21 · Et al.)
Six steps from idea to running business for about R150: a one-pager, an AI-built website, getting found, getting paid, analytics and knowing when not to trust AI.
AI for Africa, by Africa: Inclusion, Diversity and Innovation (2026-09-21 · Et al.)
Whom should AI serve, and who does it leave out? From my TICON Africa 2026 talk: why AI is being built without us, where Africa already leads, and three actions to start this week.
End-to-End: From Copilot Studio Agent to Production (2026-09-07 · AI & Agents)
A seven-stage lifecycle for taking a Copilot Studio agent from idea to production: design, testing, governance, publishing step by step, ALM and the Copilot Credits bill.
Building a Business With AI: Lessons From a (Panda) Penguin Sanctuary (2026-07-25 · AI & Agents)
Using a penguin sanctuary as the worked example: defining the idea, building the company profile and website with AI, and getting the business found online.
Emerging Trends Shaping AI, Intelligent Automation & the Future of Technology Leadership (2026-07-22 · AI & Agents)
Agentic AI, edge, 6G, quantum and AI governance aren't separate trends – they're one system. What that means for technology leaders, with a three-horizon roadmap.
Data Analytics & RPA in Digital Marketing: Moving From Insights to Value (2025-10-07 · Business Intelligence)
How marketing teams can move from insights to value: the data lifecycle, choosing the right analysis and visuals, and where RPA and agentic automation fit in.
Practical Implementation of Multi-Agent Systems (2025-10-07 · AI & Agents)
When to go multi-agent (and when not to), the ten principles of multi-agency, and a step-by-step Copilot Studio build from single agents to an orchestrating Travel Planner.
Using UiPath and AWS for Automated Assessment (2025-09-20 · RPA & Automation)
How an instructor-driven automated assessment assistant built with UiPath and AWS cut around 50 days of manual marking, from rubrics to at-risk students.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to Context Grounding Your Copilot (2025-05-02 · AI & Agents)
What Deep Thought and the number 42 can teach us about grounding copilots in the right context, setting healthy data boundaries, and turning chatbots into useful agents.
The Future of RPA is Agentic: Robotic and Agentic Process Automation (2025-04-09 · RPA & Automation)
RPA isn't dead – it got a clever new colleague. Why the future of process automation is both robotic and agentic, and how to pick the right processes.
Building a Career in AI & Automation: Skills, Learning Paths and Communities (2025-04-09 · Et al.)
Career paths, technical and soft skills, free learning resources, building a portfolio and the communities worth joining if you want to get into AI and automation.
Getting Data from the ‘New’ GitHub Projects (2025-03-13 · Integration & APIs)
The new GitHub Projects API is not quite there yet, so this post shows how to scrape project views, columns, item data and charts with Python and Beautiful Soup.
Bulk Your SharePoint Operations: Bypassing Item Limits and Reducing API Calls in Power Platform (2025-03-12 · Power Platform)
Turn thousands of SharePoint calls into a handful: batch REST requests in Power Automate and load past the 2 000 item limit in Power Apps.
Mapping a Career in AI and Automation: The Landscape, the Roles and the Skills (2025-03-07 · Et al.)
Four maps for starting a career in AI and automation: the landscape and its tools, the roles, the skills worth building, and the five steps to your first job.
The Ultimate Guide to Learning Power Platform (2025-02-11 · Power Platform)
Where to start with Power Platform: the product landscape, the Power Platform roadmap on roadmap.sh, and a free GitHub learning repo.
Getting Unique Records or Items from an Excel Table (2024-11-18 · Power Platform)
How to get a distinct list of values from an Excel table in Power Automate using Select and union(), illustrated with mailing hackathon teams and cc'ing every team member.
Low-Code Development Trends for 2024 (2024-03-15 · Power Platform)
Exploring the latest trends in low-code development and how they're transforming business applications.
A Comprehensive Guide to Digital Transformation Consulting (2024-03-08 · Et al.)
Navigate your digital transformation journey with expert consulting guidance and proven strategies.
Ensuring Center of Excellence (COE) Control of Apps and Automate Flows (2024-03-05 · Power Platform)
How to avoid orphaned Power Apps and Power Automate flows by using a scheduled flow, built with standard connectors, to assign a CoE user group or service account as owner of every app and flow in an environment.
Building Successful Custom Training Programmes (2024-02-28 · Et al.)
How to design and implement technology training programmes that deliver measurable results for your organisation.
Asynchronous Processing and Concurrency in Flows (2023-11-18 · Power Platform)
A look at asynchronous processing and Apply to each concurrency in Power Automate: the real pros and cons, and why shared variables can jumble your results when concurrency is on.
Unit Testing in Power Automate Flows (2023-11-18 · Power Platform)
An introduction to unit testing in Power Automate: what unit testing is, how child flows can be tested as units, and the benefits of a standardised, data-driven test framework for your flows.
Working With SharePoint Lookup Columns in Lists, Through Power Apps (2023-10-21 · Power Platform)
How to use Patch in Power Apps to create SharePoint list items with a lookup column, and how to clear that lookup link later, plus a few patterns for reading and filtering lookups.
Creating a Full Outer Join Between Collections in Canvas App (2023-09-22 · Power Platform)
How to combine two Power Apps collections into one joined collection using ForAll and Filter – the canvas app equivalent of a SQL full outer join – with conditional columns and tips for avoiding common pitfalls.
Exporting a Power BI Report Page as an Image and Embedding it into a Word Document (2023-07-12 · Power Platform)
How to use Power Automate to export a Power BI report page as a PNG image and embed it into a Word document using a picture content control and the Populate a Microsoft Word Template action.
Integrating with the MusicMaker Bot on Discord (Using UiPath) (2023-01-11 · RPA & Automation)
An attended UiPath solution that drives the MusicMaker bot on Discord: adding the bot to a server, creating a playlist, filling it from a YouTube playlist and playing it.
Understanding UiPath Licensing Compared to Power Platform Licensing (2023-01-05 · Et al.)
Unpacks UiPath and Power Platform licensing side by side – Power Automate, Power Apps and Power BI plans, performance profiles, Dataverse capacity and request limits, and UiPath's Free, Pro and Enterprise plans.
Download Files from Google Drive in C# (2023-01-05 · Integration & APIs)
The simplest way to download a shared Google Drive file in C# using HttpClient and a direct download link, plus how to get the file ID, handle larger files and know when to use the Drive API instead.
RPA: Scalable Solutions with UiPath Orchestrator (2022-08-18 · RPA & Automation)
Build enterprise-scale RPA solutions with UiPath Orchestrator. Master deployment strategies, resource management, monitoring, and governance for large-scale automation implementations across your organization.
Setting up a Power BI Custom Connector for UiPath Data Service (2022-08-08 · Business Intelligence)
How to pull UiPath Data Service entities into Power BI Desktop using a Power Query custom connector, including setting up the UiPath external application and Power BI security settings.
Power BI: Advanced Data Modeling for Enterprise (2022-07-12 · Power Platform)
Master advanced Power BI data modeling techniques for enterprise-scale analytics. Learn dimensional modeling, DAX optimization, performance tuning, and best practices for large-scale business intelligence solutions.
Basic Exception Handling in Power Automate Cloud Flows (2022-05-04 · Power Platform)
How to implement try, catch and finally style exception handling in Power Automate cloud flows using scopes and Configure Run After, including capturing error details.
Creating a UiPath Data Services Entity Record From UiPath Studio (2022-04-24 · RPA & Automation)
A step-by-step guide to enabling UiPath Data Services, creating an entity and populating it with records from UiPath Studio using the Create Entity Record activity.
Task Capture Good Practices (2022-04-06 · RPA & Automation)
Good practices for UiPath Task Capture: using swimlanes, flagging business exceptions, naming steps well, grouping steps logically and working with PDD and Studio solution templates.
Preparing for the UiPath Advanced RPA Developer (UiARD) Certification Exam (2022-03-31 · RPA & Automation)
The approach that got me through the UiPath Advanced RPA Developer (UiARD) exam: a theory cheat sheet, the practise exam, the UiPath Academy learning path, a second practise run and tips for exam day.
Uploading Files to UiPath Storage Buckets (2022-03-24 · RPA & Automation)
How to create a storage bucket in UiPath Orchestrator and upload files to it from UiPath Studio, including how to fix the 403 Forbidden error caused by missing permissions.
GitHub (and Enterprise) API Versus Azure DevOps API (2022-03-24 · Integration & APIs)
A comparison of GitHub (including Enterprise) and Azure DevOps for automation projects, looking at how each is structured, how they are priced and what their APIs and libraries offer for UiPath integration.
Automation Using Azure Cognitive Services in Power Automate (2022-03-09 · Power Platform)
Discover how to leverage Azure Cognitive Services within Power Automate for intelligent automation workflows. Learn to integrate AI capabilities like text analysis, image recognition, and sentiment analysis into your business processes.
Publishing Test Cases From UiPath Studio to UiPath Test Manager (2022-02-24 · RPA & Automation)
How to connect UiPath Studio to UiPath Test Manager, publish and link test cases, then run test cases and test sets and monitor their results in Orchestrator.
Scraping Context (Categories, Topics and Entities) From Websites Using TextRazor and Python (2022-02-03 · Python Automation)
How to use the TextRazor API and Python to extract the entities, topics and categories that describe the content of a website.
Making a SOAP API Call in Python, Using a Session Key (2022-01-31 · Python Automation)
How to call a legacy SOAP API in Python with the zeep library using session keys, closing the session safely and loading the response into a pandas dataframe.
Starting a K2 Workflow from UiPath (2022-01-04 · RPA & Automation)
A workaround for starting a K2 workflow from UiPath by calling the K2 Workflow REST API with an HTTP Request activity and a templated JSON request body.
Things I wish I knew Before my First Power Automate Hyperautomation Implementation (2021-11-19 · Power Platform)
Lessons learnt from a first enterprise Power Automate implementation: service accounts, default resolution, API limits, licensing, exception logging, optimisation and AI Builder.
Using Power Automate as a Data Integration Tool with Excel (for Bulk Processing) (2021-10-22 · Power Platform)
How to use Power Automate to integrate SharePoint with an Azure Function for bulk Excel processing, using the HTTP action and saving the returned file to SharePoint.
Retrieving a List of Mail Senders From a Shared Mailbox (Using Outlook and Python) (2021-10-21 · Python Automation)
A Python script that uses Outlook (win32com) to pull sender names and email addresses from a shared mailbox and write them to Excel with pandas.
Working with SQL transactions in UiPath (2021-10-10 · RPA & Automation)
A comparison of SQL transactions and the UiPath Start Transaction activity, showing why errors don't always roll back in UiPath and why handling the transaction in a SQL stored procedure works better.
Connecting a Google Sheet to Power BI as a Data Source (2021-10-06 · Business Intelligence)
How to publish a Google Sheet to the web and connect it to Power BI as a data source using the Web connector, then shape the data in Power Query.
10 Tips for Optimising Power Automate Flows (2021-09-28 · Power Platform)
Ten practical tips for reducing the run time of Power Automate Desktop and Cloud flows, from removing disabled actions and waits to reworking nested loops and reusing sub-flows.
A Comparison Between UiPath and Power Automate (2021-09-27 · RPA & Automation)
A detailed comparison of UiPath and Power Automate, updated for 2026 with agentic automation, closed functionality gaps and new licensing, plus the original analysis of functionality, ease of use, development time, monitoring, scalability and cost.
In-Stream Excel Manipulation in .NET Core, using Azure Blob Storage and Azure Functions (2021-09-17 · Azure & Cloud)
Build a C# Azure Function that reads an Excel template from Azure Blob Storage, populates a table with ClosedXML from the request body and returns the file in stream.
Creating an Azure Blob Storage Resource and Container (2021-09-17 · Azure & Cloud)
A step-by-step guide to creating an Azure resource group, Blob Storage account and container, uploading files and retrieving connection strings and access keys.
Using Google Drive, Google Sheets and Python in Google Colaboratory to Automate Rubric Creation and Synchronisation (2021-08-01 · Python Automation)
Use a Google service account, Google Sheets and a Python script in Google Colab to create a rubric for every student and sync all marks into a class results sheet.
Retrieve Power Automate Flow Run Logs and Visualise in Power BI (2021-07-21 · Power Platform)
How to pull Power Automate flow run logs with the PowerApps PowerShell modules, export them to CSV and transform and visualise them in Power BI.
Getting Started With UiPath Insights Cloud (2021-07-14 · RPA & Automation)
A beginner's guide to setting up UiPath Insights on a cloud orchestrator: licensing and permissions, replicating template dashboards, building a new dashboard and setting up alerts.
Conditional Assigns in UiPath – Using The Shorthand IF Statement (2021-06-15 · RPA & Automation)
How to assign a variable conditionally in UiPath using the shorthand IF(condition, whenTrue, whenFalse) expression instead of an If activity block.
Automating Azure DevOps Project, Repository and Work Items Creation through UiPath (2021-05-25 · RPA & Automation)
How to create Azure DevOps projects, repositories and work items, and link work items, from UiPath by calling the Azure DevOps REST API with a personal access token.
Using SQL User-Defined Table Types in UiPath as a Component of a Data Exchange Architecture (2021-04-22 · RPA & Automation)
Explains SQL user-defined table types and data exchange architecture, then shows how to pass a UiPath DataTable to a stored procedure as a UDTT to join data in SQL.
Connecting Power BI to an Excel File Stored on Microsoft Teams, SharePoint or OneDrive as a Data Source (2021-03-18 · Business Intelligence)
How to connect Power BI to an Excel or CSV file stored on OneDrive, SharePoint or Microsoft Teams by converting the file link into a site URL for the SharePoint Folder connector.
YouTube Playlist Monitoring Using Python (2021-01-21 · Python Automation)
How to get a YouTube Data API key and write a Python script that pages through a playlist's items and detects newly added videos, giving you a custom "item added to playlist" trigger.
Monitoring Gmail Inbox Using Python (2021-01-07 · Python Automation)
A step-by-step guide to monitoring a Gmail inbox or label with Python and imaplib: authenticating, searching by subject and extracting mail content, plus a Gmail API alternative.
The Use of Design Patterns in UiPath Processes (2020-12-08 · RPA & Automation)
How design patterns and principles like SOLID can be applied to structure UiPath processes into modular, maintainable groups of workflows that are easier to enhance.
Intelligent Development – Developing Intelligently (2020-11-25 · Et al.)
An opinion piece on "Intelligent Development": using DevOps concepts, pipelines and automation to build solutions that develop, maintain and enhance themselves.
Working With The UiPath Automation Hub API And Postman (Then Getting The Code) (2020-10-23 · RPA & Automation)
How to call the UiPath Automation Hub Open API from Postman – building the bearer token, adding headers, reading the response and generating reusable code.
Creating a Hamburger Menu for Filters in Power BI (2020-09-22 · Business Intelligence)
How to save report space in Power BI by hiding and showing a filter pane with a hamburger menu, using bookmarks, the selection pane and image actions.
Using Python for SQL Schema and Table Validation and Logging Progress to Microsoft Teams (2020-09-02 · Python Automation)
A Python script that validates SQL schemas, tables and primary keys, and posts the validation results to a Microsoft Teams channel via an incoming webhook.
Automating ASP.NET Core Web API Creation That Communicates With Your Database in 60 Seconds or Less (2020-08-10 · Python Automation)
A Python script that uses the dotnet CLI to create an ASP.NET Core Web API project, scaffold an existing SQL Server database and generate controllers automatically.
Using Power Automate with SQL Server (Primary keys that aren’t int) (2020-05-20 · Power Platform)
Why the Power Automate SQL Server trigger doesn't fire on tables with uniqueidentifier primary keys, and the simple fix: add an int identity column.
Look After The BAs! (2020-04-08 · Et al.)
A developer's reflection on appreciating Business Analysts in Agile and RPA teams, with practical tips for building a respectful, collaborative working relationship.
Uploading Files to Azure Blob Storage in UiPath Processes (2020-04-07 · RPA & Automation)
Step-by-step guide to registering an Azure app, creating a storage account and container, and uploading files to Azure Blob Storage from a UiPath process.
Auto-Format Code According to PEP 8 (2020-03-03 · Python Automation)
What PEP 8 is and how to automatically format Python code to comply with it, comparing the black and autopep8 libraries from the command line.
Setting up alerts on SQL Server Job Agent failures (2020-03-01 · Python Automation)
Use a Python script to check SQL Server Agent job statuses via msdb, filter for today's failures, send alerts and schedule the check with Task Scheduler.
The 5WH of Getting Started with Python (2020-02-19 · Python Automation)
The who, what, where, when, why and how of getting started with Python, from popular IDEs to ten key topics and example notebooks to learn first.
Using Python Through Command Line (2020-02-12 · Python Automation)
A beginner's crash course on running Python from the Windows command line: finding the right interpreter command, creating and running a script, and pip installing a library.
DIY Usage Monitoring with Python (2020-02-12 · Python Automation)
Build basic DIY server usage monitoring in Python with psutil, recording CPU, memory, drive usage and boot time to a CSV or SQL Server database, with simple alerting.
Finding the Python Interpreter Path (2020-01-28 · Python Automation)
How to find exactly which Python interpreter your IDE or terminal is using with a two-line script, so you pip install libraries to the right place.
Using The Microsoft Office 365 Activity For Sending Emails in UiPath (2020-01-27 · RPA & Automation)
How to send emails with attachments from UiPath using the Microsoft Office 365 Scope and Send Mail activities, including getting the Application and Tenant IDs from Azure.
Using The Python Activity in UiPath (2020-01-09 · RPA & Automation)
Learn how to invoke Python scripts from UiPath using the Python Scope, Load Python Script, Invoke Python Method and Get Python Object activities, passing parameters and returning results.
Who is The JPanda (2019-12-12 · About)
Meet The JPanda: how the nickname came about, plus Jacqui Muller’s education, certifications and career journey through data, BI and automation.