See what large-scale low-code development looks like in practice. This customer story shows how KONE, a leader in the elevator and escalator industry, uses Microsoft Power Platform to build more than 32,000 applications, including an AI-driven workflow with SAP integration that processes over 54,000 contracts annually. Read the story to learn from KONE's experience.
How is KONE using Microsoft Power Platform to scale automation and AI?
KONE has used Microsoft Power Platform to **reimagine how automation and AI are built and scaled** across the company.
Some key points:
- They have created **over 32,000 applications and agents** on Power Platform, ranging from simple task automations to AI-driven workflows.
- There are now **more than 3,000 active makers** (citizen and professional developers) building solutions on a single, low-code platform.
- KONE migrated applications and **over 90 automation solutions** from other platforms to simplify the development landscape and reduce maintenance costs.
By consolidating on one low-code platform, KONE:
- Gives employees tools to build their own solutions and become more self-reliant.
- Provides a **unified environment** for IT and citizen developers with shared governance, security, and lifecycle management.
- Supports a strong maker community with training, hackathons, and a central app catalog that works like an internal app store.
This approach helps KONE move from idea to impact quickly, while keeping control and quality in place at enterprise scale.
What real business results is KONE seeing from AI and automation on Power Platform?
KONE is seeing measurable, repeatable business value from its Power Platform investments, especially where AI and automation intersect.
AI-driven contract processing
- An AI-powered workflow integrated with SAP now processes **over 54,000 contracts per year**.
- Handling time has been reduced from **about 30 minutes to under 10 minutes per contract**, a time reduction of roughly **two-thirds per contract**.
- The system automatically extracts text (including handwritten content) from documents in SharePoint, validates it against SAP records, flags deviations in a Power Apps interface, and then updates or creates contracts in SAP.
- It was built using **pre-built AI models in AI Builder**, without requiring advanced AI expertise.
Citizen-built operational improvements
- A legal director and performance manager built a contract management solution that improves visibility into bottlenecks and cycle times, speeding document processing and improving accuracy.
- A security guard with no software background used Power Apps and Power Automate to digitize a paper-based warehouse tracking process. The app now supports a team of **over 50 people** and saves employees **several hours per day**.
Across these use cases, KONE is using Power Platform to:
- Shorten process cycle times.
- Improve data accuracy and compliance.
- Free up employees from manual, repetitive work so they can focus on higher-value tasks.
How does KONE enable and govern its 3,000+ makers effectively?
KONE has built a structured yet flexible model to support more than **3,000 makers** on Power Platform, balancing empowerment with governance.
Structured onboarding and governance
- New makers go through a **structured onboarding process** with controlled environments to protect data and ensure quality.
- IT and citizen developers work in a **single, unified platform** with shared governance, security, and lifecycle management.
- Applications from other tools (including **90+ automations**) have been consolidated into Power Platform to simplify oversight.
Community, reuse, and transparency
- KONE runs **training, community events, and hackathons** to help employees become recognized citizen developers.
- A **centralized application catalog** acts like an internal app store, allowing makers to reuse and extend existing solutions instead of starting from scratch.
- Makers can post **time and cost savings** for their apps in the catalog, giving leadership clear metrics on business impact.
AI agent to guide makers
- KONE built an AI agent with **Copilot Studio** that connects to technical content in SharePoint and answers maker questions in natural language.
- The agent can generate **ready-to-use prompts** for Power Apps and Power Automate based on a simple description of the desired app, helping makers kick start development.
- It recognizes when custom connectors or advanced work are needed and flags that **IT support is required**, helping maintain governance.
- By integrating with the central solutions library, the agent can point makers to **existing similar solutions**, reducing duplication.
This combination of structured onboarding, community support, reuse, and AI-guided assistance helps KONE scale Power Platform safely while encouraging experimentation and collaboration.
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