More governance and optimized operation: Embraer's journey with low-code Power Platform solutions

Every ten seconds, an Embraer aircraft takes off somewhere on the planet. A leader in the manufacture of commercial jets of up to 150 seats and main exporter of high value-added goods in Brazil, the company designs, develops, manufactures and markets aircraft and systems.

The company was accustomed to a growing number of applications being developed in different areas, but with very localized initiatives in different teams, without an exchange of knowledge.

Solutions based on Microsoft 365 and Power Platform

In collaboration with Microsoft, Embraer enabled the Microsoft 365 suite and the Power Platform, a set of low-code integrated tools that provides agility for creating solutions and helps optimize operations for 15,000 users.

"Microsoft 365 has brought us a lot of tools, and integration with the Power Platform has been a differentiator: communication is much simpler, and the learning curve is faster," says Milton Neto, IT architect at Embraer.

Low code optimizing an operation that transcends time zones

According to Anderson Ghuerren, Embraer pilot and instructor, the tools were applied to support the pilots' work, starting with a standardized and structured storage on SharePoint to monitor passports, licenses and medical exams – critical to the industry.

"The first process was a staff update, we structured it so that everyone could consume from the same database. This added value, each user was responsible for a small area, and the manager had a view of everything," he explains.

The next step was to develop small processes in the platform to optimize the operation of the teams and, consequently, for the company.

One of the activities of Embraer pilots is training other pilots worldwide when the company sells an aircraft. Previously, this procedure was carried out by completing a performance sheet that constituted a dossier; considering the different locations and time zones that this work covers, it was a costly process for the user and did not grant real-time monitoring for managers.

"This used to be done in Word, now it's done with Power Apps and it's much faster. The manager can follow-up on the job without having to be in contact with the employee, who has gained autonomy. I can still use these data to generate a report in Power BI," he says. Anderson's team currently has 30 reports in Power BI, 25 processes mapped in Power Apps, and 60 flows in Power Automate.

Tools empowering teams and strengthening company governance

"As a user-manager of these tools, the agility and the possibility of managing with a tool developed in the area makes management much easier – the gain is unbelievable. Everything is on the network and integrated, whether I want to design or change a report, I have autonomy for that – and that's just the beginning," Anderson adds.

Milton assesses that the solution helped connect the teams to the whole company, improving communication and knowledge exchange while improving operation.

"This entire process was critical to identifying professionals who were developing something in isolation, unaware of the monthly Microsoft training available," he says. "We were able to work as facilitators for the Business area," he adds.

Milton also assesses the partnership positively. "With Microsoft, I've always received very attentive and in-depth service on the tools, which has helped us to build and equalize environments," he celebrates.

Embraer's next step is to be able to cover areas that are not yet familiar with the solution to identify opportunities and match developers' level of knowledge.