Accelerating Digital Transformation: Axis Bank’s Success with Microsoft Power Platform

Axis Bank sought to modernize critical workflows and reduce reliance on manual, email-driven processes across branch operations, audit, finance, and compliance. Limited visibility, slower coordination, and fragmented systems increased reporting effort and constrained operational efficiency across functions.

To address this, Axis Bank partnered with Microsoft to establish a Power Apps Centre of Excellence (CoE) and scale Microsoft Power Platform across the organization. The CoE enabled secure, enterprise-grade app development through standardized components, governance frameworks, and reusable engineering practices.

In two years, Axis Bank built over 120 solutions used by 50,000+ employees, improving turnaround times, governance, and employee experience. The bank is now expanding AI-driven automation and Copilot usage to build a scalable, future-ready digital ecosystem grounded in measurable business value.

Axis Bank serves over 59 million customers through more than 6100 branches and a robust digital ecosystem. With a strong focus on innovation and customer-centric solutions, the bank delivers a comprehensive portfolio of retail, corporate, and wealth services.

Backed by a strong balance sheet and leadership in digital payments, Axis Bank continues to shape the future of modern banking in India through advanced technology platforms and a sustained commitment to operational excellence.

Manual workflows constrained speed, visibility, and governance

As Axis Bank scaled its operations, a few workflows continued to rely on manual, email-based, and spreadsheet-driven processes. Across branch operations, audit, finance, compliance and approvals had minimal structured tracking, resulting in limited visibility, slower coordination, and increased execution timelines. Information spread across multiple systems also increased the effort required for reporting and cross-functional collaboration.

At the same time, reliance on vendor-dependent platforms limited flexibility and increased turnaround times as regulatory and business requirements evolved. Axis Bank recognized the need for a unified low-code platform and developed strong in-house engineering capability to deliver secure, scalable, enterprise-grade workflows.

A scalable foundation for rapid solution development

Axis Bank’s low-code journey began with a regulatory mandate to centralize and manage policies across the organization. Choosing to build internally, the bank used Microsoft Power Platform to deliver a centralized policy repository app in just six weeks. This simplified policy management, enabled faster updates, and strengthened audit readiness, which are critical outcomes in a regulated banking environment.

This early success served as a catalyst for the bank to formalize its low-code capabilities through a dedicated Power Platform Centre of Excellence (CoE). Supported by Microsoft-led training, certifications, and engineering guidance, the CoE emerged as the primary driver of the bank’s Power Platform strategy. In this regard, Avinash Raghavendra, President and Head of Information Technology & Retail Operations, said, “Our adoption of the Microsoft Power Platform is not just about technology, it’s about outcomes. We’ve built a scalable, resilient architecture that allows us to deliver production-ready apps at speed. By reducing cycle times and strengthening governance, we are supporting consistent and sustainable digital transformation across the organization.”

“Our adoption of the Microsoft Power Platform is not just about technology, it’s about outcomes. We’ve built a scalable, resilient architecture that allows us to deliver production-ready apps at speed. By reducing cycle times and strengthening governance, we are supporting consistent and sustainable digital transformation across the organization.”

Avinash Raghavendra, President and Head of Information Technology & Retail Operations, Axis Bank

Governance and quality assurance were reinforced through structured app reviews that provided code quality and optimization insights. The Power Platform CoE Toolkit enabled centralized visibility into apps and flows, while a Power Platform App Lifecycle Management (ALM) setup supported controlled, regulated, scalable app deployments across environments.

A centralized Super App offered a single access point to all Power Platform solutions across the organization. Engineering foundations were further strengthened through structured practices, reusable component libraries, and secure integration frameworks using Azure Functions and Virtual Network connectivity. These were implemented in collaboration with Celebal Technologies, who helped accelerate the execution of Axis Bank’s Power Platform strategy, enabling the development and deployment of critical medium to large-scale apps. Commenting on this approach, Srikanth Ramasubramanian, Senior Vice President, Head of Enterprise AI Group, highlighted, “By leveraging a low-code approach, our teams can respond faster to business needs while continuously strengthening internal development capabilities. Power Apps has democratized app development, enabling business teams to solve problems at speed.”

“By leveraging a low-code approach, our teams can respond faster to business needs while continuously strengthening internal development capabilities. Power Apps has democratized app development, enabling business teams to solve problems at speed.”

Srikanth Ramasubramanian, Senior Vice President, Head of Enterprise AI Group, Axis Bank

Empowering innovation at every level

The bank conducted two enterprise-wide hackathons to accelerate adoption across business functions, generating more than 60 ideas, several of which have progressed to production. Axis Bank has also enabled citizen development as a core part of its low-code strategy, training over 1,000 employees on Power Platform and building a robust portfolio of citizen-developed apps now in active use. Pratap Rajput, Vice President of Axis Bank shared, “Developing apps through Power Platform has been a transformative learning experience. By building solutions like Office Order, Hand Over/Take Over, Prashnottari, and the Centralised Govt. Business Repository, we are delivering tangible, high impact improvements for frontline branch teams.”

"Developing apps through Power Platform has been a transformative learning experience. By building solutions like Office Order, Hand Over/Take Over, Prashnottari, and the Centralised Govt. Business Repository, we are delivering tangible, high impact improvements for frontline branch teams."

Pratap Rajput, Vice President, Axis Bank

Delivering measurable business impact

Accelerating operations by 40% across the ecosystem

With the adoption of Microsoft Power Platform, the bank modernized more than 120 solutions processing over 100,000 transactions each month and reduced operational latency by 40%. Standardized workflows, centralized data, and strong governance strengthened compliance outcomes, including enhanced due diligence, while reducing development overhead and dependency on external vendors. Reflecting on this transformation, Sriram Mohan, Senior Vice President, AI Delivery and Solution Management, noted, “Establishing the Power Platform CoE has changed how we design, build, and scale digital capabilities across the bank. With Microsoft’s platform and our governance in place, we are now delivering solutions faster, more securely, and with greater consistency."

“Establishing the Power Platform CoE has changed how we design, build, and scale digital capabilities across the bank. With Microsoft’s platform and our governance in place, we are now delivering solutions faster, more securely, and with greater consistency.”

Sriram Mohan, Senior Vice President, AI Delivery and Solution Management, Axis Bank

Modernizing business-critical workflows with Power Platform

Axis Bank has digitized a wide range of business-critical workflows. A few key use cases are listed below:

Centralized EDD: Centralizes all customer transaction alerts and enables tracking of due-diligence activities
Process Health Management: Tracks the documentation of all process changes and the approval flows in the bank
E-Register: Eliminates physical registers across Retail Asset Centers
Offer Authoring Tool: Provides a unified platform for configuration and approval of customer offers
Morpho Devices Management: Enables tracking of biometric Morpho devices, including request raising, status monitoring, and device movement
Budget Management: Enables seamless budget requests for both CAPEX and OPEX
Claims Connect: Integrates processes for submitting, routing, and tracking internal asset insurance claims
Audit Workflow Management System: Digitizes audit planning, response management, and reporting processes
Statutory Notices Management: Centralizes tracking of regulatory statutory notices
Independent Cash Verification: Enables automated cash verification across all branches with digital workflows and centralized MIS
Cross-border Account Opening: Provides centralized workflow for international account onboarding with India-based verification
Disaster Recovery Management: Manages DR governance and execution of drills in alignment with regulatory norms

These solutions highlight how Axis Bank is leveraging the Microsoft Power Platform to accelerate digital transformation. Speaking about the impact, Yogessh R Agarwal, Senior Vice President, Head of Branch Process & Control Support, shared, “Power Apps has accelerated operations by automating routine processes and enabling solutions to be built in weeks. This has delivered 40% efficiency gains and empowered operational teams to conceptualize and build their own digital solutions.”

“Power Apps has accelerated operations by automating routine processes and enabling solutions to be built in weeks. This has delivered 40% efficiency gains and empowered operational teams to conceptualize and build their own digital solutions.”

Yogessh R Agarwal, Senior Vice President, Head of Branch Process & Control Support, Axis Bank

Building a future-ready, intelligent operating model

Axis Bank operates at Level 400 maturity in the Power Platform Adoption Maturity Model. The bank is strengthening governance, standardizing reusable components, and ensuring secure, scalable development across the enterprise. By expanding Copilot usage, enhancing AI Builder capabilities, and embedding responsible AI practices, Axis Bank is building a self-sustaining, future-ready operating model grounded in compliance and continuous optimization.