1. Case Overview
- Implemented Solution
- Microsoft Power Automate Desktop
- Client Industry
- Financial Services
- Location
- New York, NY, United States
2. Implementation Background
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB) is a major Japanese trust bank belonging to the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. At the MUTB New York branch, the expansion of new business led to a rapid increase in tasks that the existing systems could not handle. Although staff had been managing these tasks manually, the situation had reached its limits. Meanwhile, the IT department was already handling numerous projects and lacked personnel for new system development. The growing number of small, diverse tasks was not well suited for IT-driven problem-solving and had become a persistent challenge.
In response, MUTB began exploring user-driven, low-code and low-cost automation solutions such as RPA. Ultimately, the company selected and decided to implement Power Automate Desktop as its new automation platform.
Customer Feedback
Shigehiro Wakamoto
As our operations expanded, the manual processes occurring daily became a significant burden. Over the course of about three months, we conducted an internal industry survey covering more than 30 financial institutions and learned that low-code/no-code technologies were becoming a major trend in operational efficiency. Initially, we were exploring different tools, but after Mr. Yamashita and Mr. Ito at SYSCOM recommended that “Power Automate Desktop can deliver the same capabilities,” we also learned that Microsoft was rapidly climbing in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant.
When we started small-scale internal learning sessions for Power Automate Desktop we succeeded in reducing approximately 1,000 hours annually within just two months. After presenting these results internally, inquiries surged not only from engineers but also from non-technical staff asking how they could participate. In March 2024, the General Manager decided to formalize the initiative as an official project and established a dedicated team.
3. Reasons for Selecting Power Automate Desktop
Selecting tools that were both easy for frontline staff to use and highly compatible with existing IT assets was critical to the project’s success. As MUTB already held Microsoft 365 licenses, Power Automate Desktop—with its no-code/low-code capabilities—quickly emerged as a leading candidate.
In day-to-day operations, teams frequently worked with Excel, Outlook, external web applications, and even legacy systems. Power Automate Desktop demonstrated strong compatibility across these platforms, enabling efficient automation of end-to-end processes. In particular, its seamless integration with Excel and Outlook allowed teams to leverage the wide range of prebuilt actions available in Power Automate Desktop to accelerate development. Its scalability, stability, active and extensive user community, and user-friendly design from an end-user perspective were also key advantages. Another significant benefit was its broad coverage, encompassing virtually all desktop-based operations.
Moreover, Power Automate Desktop offered flexibility by allowing scripts to be incorporated when more granular control was required, while still maintaining an intuitive user interface that even non-technical employees can use with confidence. These characteristics made Power Automate Desktop especially well-suited to enabling frontline teams to independently address the “high-mix, low-volume” tasks that had long posed a challenge for MUTB.
Customer Feedback
Kenji Takayanagi
The financial industry is highly regulated, with strict requirements for security and governance. Because Power Automate Desktop is built on the Microsoft 365 platform, it was easier to organize and address security‑related considerations.
From a governance perspective, it was essential to adopt a tool that could support a robust governance framework, especially given past challenges such as the dependence on individual employees for VBA macros. By leveraging the Power Platform Center of Excellence, we were able to establish an internal management structure that helps mitigate operational risks, which was another key factor in approving the implementation.
Through these efforts, we achieved a sustainable automation program that balances strong governance with flexibility while eliminating the risks associated with person‑dependent processes.
4. Implementation Results
180 Automation Flows
15,000 Hours of Automated Work
60+ Citizen Developers
With the introduction of Power Automate Desktop, a visual, drag‑and‑drop development environment was established, enabling a greater number of employees to automate and maintain their own workflows as citizen developers. This not only reduced dependence on individual staff members but also made it possible for teams to drive continuous improvement directly at the operational level.
An example of an automated workflow includes the following steps:
・Extracting transaction confirmation details from emails or external web applications
・Recording the information in the internal blotter (transaction log)
・Entering the data into the trading management system
Over the course of a year and a half, MUTB NY Branch created approximately 180 automation flows, achieving around 15,000 hours of automated work. Power Automate Desktop proved particularly effective in three key areas:
・Automating system inputs and data uploads/downloads
・Automating report creation involving large data sets
・Performing data consistency checks
As employees achieved successful automations, their results were shared across the organization, generating momentum that encouraged others to participate. There is still significant room for further automation, and rapid progress is expected to continue.
Customer Feedback
Hatice Pak
At the beginning, the team consisted of only a few members, but by prioritizing in‑person hands‑on sessions, even employees with no IT experience quickly learned the tool and began using it effectively. As a result, more than 25 in‑person sessions were held, and the number of users grew from the initial three to over sixty. Notably, several employees with no coding background developed their skills to the point where they could build advanced flows.
Participation expanded beyond technically inclined staff, with many non‑engineers joining as well, fostering a company‑wide culture of digital transformation. We realized that taking the first step—and feeling “I can do this too”—along with support from colleagues, was essential.
In addition, professional support was also essential for building advanced and complex flows. The guidance provided by Kevin from SYSCOM was easy for non‑technical users to understand and was a tremendous help as we worked on developing more sophisticated automations.
Customer Feedback
Shigehiro Wakamoto
With the introduction of Power Automate Desktop, business teams were empowered to address their own challenges, significantly reducing reliance on the IT department. While governance was strengthened through the establishment of a Center of Excellence and formal frameworks, users also acquired technical knowledge and developed a shared language with IT, helping to narrow the psychological distance between the two groups.
Today, the organization has successfully embraced the Fusion Development model, fostering a culture in which IT and business teams work collaboratively. We are pleased to see that a foundation has now been established for sustainable digital transformation, where users with more advanced skills can partner closely with IT to drive further innovation.
In fact, as users’ IT literacy has improved—and as the IT side also became interested in the capabilities of Power Automate and Power Automate Desktop—this served as a catalyst for deeper dialogue. As a result, we have seen cases where legacy branch applications were retired and rebuilt collaboratively by IT and users on the Microsoft365 platform.
5. Positive Impact of the Project and Future Outlook
The project was highly regarded by the DX Promotion Division at MUTB’s headquarters—not only for its automation achievements but also for its governance efforts—and they received the Executive Officer Award for Administration in FY2024. As a result, the perception that “the New York branch is proactively driving automation” has spread widely across the organization, leading to an increase in inquiries not only from headquarters but also from MUFG U.S. affiliates.
While Power Automate Desktop, an attended RPA tool, currently sits at the center of their automation efforts, the success they have achieved with Power Automate Desktop has sparked strong interest in expanding automation even further. Many users are now expressing a strong desire to introduce unattended RPA tools, reflecting the growing momentum toward greater efficiency and labor savings as frontline‑driven automation becomes more established. They are also exploring hyper-automation—combining RPA with AI—to pursue even more advanced automation and are conducting PoCs to address governance considerations before moving toward implementation.
Customer Feedback
Brett Russo
The success of this initiative, in our view, is the result of several factors coming together.
First, strong support from senior management created an environment where users felt encouraged to actively leverage the tools. Second, with the guidance of SYSCOM experts, our staff were able to accelerate their learning and acquire new skills in a short period of time. Third, the working group steadily engaged more users from the bottom up, spreading adoption across the organization through town halls and regular meetings. Together, these elements allowed bottom-up enthusiasm and top-down control to reinforce each other, enabling us to internalize citizen development capabilities and establish a sustainable operating model within the company.
6. Project Members
Senior Account Executive: Yukihiko Ito
Business Solution General Manager: Makoto Yamashita
Supervisor: Mina Tomoyose
Project Manager / Consultant / Engineer: Kevin Iwahashi
Consultant / Engineer: Yuya Inuzuka, Eugene Wilkinson, Xiaoran Yu
7. Client Experience Working with SYSCOM
Customer Feedback
SYSCOM conducted an objective evaluation of a broad range of solutions and tools—including the hypothesis that Power Automate Desktop could be the optimal fit for our organization—and ultimately recommended the option that would deliver the greatest value to our users. Beyond addressing our immediate challenges, they also presented a forward-looking vision focused on developing user capabilities and outlining a clear path toward the Fusion Development model.
The engineers who worked onsite demonstrated exceptional communication skills and a deep understanding of our operations. They quickly built trust with our staff and drove the development process forward. As many of our employees have limited IT literacy and at times struggled to clearly articulate their business requirements, SYSCOM’s experts were able to draw out latent use cases embedded in day-to-day operations and translate them into tangible solutions through their strong communication capabilities. Looking ahead, we look forward to continuing our collaboration in areas such as IT skills training for our employees, further strengthening governance, and advancing initiatives in hyper-automation.
8. Conclusion
SYSCOM is a comprehensive IT solutions provider delivering optimal digital solutions to address our clients’ business challenges. Our services span the entire IT lifecycle—from solution planning and consulting through implementation and ongoing operations. Supported by experts across multiple domains, we approach each challenge from multiple perspectives to deliver effective outcomes.
As demonstrated in this case study, we maintain a structure that enables seamless and attentive support. Our engineers, project managers, and sales representatives work in close collaboration, ensuring clarity, consistency, and confidence for our clients throughout every stage of the engagement.
Beyond automation with Power Automate Desktop, we offer a broad portfolio of solutions tailored to diverse business needs, including ERP and CRM implementations, data collection, analysis, and forecasting, as well as new application development. For organizations seeking to improve operational efficiency or address specific challenges, we provide end-to-end support and welcome your inquiries.
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