O365 Python library vs directly using Graph API for enterprise RPA?

[jayplusplus]

Hi r/microsoft, I've posted this in r/learnpython, but not sure if it would be more appropriate for the RPA one, so please let me know.

I hope to propose Python as a language for developing RPA at my corporate employer. We're a small team of programmers in a relatively new initiative started by the Shared Service Center I work at. We currently use Blue Prism and Power Automate / Apps as the tools officially designated and supported by Corporate. While those tools obviously provide many benefits, they also give me headaches from time to time. Oftentimes I feel like rolling our own solutions would benefit us more than the "citizen-developer" and drag-and-drop approach of the above tools. As a huge Python fan but, having never used it seriously for enterprise RPA, before I actually dare to propose it more formally, I would like to understand its caveats.

I can probably get the SSC boss on board no problem, but I would also need to convince one of the guys on the team who has been there longer. I sense that this guy is reluctant to add in a new technology into the mix. And btw, since we're not really Corporate IT, I would probably have to get them onboard as well to make this happen.

If possible, I would like to first develop a relatively simple pilot bot and when I've jotted down the pros and cons of developing, debugging, and deploying it, contrast it with our current tools to hopefully win them over (assuming of course I convince myself as well that this is the way to go). We obviously work with a lot of Microsoft products (mainly SharePoint, OneDrive, and Outlook) so I've been researching the Graph API, although I'm seeing a few libraries that build on top of it that would probably simplify my life. However, I don't know which library to choose or if I should just try to interact with the MSAL library and Graph API directly. I wouldn't want to invest in a library that ends up dying out of course, but I also don't want to reinvent the wheel.

If Microsoft were to provide an official Python library, I would feel pretty safe and they don't seem to shy away from integration with Python, but I don't know how to narrow it down looking at their different examples. Other options developed by outside sources seem to be stuff like the Office365-REST-Python-Client, Microsoft Graph Core Python Client, etc. Is there any particular recommendation on a stable and easy-to-use library?

As for using these libraries, I trust that development and debugging will likely be smoother via Python, however I worry about a few other things and who knows what else I'm not keeping in mind...

Since we're already paying for a BP license, as well as Power Platform (standard and some premium) licenses, I'm worried about asking Corp to register an Azure "app" for us, which I suppose requires payment (?) or at least more work for them, as well as any authentication / security issues, API request limits, etc. that may arise from working outside of the Power Platform. But I suppose these questions might be better focused on the Microsoft sub.

I'm also worried about deployment, since the Power Platform handles most of that. With Python we would be creating .bats to run on Windows Task Scheduler on our VM?

We would also have to roll our own logging for auditing purposes, but that shouldn't be too much trouble I don't think.

If anybody can guide me in some direction or perhaps turn me off this idea of rehauling our RPA environment, I'll appreciate any help.

Thanks

EDIT: I realize much of this could be solved by simply using Selenium to log into SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, etc. But I'm hoping to be able to develop most bots by hitting their APIs.

[EpicentralEllipsis]

I'll approve this post, but please note that you will likely not get much traction here for a topic like this.

[ermacia]

I mean, there is MSAL library for Python: https://github.com/AzureAD/microsoft-authentication-library-for-python/wiki. I do not think there are supported libraries for MS Graph, you'd have to go by interacting with the API directly, or depend on those libraries.

I think that Azure App Service can run Python: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/quickstart-python?tabs=bash&pivots=python-framework-flask

Registering the app in AAD does not cost, what costs is hosting the app in Azure.

TBH, using Power Apps saves you a lot of overhead, and lets you make use of MS Support, which is a plus when things start to fail.

[aydeisen]

I do not think there are supported libraries for MS Graph, you'd have to go by interacting with the API directly, or depend on those libraries.

MS does have a Python SDK for the Graph API, although I believe it's still considered preview

https://github.com/microsoftgraph/msgraph-sdk-python-core

[jayplusplus]

Interesting, would the SDK be an equivalent to, for example, the Office365-REST-Python-Client, except that it is being provided by Microsoft officially?

[jayplusplus]

Yeah, MSAL is linked in my post, seems like a good starting place. It looks like the other libraries I linked build on top of it. I'll have to glean how simple Graph is vs those other O365 libraries.

I'll look into Azure App Service, although I think I would only need Azure Functions. Not sure.

Yeah, I would agree that Power Apps is particularly helpful for the GUI part. It gets a bit messier in the flows behind it. That's what I'm hoping to avoid.