Getting Started with Azure Logic Apps

What Are Azure Logic Apps?

Azure Logic Apps is a cloud-based platform for creating and running automated workflows that integrate your apps, data, services, and systems. Whether you need to process orders, send notifications, or synchronise data between systems, Logic Apps provides a low-code/no-code designer alongside a code-first experience.

Official Documentation: Azure Logic Apps overview

Consumption vs Standard

There are two hosting models:

Microsoft Reference: Single-tenant vs multi-tenant vs ISE

When to Use Logic Apps

Logic Apps is ideal for:

• System Integration — Connecting SaaS applications, on-premises systems, and Azure services
• Data Transformation — Converting between formats (JSON, XML, CSV, flat files)
• B2B Workflows — EDI, AS2, X12, and EDIFACT message processing
• Event-Driven Automation — Responding to events from Event Grid, Service Bus, or IoT Hub
• Approval Workflows — Human-in-the-loop processes with email or Teams approvals
• Scheduled Jobs — Recurring data synchronisation, report generation, and maintenance tasks

Logic Apps vs Other Azure Integration Services

Service	Best For
Logic Apps	Visual workflow orchestration with 400+ connectors
Azure Functions	Custom code-first event-driven compute
Power Automate	Business user automation with Microsoft 365
Azure Data Factory	Large-scale data movement and ETL
Service Bus	Reliable messaging and message queuing
Event Grid	Reactive event-based pub/sub

Microsoft Reference: Choose an Azure integration service

Creating Your First Logic App

Via the Azure Portal

1. Navigate to the Azure Portal and select Create a Resource
2. Search for Logic App and choose the hosting plan that fits your needs
3. Configure the basics: subscription, resource group, name, and region
4. For Standard, select the Workflow Service Plan (WS1 for development, WS2/WS3 for production)
5. Once deployed, open the Logic App Designer

Quickstart: Create a Consumption Logic App

Via Azure CLI

# Create a Consumption Logic App
az logic workflow create \
  --resource-group rg-integration-dev \
  --name la-order-processing-dev \
  --location uksouth \
  --definition @workflow.json

# Create a Standard Logic App (App Service-based)
az logicapp create \
  --resource-group rg-integration-dev \
  --name la-standard-dev \
  --storage-account stlogicappdev \
  --plan asp-logicapp-dev \
  --runtime-version ~4

Via Bicep

resource logicApp 'Microsoft.Logic/workflows@2019-05-01' = {
  name: 'la-order-processing-${environment}'
  location: location
  identity: {
    type: 'SystemAssigned'
  }
  properties: {
    state: 'Enabled'
    definition: {
      '$schema': 'https://schema.management.azure.com/providers/Microsoft.Logic/schemas/2016-06-01/workflowdefinition.json#'
      contentVersion: '1.0.0.0'
      triggers: {}
      actions: {}
    }
  }
}

Triggers

Every workflow starts with a trigger. Triggers define how and when a workflow runs.

Polling Triggers

These check for data at regular intervals:

• Recurrence — Run on a schedule (e.g., every 5 minutes, daily at 9 AM)
• When a file is created or modified — SharePoint, OneDrive, FTP, Azure Blob
• When a new email arrives — Office 365, Outlook.com
• When items are created or modified — SQL Server, Dataverse, Cosmos DB

Push Triggers (Webhook)

These receive data instantly via callbacks:

• When an HTTP request is received — Expose your workflow as a REST endpoint
• When a Service Bus message is received — Queue or topic subscription
• When an Event Grid event occurs — React to Azure resource events
• When a message is received in a Teams channel — Microsoft Teams integration

Trigger Configuration

{
  "triggers": {
    "Recurrence": {
      "type": "Recurrence",
      "recurrence": {
        "frequency": "Hour",
        "interval": 1,
        "startTime": "2026-01-01T09:00:00Z",
        "timeZone": "GMT Standard Time"
      }
    }
  }
}

Microsoft Reference: Triggers and actions

Actions

After the trigger, add actions to perform tasks:

Initialize variable → HTTP → Parse JSON → Condition → Send Email

Each action receives inputs from previous steps via dynamic content or expressions.

Common Action Types

Action	Description
HTTP	Call any REST API
Parse JSON	Convert JSON payloads into typed properties
Compose	Build data structures and transform values
Initialize/Set Variable	Work with variables throughout the workflow
Condition	If/else branching
Switch	Multi-path branching based on a value
For Each	Iterate over arrays
Until	Loop until a condition is met
Scope	Group actions for error handling
Terminate	End the workflow with a status

Key Concepts

Concept	Description
Connectors	Pre-built integrations (1,000+) to services like SQL, SharePoint, Salesforce, and SAP
Expressions	Inline functions using @{expression} syntax for data manipulation
Run History	View past executions, inputs, outputs, and error details
Managed Identity	Authenticate to Azure services without storing credentials
Concurrency Control	Limit parallel trigger runs (1–50 for Consumption)
Trigger Conditions	Expressions that must evaluate to true for the trigger to fire
Secure Inputs/Outputs	Obfuscate sensitive data in run history
Integration Account	Required for B2B, EDI, and enterprise integration scenarios

Managed Identity

Logic Apps supports both system-assigned and user-assigned managed identities for authenticating to Azure resources without storing credentials:

Logic App → Managed Identity → Azure Key Vault / SQL / Storage / Service Bus

Supported resources include Key Vault, Azure SQL, Blob Storage, Service Bus, Event Hubs, Azure Functions, and API Management.

Microsoft Reference: Authenticate with managed identities

Naming Conventions

Follow the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework naming convention:

la-{workload}-{environment}-{region}

Examples:

• la-order-processing-dev-uksouth
• la-invoice-sync-prod-ukwest

Pricing

Consumption

• Actions: ~£0.000020 per execution
• Standard connectors: ~£0.000096 per execution
• Enterprise connectors: ~£0.000768 per execution
• Integration Account: From ~£300/month (Basic)

Standard

• WS1: ~£140/month (1 vCPU, 3.5 GB RAM)
• WS2: ~£280/month (2 vCPU, 7 GB RAM)
• WS3: ~£560/month (4 vCPU, 14 GB RAM)
• Plus per-execution charges on built-in and managed connector operations

Microsoft Reference: Logic Apps pricing

Next Steps

• Explore the Logic Apps expressions guide
• Learn about error handling patterns
• Discover connectors and integration
• Master workflow patterns and control flow

Official Microsoft Resources

• Azure Logic Apps documentation
• Logic Apps pricing
• Logic Apps REST API reference
• Azure Integration Services
• Logic Apps samples on GitHub
• Azure Logic Apps Q&A