How a Company in London Automated Marketing Summaries Saving 16+ Hours Weekly with Microsoft Foundry

In today’s fast-paced marketing environment, spending excessive manual hours on routine reporting is a costly bottleneck. 🚀 A London-based technology startup faced this exact challenge: their marketing team was dedicating more than 16 hours each week manually compiling marketing summaries using Microsoft Foundry. This manual process was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors and delays, limiting their agility and strategic focus.

In this case study, we explore how RestFlow partnered with the client to analyze, design, and implement a seamless automation workflow leveraging Microsoft Foundry integrated with powerful automation platforms such as n8n. You’ll learn practical steps and a detailed architectural breakdown of the end-to-end workflow that transformed a tedious manual task into an automated, efficient process — saving time, reducing errors, and enhancing data visibility.

Whether you are a startup CTO, an automation engineer, or an operations specialist, this case study reveals actionable insights on building scalable marketing automation workflows integrating CRMs, reporting tools, and communication services. Read on to discover a real-world automation success story that improves marketing productivity in London’s competitive tech scene.

The Problem: Inefficiencies in Marketing Summary Creation

The client is a London-based SaaS startup operating in the technology sector, with a dynamic marketing department responsible for performance analysis and summary reporting. Their main challenge was compiling weekly marketing summaries for stakeholder review and decision-making.

Prior to automation, the marketing analysts manually aggregated data from Microsoft Foundry, exported raw reports, consolidated figures in spreadsheets, and created summary decks. This process took over 16 hours weekly — amounting to roughly 64 hours per month — which represented a costly drain on resources. Not only was it tedious, but human error introduced inconsistencies, resulting in critical delays sometimes missing important stakeholder meetings.

The lack of an automated pipeline meant reports had low visibility across teams, and the marketing leadership could not react quickly to campaign insights. This inefficiency impacted customer engagement strategies and stretched the small marketing operations team thin, reducing their capacity to focus on higher-value strategic tasks.

Our Approach: Discovery, Mapping, and Automation Proposal

RestFlow began by conducting detailed process mapping workshops with the client’s marketing and operations teams to understand the current workflow in depth. We identified each manual step, key data sources, and pain points. Additionally, we analyzed APIs and integration options of Microsoft Foundry alongside other marketing tools the client used, such as Google Sheets, Slack, and their CRM.

Based on this discovery, we proposed an Automation-as-a-Service solution utilizing the n8n workflow automation platform. We chose n8n for its open-source flexibility, strong API integration capabilities, and easy extensibility, which matched the client’s evolving needs.

The high-level architecture proposed consisted of scheduled triggers fetching data from Microsoft Foundry, automating data validation, transformation, and aggregation in Google Sheets, generating summarized reports, and dispatching notifications via Slack and email to stakeholders.

This approach promised a modular, scalable, and maintainable automation pipeline backed by RestFlow’s full-service model: design, implementation, hosting, monitoring, and maintenance.

The Solution: Architecture & Workflow

Global Architecture Overview

The automation centralizes around an n8n orchestration workflow with the following core components:

• Trigger: Scheduled cron jobs initiate data fetches weekly from Microsoft Foundry APIs.
• Data Integration: Microsoft Foundry as the primary source of marketing data.
• Data Validation & Transformation: Data is parsed and cleaned, using conditional logic to handle missing or irregular entries.
• Aggregation & Storage: Results pushed to Google Sheets acting as a dynamic data store and dashboard.
• Notifications: Slack messages and email summaries sent to marketing managers and executives.
• Logging and Error Handling: Errors logged and alerts sent via Slack channels monitored by RestFlow.

End-to-End Workflow Description

On every Monday at 7 AM GMT, a cron node triggers the n8n workflow:

1. Fetch Raw Marketing Data: n8n calls Microsoft Foundry API endpoints fetching campaign performance metrics across channels.
2. Validate & Clean Data: Data undergoes validation with filters to discard incomplete records and format corrections applied using JavaScript functions.
3. Aggregate Metrics: The workflow performs calculations like total impressions, click-through rates, and conversion summaries.
4. Update Google Sheets: Using the Google Sheets node, aggregated results overwrite a summary spreadsheet accessible by stakeholders.
5. Notify Stakeholders: A Slack node posts a summary message in the marketing channel with report highlights and a link to the spreadsheet.
6. Send Email Reports: Finally, an SMTP node sends an automated email to the marketing leadership with PDF exports attached.

This orchestration eliminates manual export-import chores and accelerates report dissemination with near real-time visibility.

Step-by-Step Node Breakdown 🚀

1. Cron Trigger Node

Role: Starts the workflow at the scheduled time.
Configured as a weekly trigger every Monday at 07:00 UTC.
Key configuration: Uses ISO cron expression (0 7 * * 1). This ensures timely reporting every week.

2. Microsoft Foundry API Call Node

Role: Fetches marketing data via REST API.
Input: Authenticated GET requests to Foundry’s campaign metrics endpoints.
Configuration: Uses OAuth2 credentials securely stored in n8n. Filters applied via URL parameters to retrieve data from last week only.
Output: JSON array of raw campaign performance data.

3. Data Filter & Validation Node

Role: Processes and validates incoming data.
Employs conditional expressions to remove records lacking essential fields (e.g., missing impressions).
JavaScript function nodes normalize metric formats and calculate derived fields like conversion rates.

4. Aggregation and Calculation Node

Role: Summarizes data across campaigns.
Calculates totals, averages, and rates.
Outputs a flat object structured for spreadsheet insertion.

5. Google Sheets Update Node ✨

Role: Overwrites the marketing summary sheet.
Maps metrics to cells using JSON path expressions.
Configured with OAuth credentials and scoped API keys.
Enables dynamic update of dashboards accessible company-wide.

6. Slack Notification Node

Role: Posts summary and alert messages to the #marketing Slack channel.
Includes key KPIs and a direct link to the Google Sheet.
Uses webhook URL with scoped permissions for secure posting.

7. SMTP Email Node

Role: Sends weekly email reports with attached PDFs.
Configured with company SMTP server.
Dynamic fields populate recipient list based on marketing leadership emails stored in CRM.

Error Handling, Robustness & Security

Error Detection and Retries

The workflow incorporates try-catch nodes for error capture at API calls and data processing steps.
Retries use exponential backoff with up to 3 attempts.
Failed workflows trigger Slack alerts to the operations channel.

Logging and Observability

All execution logs are captured in n8n’s integrated monitoring dashboard.
Custom logging records critical metrics in a Google Sheet for audit purposes.
Regular reports summarize error frequency and resolution status.

Idempotency & Duplicate Prevention

Using timestamp-based filters, the workflow discards duplicate data.
Google Sheets updates are atomic, preventing partial writes.

Security Practices

• API credentials and tokens are stored securely in n8n’s credentials manager with encryption.
• Minimum required scopes are applied for API integrations.
• All PII data such as email addresses is encrypted in transit.
• Access control ensures only authorized users can modify workflows or credentials.

Performance, Scaling & Extensibility

As marketing data volumes grow, the workflow design adapts by:

• Batch processing large datasets via pagination in API calls.
• Parallelizing independent campaign data fetches using concurrent n8n executions.
• Switching from scheduled polling to webhook triggers when Microsoft Foundry supports event-based updates, enhancing realtime capabilities.
• Modularizing the workflow to add new channels or campaigns without disrupting core processes.

RestFlow’s managed hosting ensures workflows remain stable even at scale, with monitoring triggered by threshold breaches such as API latency increases.

Comparison Tables

n8n vs Make vs Zapier for This Use Case

Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free self-host / Paid managed	Highly customizable, open-source, strong API flexibility, unlimited workflows	Requires technical setup for self-hosting, learning curve
Make (Integromat)	Starts free; paid plans scale with operations	Visual builder, many prebuilt integrations, good for complex logic	Can become costly at high volumes; limited open-source control
Zapier	Paid subscription based; limited free tier	User friendly, quick setup, vast integrations	Limited advanced logic; expensive for heavy workloads

Webhook vs Polling for Marketing Data Integration

Method	Latency	Resource Efficiency	Reliability
Webhook	Near real-time	Efficient, no unnecessary requests	Depends on sender uptime
Polling	Interval-based (e.g., hourly, daily)	Less efficient; many empty calls	More controlled, retry possible

Google Sheets vs Database for Marketing Summary Storage

Storage Option	Setup Complexity	Accessibility	Scalability
Google Sheets	Minimal; ready to use	Easy for non-technical teams	Suitable for small to medium datasets
Database (SQL/NoSQL)	More setup and maintenance	Requires technical access or APIs	Highly scalable for large volumes

Curious how these automation patterns can unlock value for your team? Explore the Automation Template Marketplace to jumpstart your next project.

Results and Business Impact

After implementation, the client reports significant benefits:

• Time Savings: Over 16 hours saved per week, freeing marketing analysts to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Error Reduction: Data inconsistencies dropped by 95%, improving confidence in report accuracy.
• Faster Reporting: Weekly summaries are generated automatically by 7 AM Monday, enabling timely decision-making.
• Enhanced Visibility: Centralized Google Sheets dashboard accessible to all stakeholders improved transparency across teams.
• Improved Stakeholder Satisfaction: Regular Slack notifications and emails ensure stakeholders stay informed.

Staff feedback highlights decreased manual burden and better work-life balance, while executives value the agility gained in marketing performance tracking.

The client anticipates extending this automation approach to other operational processes in SaaS growth stages. Automation-as-a-Service with RestFlow has empowered a transformative leap in their marketing operations.

Pilot Phase & Ongoing Maintenance Disclaimer

Throughout the initial rollout, a pilot phase was conducted to run the workflow in controlled conditions using live but limited data. This stage enabled us to identify and fix minor bugs, optimize error handling, and confirm performance.

Following the successful pilot, RestFlow assumed full responsibility for managed hosting, ongoing monitoring, workflow updates, and regular audits to keep the automation stable and responsive to changing business needs.

Automation is an evolving journey; initial deployments require refinement, and RestFlow’s end-to-end Automation-as-a-Service ensures clients benefit from continuous improvements without operational disruption.

Conclusion

This case study highlights how a London technology startup overcame a significant inefficiency by automating their manual marketing summary creation that consumed over 16 hours weekly. Through RestFlow’s strategic automation design leveraging Microsoft Foundry APIs, n8n orchestration, and integrations with Google Sheets and Slack, the client realized substantial time savings, error reduction, and improved reporting agility.

RestFlow’s Automation-as-a-Service delivered full-cycle support — from initial process discovery to robust workflow implementation and ongoing managed hosting — empowering the client to focus on high-impact marketing strategy rather than repetitive manual tasks. If your marketing team faces similar challenges, adopting an integrated automation workflow is a proven solution to transform productivity and data-driven decision-making.

Take the first step to accelerate your marketing operations now: Explore the Automation Template Marketplace or Create Your Free RestFlow Account to start building your automation workflows today.