Let's acquire some perspective before we talk about Microsoft Power Platform.
Microsoft Office 365 has already changed the way businesses cooperate, communicate, and get things done around the world.
Businesses have been revolutionizing their digital workplace with Office 365 for years, thanks to world-class security, hyper-accessible applications, and unrivalled mobility.
What Is Microsoft Power Platform?
Credit: Microsoft
It's natural for your thoughts to turn to how you can get more value out of your Office 365 investment as you progress through the implementation stage and into business as usual. Many companies are aware that they are barely scraping the surface of Office 365's capabilities.
At the very least, not for free.
You may use these three programmes to analyze, automate, and create custom applications. All of this without the significant lead times, weeks or months of development, or some of the accompanying costs.
Any data on your business can be analyzed in a matter of seconds. Internal analytics, CRM data, and even Google Analytics and Facebook numbers are all useful. To illustrate their meaning, you can combine them, slice and cut them, and create interactive visualizations.
The analysis is only the beginning. You'll be able to create smartphone and tablet apps in hours with the Power Platform. These apps will link to your data, allowing employees to interact with it from anywhere, and reducing the need for large development teams and long lead times.
Intelligent, flexible apps are now within reach of every organisation, regardless of size, thanks to the new Microsoft AI Builder.
When you add in strong and simple automation, it's clear to see why Microsoft named it the Power Platform.
Every day that you don't use any component of the Power Platform, you're not wasting money, but you're missing out on the benefits and true ROI that the applications may provide.
What does the Power Platform include?
The Power Platform is made up of three main apps, as previously stated. Power BI, PowerApps, and Power Automate are the three tools. What do they all do, though?
PowerApps
The concept of creating a custom smartphone or tablet app for their company is a pipe dream for most. A pricey fantasy. In the past, it would have included a development team, extensive lead times, and inefficient change processes.
All of this changes with PowerApps. It's a no-code approach to creating apps and forms. You may quickly create a suite of applications that are tailored to your company's needs and perform just like your company does.
Changing the look and feel of an app is simple using drag and drop tools for creation and editing. With the capacity to connect to hundreds of other apps, PowerApps has the potential to completely revolutionize your workforce.
Furthermore, PowerApps is a world-class digital form creator, so you can say goodbye to inefficient and unsafe paper forms.
Power BI
Power BI is quickly becoming the world's premiere analytics tool, with the ability to connect to practically any data source or receive any data submitted via an Excel spreadsheet.
Power BI allows you to create real-time reports and dashboards that combine data from as many sources as you choose.
It's now easier than ever to convey your data storey with Power BI, thanks to dynamic, attractive graphics and a robust community of custom visual designers.
Read more about An Analytical Journey with Microsft Power BI and DA-100T00: Analyzing Data with Power BI training content click here
Power Automate
Automation has unquestionably been the most popular technology development in recent years. Artificial Intelligence and automation are all over the news these days. However, it can all come across as a little sci-fi.
Power Automate is a Microsoft application that takes the essence of what automation is and simplifies it.
A process in Power Automate is represented as a set of steps. Before moving on to the next step, each step performs an action or awaits a decision. You can have numerous phases that together automate a process that normally requires input and time in no time.
Power Automate, like the rest of the Power Platform, is extremely interconnected, allowing you to deal with data or information from a variety of sources.
If you are interested in the training on Power Automate and Power Apps, you may view GRC-106: Microsoft Power Apps And Power Automate Fundamental Track
What is the significance of the Power Platform?
Hopefully, you're already excited about using these tools at this point. And your mind is already bursting at the seams with possibilities. So, you probably don't need any more persuasion, do you?
However, you are only one person. It can also be challenging to convince decision-makers and budget holders that allocating time and resources to this area is a priority. Many people believe that once Office 365 is "in" and "installed," that's it. Done.
The democratization of data has never been greater because of the digitization of our work, the transition to cloud-based applications and storage, and the availability of technologies like the Power Platform. Anyone with a little understanding of IT can now create reports, dashboards, applications, and workflows.
This enables you, me, or John from accounting to assist our companies in realizing meaningful benefits, not just in terms of cost reductions, but also in terms of insight and automation. It also implies that, in cases where further expertise is necessary, anyone can easily construct an outline to explain their requirements and comprehend how it's all put together.
Microsoft's evergreen environment plan ensures that the platform will continue to evolve and improve. New features will be added regularly. And, as Microsoft releases new PowerApp templates, a strong and expanding community of aficionados is adding bespoke Power BI visuals and submitting Power Automate templates.
How does the Power Platform work with other applications?
The Power Platform, in addition to integrating with each other (for example, using Power Automate to automate data collection that feeds a Power BI report that is then displayed in a PowerApp), connects to everything in Office 365. Beyond that, you can connect to hundreds of other data sources, including:
Instagram
MailChimp
SurveyMonkey
WordPress
YouTube
Twitter
Google Analytics
Salesforce
DocuSign
Dropbox
Google Drive
Facebook
Dynamics CRM
Adobe Creative Cloud
Gmail
GitHub
What you'll probably notice is that Microsoft is more than willing to connect you to its competitors. Microsoft isn't trying to lock you into a walled garden with connectors for YouTube (Stream), SurveyMonkey (Forms), and Google Drive and Dropbox (competitors to SharePoint).
The ability to construct bespoke connectors is the most intriguing feature for developers. This means you may create and publish a connector for any internal system, and you'll have access to all of the Power Platform's features.
What is the best way for my organization to get started with the Power Platform?
You may start using Power Platform right now. Sign in to Office 365, select your apps from the drop-down menu, and you're done!
Getting started might be challenging. It's most effective when you have use cases with real-world goals and benefits that you can track. GemRain Consulting has created a training workshop to assist you in this endeavour.
Over the course of 5 days training, our trainer will teach you how to:
Build and deploy custom business apps.
Differentiate canvas apps from model-driven apps.
Easily bring your data together and quickly integrate compliant and scalable data services.
Build automated workflows seamlessly and intuitively.
Create reports and dashboards without depending on IT personnel.
If you want something which is more or different from the training content, we will develop customization training that will work for your business.
Please don't hesitate to contact us directly at enquiry@gemrain.net