Power Platform Explained -How to Enable Business People to Solve Problems

4 minute read

Team Panviva

Ever thought… “I wish we had an app for that?”

With over 1.85 million apps available on iOS, and just under double that on the Google Play Store worldwide, it is unbelievable that there are still some tasks that aren’t handled with the tap of a screen.

In business, people worldwide are constantly thinking about ways to improve efficiency and streamline their operations with technology. In fact, having access to custom business apps is becoming more and more of a focus for every industry. According to McKinsey, on average, industries are less than 40% digitized, despite the relatively deep penetration of these technologies in media, retail, and high tech. Though, this really shouldn’t be so surprising when we note the number of organizations still struggling with paper-based processes.

Given these current challenges faced by businesses, it is a relief that the Microsoft Power Platform enables their teams to work together to meet challenges effectively.

With Microsoft Power Platform you can build line of business apps that analyze data, automate processes, and create virtual agents.

And the exciting part is that these capabilities are available to everyday business users via no-code/low-code options. No more waiting for IT resources! No more budget blow outs!

But…What are Line of Business Apps?

Line of Business Apps are designed specifically to solve business problems such as effective (and now likely remote) team management, collaboration between individuals and teams, automating convoluted processes, and even supercharging knowledge management delivery. Using custom technology tailored to your organization, you can streamline processes and dramatically improve the way your people work.

Until now business owners, managers and the like may have believed digital, or ‘tech’ transformations were only for developers or specialist teams. They might have considered themselves superstar problem solvers, but were limited to thinking technology was outside of their skillset… But that is all about to change. Everyone within the organization now has an opportunity to get a serious slice of the action and create apps that transform mundane tasks or solve huge business problems, simply and effectively.

Introducing… PowerApps!

Created by Microsoft, PowerApps aims to democratize the custom business app building experience by enabling users to build feature-rich, custom business apps without writing code. Microsoft have considered all the key factors required, such as user experience and interface design. PowerApps exploit many of the features in Office 365 and other Microsoft products to enable a seamless app-building experience. PowerApps mean you can involve the whole team in designing business apps – regardless of their experience with app development. The solution is aimed at driving innovation from all areas of the business; all without the time and cost that traditional custom software development requires!

This is significant given Business Apps have become a huge focus for organizations around the world, with COVID-19 accelerating digital innovation and transformation. This fast-tracked approach has led to many embracing low-code development platforms like PowerApps as a way to enable their transformation journeys.

PowerApps provide two options on how to go about building your app, meaning there is really an approach available for everyone. The two types are either Canvas Apps or a Model-Driven App. Canvas Apps allow you to have more customization and control in designing your user experience, while model-driven apps base the app design on a pre-existing structure.

Where do you start?

One of the best things about PowerApps is they are quick and easy to pull together. There’s no need for heavy investments in time or resources. It’s simple: know the problem you need to solve, have clear visibility of the user, and think of the best app connection, and get started and test your solution!

How do Panviva and the Power Platform solve problems together?

Improve communication and knowledge sharing!

Providing your team with up-to-date alerts and other critical communications is essential in all facets of the business, especially for frontline communications.

For many Panviva customers, the notifications feature in Panviva is critical to their business. It ensures frontline users are alerted when critical processes change. When connecting the Knowledge Base to applications such as Microsoft Teams – the same alert can be sent via a broadcast. This ensures other people in the business who do not access the Knowledge Base daily are remaining compliant!

Are you a businessperson with a big idea that could be solved with the Power Platform?

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