The Microsoft Power Platform is the heart of modern enterprise digitalization. In this guide, you'll learn everything you need for a successful start.

What is the Power Platform?

The Power Platform consists of four core components that work seamlessly together:

Power Apps

The low-code platform for business applications:

• Canvas Apps: Pixel-perfect design for any device
• Model-Driven Apps: Data-driven applications based on Dataverse
• Power Pages: External websites and portals
• Copilot: AI-assisted app development

Power Automate

Automation for every process:

• Cloud Flows: Trigger-based automations in the cloud
• Desktop Flows: RPA for legacy systems
• Process Mining: Analysis and optimization of business processes
• AI Builder: AI models without programming

Power BI

Business intelligence for everyone:

• Dashboards: Interactive visualizations
• Reports: Detailed analyses
• Datamarts: Self-service data modeling
• Copilot: Natural language data queries

Dataverse

The common data foundation:

• Relational database: Enterprise-grade and scalable
• Business logic: Calculations, validations, workflows
• Security: Role-based access control
• Integration: Hundreds of pre-built connectors

Why Power Platform?

Benefits for Organizations

• Rapid development: Weeks instead of months
• Lower costs: Less development effort
• Citizen development: Business departments become productive
• Microsoft integration: Seamless connection to M365, Azure, Dynamics

Typical Use Cases

• Approval processes: Vacation, orders, documents
• Data capture: Forms, inspections, inventory
• Reporting: KPIs, dashboards, ad-hoc analyses
• Integration: Connecting legacy systems

Understanding Licensing

Power Apps Licenses

• Power Apps per User: $20/month for unlimited apps
• Power Apps per App: $5/month for individual app
• Power Apps Premium: For Dataverse and premium connectors

Power Automate Licenses

• Per User: $15/month for Cloud Flows
• Per User with RPA: $40/month incl. Desktop Flows
• Per Flow: $500/month for shared processes

Cost Optimization Tips

• Start with Microsoft 365 included features
• Use per-app licenses for focused solutions
• Consolidate on Dataverse for complex scenarios
• Evaluate Managed Environments for governance

Governance and Security

Center of Excellence

A CoE is essential for sustainable Power Platform usage:

• Policies: Who can develop what?
• Environments: Dev, Test, Prod separated
• DLP Policies: Which connectors are allowed?
• Monitoring: Who uses what?

Best Practices

• Establish clear naming conventions
• Define lifecycle processes
• Train your citizen developers
• Review critical applications

Integration with Microsoft 365

SharePoint

• Power Apps directly in SharePoint lists
• Process documents from Power Automate
• SharePoint as data source for Canvas Apps

Teams

• Embed apps as Teams tabs
• Trigger workflows from Teams
• Adaptive Cards for approvals

Outlook

• Start flows on email arrival
• Outlook add-ins with Power Apps
• Automatic calendar creation

Getting Started

Day 1: Explore

• Open make.powerapps.com
• Create a first app from data
• Experiment with Copilot

Week 1: Learn

• Complete Microsoft Learn modules
• Build a simple approval app
• Create your first flow

Month 1: Implement

• Identify a business case
• Develop an MVP
• Gather feedback and iterate

CNEXT as Power Platform Partner

We support you on your journey:

• Assessment: Analysis of your potential
• Development: We build your solutions
• Enablement: We train your team
• Support: Long-term assistance

Contact us: marcel.haas@cnext.ch