Create your own Low-Code Applications with the Microsoft Power Platform
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Create your own Low-Code Applications with the Microsoft Power Platform

4 min read

When “application development” is mentioned, many people still think of traditional coding. Traditional coding involves writing thousands of lines in high level programming languages like Java or C# which, due to high complexity and time investment, can only be done by professional software developers.

So-called “Low-Code Platforms“ like the Microsoft Power Platform, by contrast, provide graphical interfaces and an integrated development environment to a broad spectrum of developers and power users, opening up new possibilities to developing web and mobile applications quickly and without extensive coding.

The Microsoft Power Platform offers a handful of tools which can be used to model and store data, integrate external data, define application logic, and design user interfaces. All applications which are built with the Power Platform are stored in the Microsoft Azure cloud and are thus automatically available for use on a wide range of devices.

Power Apps

With Power Apps you can build applications which users can interact with via a graphical interface. “Model Driven Power Apps” resemble classical business applications. They are automatically generated on the basis of a “Common Data Service” database and can be customised to your needs. This Common Data Service is included with the Power Platform and is the perfect location to consolidate all business data which is scattered throughout the company. Furthermore, Microsoft’s own business apps from the Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement family are built upon the same Common Data Service.

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Model Driven Power App

”Canvas Power Apps“, on the other hand, are suited to the creation of strongly individual mobile apps which are exactly tailored to the requirements of a specific use case in both functional and design aspects. In Canvas Power Apps, each and every control can be placed and formatted in a graphical editor to exactly reproduce the desired outcome. Furthermore, Canvas Power Apps are very connective and can connect to more than 300 databases, systems, and services out of the box. Thus, Canvas Apps can be enriched with both data and additional functionalities from other systems and services.

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Canvas Power Apps

Power Automate

In cases where you don’t want or cannot have constant user interaction, Power Automate can help you automate and integrate processes across several systems. This integration across systems is only possible because Power Automate makes use of the same 300 out of the box connectors as Power Apps. Flows created with Power Automate can execute specific tasks based on a schedule, as a reaction to an event, or can be triggered manually.

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Power Automate

Power Virtual Agents

Last but not least, you can create your own chatbots with “Power Virtual Agents” which can interact with both employees and external users. After all the topics and conversation paths which the bot should cover have been defined, it can be published on various channels like Microsoft Teams, Facebook, Skype, Slack, Telegram, or other websites. You can also integrate Power Automate in order to execute tasks at certain moments throughout the conversation.

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Power Virtual Agent

In conclusion

This blog post is just a small insight into the world of the Microsoft Power Platform and the countless possibilities you have within. Besides the above, there are numerous additional features which can be used to bring even more functionality to your solutions.

If you have any questions or if you are interested in the Microsoft Power Platform, please contact us or read future blog entries about this topic.

Learn more about Low-Code Power Apps

Learn more about Low-Code Power Apps

Power Apps

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About the Author

Christoph Gschließer

Product Manager - Microsoft Power Platform