Low-code Development with Microsoft Power Platform
Article by Nigel Charles
How Low-code Development and the Microsoft Power Platform are Transforming the Tech World
For years business leaders and entrepreneurs have had to rely on the intricate code skills of super programmers and experienced app developers to get any project off the ground. The streets of Silicon Valley are practically lined with the used coffee cups of self-taught and Ivy League code gurus. That world is changing.
Microsoft is moving forward with its initiatives to deploy fully functional low-code app development using their growing Power Platform. This is in direct response to the increasing number of business insiders and those outside the IT world who want to create fundamental app and software packages but do not have years of code work experience or education.
What’s the Big Deal with Low-code Dev and Microsoft?
Low-code, or no-code, app development is the ability to build applications and processes using little to no coding. As a result, it cuts down on the complexity and increases the reliability of end products because it uses proven puzzle pieces to create a stunning work of art when fit together.
Microsoft joined the low-code dev movement by creating its Power Platform. This bundles together a wide variety of tools and business application framework that can be built from anyone, anywhere, effectively mixing the entrepreneur’s skills with those of the consummate computer programmer.
These initiatives have to do more with digital transformation than anything else. The business world has seen the power of integrating modern RPA, robotic process automation, and machine learning tools to streamline their mundane tasks. This automates everything from customer service to billing to supply chain management and more. If low-code systems created by Microsoft’s Power Platform can compete with these capabilities, then they offer a unique product to a broader clientele that will lower their operating costs and increase revenues.
How Exactly is this Power Platform going to Work?
Let’s get into the jargon for a minute. Microsoft’s Power Platform combines four different tech suites, including Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Virtual Agents. If you are not acquainted with the tech world, just reread those names and see the “automate” and “virtual agents” titles. These are new RPA tools created by Microsoft that can increase business operations and free up resources for human assets to focus on other need-based processes.
- Power BI – a data analytics tool that can comprehend input from different sources.
- Power Apps – a way to build innovative mobile apps for internal use.
- Power Automate – creates automated workflows to reduce mundane business tasks.
- Power Virtual Agents – creates responsive chatbots to communicate with clients.
While each one of these new features would warrant a book on its own. Let’s focus on Power Apps for a bit. The most important thing to note here is that the apps created can only be utilized for internal use by an organization. Microsoft wants clients to develop new capabilities but not have them up on the app store as of yet. This tech is still growing, and it’s better to let a little innovation have room to breathe before going so widespread as to offer solutions for their app stores and all devices.
As for the other tools, it’s easy to see how they can improve a business’s operations from the short descriptors alone. The more companies are empowered to modify their processes and cut down on human error, the better they can retarget their teams towards problems requiring more human unique intellect and creative genius.
Bring in the Fusion Teams
What would a tech launch be without some new terminology? If we have learned anything from the global pandemic, it takes people working from every discipline to attack a challenging and severe problem. That is why Microsoft has dubbed these people working together across any organization as fusion teams.
These teams will apply their unique perspectives and capabilities to implement Microsoft’s Power Platform and build new applications that can plug the holes in an organization’s processes. All of these new solutions are created using a platform that requires little to no coding knowledge. This drastically reduces the amount of time spent verifying lines of code and increases the potential success of a project.
Give me an Example of a Power Platform Project
Let’s consider the use of these powerful new tools in the workplace. Covid has pushed many of our typical work environments into hybrid or remote models. That requires a lot more flexibility on team management and human resources.
Using the low-code development tools of Microsoft’s Power Platform, an organization could design an app that simplifies the work processes of their remote workers and allows for onboarding new team members from any location around the world, all through one simple user interface.
This will empower HR to monitor the workflow of each team member, create new ways of solidifying company culture, and allow for easy task management for the worker, all through a simple internal use application designed by the company for the company. Instead of hiring teams of private consultants to code the app, it can be done with a small fusion team from across the different departments with little to no coding.
Modern businesses who see the trend of helping employees manage their lifestyles on top of their workplace environment could even plug in some communication features. These could organize virtual company outings and social events to improve the working culture. You could even integrate a simple health check app that encourages certain employees to get up and take a 20-minute break to ensure they are balancing their work and private life.
The capabilities are only as limited as the imagination of these new fusion teams. This doesn’t have to stop with the internal facing design either. Customers stand to benefit quite a bit from these applications.
How will this Affect Customers?
The modern consumer wants a more intimate experience with each brand and business they interact with. They want to feel completely in charge of a customized experience that offers as little hassle as possible. Each of the new Power Platform’s tools helps to automate mundane tasks. Besides the capability of freeing up your team’s time to focus on customers, there is also the matter of improving overall customer satisfaction.
Power Platform allows businesses to create fully responsive virtual agents and applications designed solely for their needs and customers’ user experience and engagement. From billing to delivery to virtually rendering new product models, each app designed using Microsoft’s low-code Power Platform can help your customers get exactly what they want when they want it the most.
Where to Get Started
The movement of no-code app development is only going to grow. However, before you jump in head first, you may want to take advantage of the many press releases and learning solutions Microsoft offers to help empower dev teams. A recent article on Custom Pages and model-driven apps is an excellent place to begin your education. You may also want to check out how to Get Started with Power Apps canvas apps in the learning center.
This is an exciting time in the technology sector. New tools that can enable more development and innovation tend to lead to better solutions for the consumer down the road. There may be a short period of learning, but that is almost always followed by remarkable growth. Microsoft’s Power Platform initiative to help fusion teams build new low-code apps is a great place to watch how the tech world transforms modern society, business, and life.
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