How to Build Apps Faster with Power Platform

TL;DR

Microsoft Power Platform combines low-code visual tools, conventional code, Dataverse, AI Builder, Power Fx, and Copilot to accelerate enterprise application development. Developers can turn existing data, including Excel spreadsheets, into responsive, connected apps, add conversational analysis, integrate more than 1,000 data connectors, and retain the option to extend solutions with JavaScript, TypeScript, Azure services, custom controls, and APIs.

Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Please welcome, Corporate Vice President, Business Applications and Platforms, Charles Lamanna. CHARLES LAMANNA: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us in this session about the Power Platform here at Build. I hope it's been a wonderful day and a half. Lots of AI topics, lots of Copilots, and lots of excitement. I'm glad that ... Read More

Key Insights

• Power Platform is Microsoft's low-code development offering, covering analytics, web and mobile apps, workflow automation, robotic process automation, conversational experiences, and business websites through a collection of visually oriented products.
• Low code is compatible with conventional development because Power Platform solutions can incorporate JavaScript, TypeScript, custom visuals, custom controls, Azure API services, and registered backend systems whenever visual tools alone do not meet the requirements.
• Dataverse is the low-code data platform built into Power Platform, providing storage and management for relational, structured, and unstructured data that can be exposed through products such as Power Apps and Power BI.
• Power Fx is an Excel-like low-code expression language that supports logic, calculations, and mathematics, giving makers an intermediate option before they need to move into conventional programming code.
• Power Platform had more than 33 million monthly active users at the time of the presentation, and professional developers represented 25 percent of its makers and builders across hundreds of thousands of organizations.
• Microsoft's modern development toolchain combines GitHub for source control and CI/CD, Azure for hosted code, services, and backend data platforms, Visual Studio as an IDE, and Power Platform for rapid solution development.
• Power Apps Copilot can analyze an uploaded Excel spreadsheet, infer an appropriate Dataverse table schema, allow table and column adjustments, and generate a connected, responsive application from that data within minutes.
• Power Platform provides more than 1,000 data connectors for systems such as Salesforce, SAP, Oracle databases, and AS/400, making existing organizational data accessible to low-code applications and related services.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is Microsoft Power Platform used for?

Microsoft Power Platform is a low-code development offering for building business solutions. Power BI supports analytics, reporting, and data visualization. Power Apps creates web and mobile applications, Power Automate handles workflows and robotic process automation, Power Virtual Agents supports chatbots and conversational experiences, and Power Pages creates business websites. These products share visual, low-code approaches while still permitting conventional code.

Q: Can professional developers use Power Platform with conventional code?

Professional developers can combine Power Platform's visual development tools with JavaScript, TypeScript, custom visuals, custom controls, Azure API services, and registered backend systems. The platform is presented as an extension of existing development capabilities, not a replacement for them. Developers can use low-code features for routine work and add conventional code when a solution needs deeper customization or integration.

Q: How does Power Apps Copilot turn Excel data into an app?

Power Apps Copilot begins when a developer selects the option to start with data and uploads an Excel file. Copilot analyzes the file, determines a Dataverse table schema that matches its contents, and lets the developer revise table names or columns. It then uses that schema to generate a connected, responsive application for managing the imported records.

Q: What is Dataverse in Microsoft Power Platform?

Dataverse is the low-code data platform included with Power Platform. It stores and manages relational data, structured data, and unstructured data, then makes that information available to services such as Power Apps and Power BI. In the demonstrated application, Dataverse also supports the embedded Copilot experience with enterprise-grade security and privacy for questions about business data.

Q: How can Copilot make a Power App intelligent?

A developer can place a Copilot component inside a Power App and connect it to the Dataverse table used by the application. Users can then ask natural-language questions about the stored data. In the demonstration, Copilot identified categories of unresolved support tickets, helping the user determine which departments might need more assistance with customer complaints while relying on Dataverse security and privacy.

Q: What development tools work alongside Power Platform?

The presented modern development toolchain includes GitHub, Azure, Visual Studio, and Power Platform. GitHub provides source control and CI/CD, Azure hosts code, services, and backend data platforms, and Visual Studio serves as the development environment. Power Platform extends that toolchain with low-code solution building, allowing teams to select different combinations of tools according to each project's needs.

Q: What data sources can Power Platform connect to?

Power Platform offers more than 1,000 data connectors for connecting applications to an organization's existing data estate. Examples named in the presentation include Salesforce, SAP, Oracle databases, and AS/400 systems. These connectors reduce the need to recreate integration plumbing and allow developers to use established business information inside Power Apps and other Power Platform solutions.

Q: Why does Microsoft expect low-code development to grow?

The presentation describes enterprise application development as being at the midpoint of a rapid low-code shift. It cites a projection that 75 percent of enterprise app development will use low-code tools such as Power Platform by 2026, compared with just under 25 percent a few years earlier. The stated benefits include faster development, greater agility, automation of mundane tasks, and more time for higher-value development work.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Power Platform provides low-code tools for analytics, application development, automation, chatbots, and business websites. Its products include Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, and Power Pages. Developers can use visual experiences for speed while adding JavaScript, TypeScript, custom controls, Azure services, and backend integrations when necessary.

• Dataverse supplies a low-code data platform for relational, structured, and unstructured information. AI Builder exposes AI capabilities through low-code experiences, while Power Fx offers an Excel-like expression language for logic, calculations, and mathematics. These components help developers move progressively from visual construction to conventional code according to each solution's requirements.

• Power Apps Copilot can analyze an uploaded Excel file, propose a matching Dataverse table schema, and generate a connected, responsive application. A developer can modify the proposed table or columns before creation, then embed another Copilot in the resulting app so users can ask natural-language questions about data under Dataverse security and privacy protections.