Microsoft Power Platform

Accelerate digital transformation with low-code application development, workflow automation, data analytics, and intelligent virtual agents

Overview

Microsoft Power Platform is a comprehensive suite of low-code/no-code tools that empowers organizations to analyze data, build solutions, automate processes, and create virtual agents. Built on Microsoft Dataverse, Power Platform seamlessly integrates with Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Azure, and hundreds of third-party services.

Our expertise spans the entire Power Platform ecosystem. We help organizations leverage these tools to rapidly build enterprise-grade solutions, reduce development costs, and enable citizen developers while maintaining enterprise governance and security.

Power Platform Components

Power Apps

Build custom business applications with minimal code. Power Apps offers three app types:

  • Canvas Apps: Pixel-perfect, mobile-first apps with Excel-like formulas
  • Model-Driven Apps: Data-centric apps built on Dataverse with responsive UI
  • Power Pages: External-facing websites with authentication and Dataverse integration

Power Automate

Automate workflows between applications and services. Power Automate provides:

  • Cloud Flows: Automated, instant, and scheduled workflows with 500+ connectors
  • Desktop Flows: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for legacy systems
  • Business Process Flows: Guided experiences within model-driven apps
  • Process Advisor: Process mining and optimization recommendations

Power BI

Transform data into actionable insights with interactive visualizations. Power BI capabilities include:

  • Power BI Desktop: Rich data modeling and report authoring
  • Power BI Service: Cloud-based sharing, collaboration, and distribution
  • Power BI Mobile: iOS and Android apps for on-the-go insights
  • Embedded Analytics: White-label analytics in your applications

Power Virtual Agents

Create intelligent chatbots without code. Power Virtual Agents (now part of Copilot Studio) enables:

  • Conversational AI: Natural language understanding and dialog management
  • Multi-Channel Deployment: Teams, websites, Facebook, mobile apps
  • Integration: Call Power Automate flows and custom APIs
  • Analytics: Conversation insights and bot performance metrics

Power Pages

Build secure, enterprise-grade external-facing websites. Power Pages provides:

  • Templates: Pre-built templates for common scenarios (customer self-service, partner portals)
  • Authentication: Built-in identity providers (Azure AD, social logins)
  • Dataverse Integration: Direct access to Dataverse data with security
  • Customization: Liquid templates, JavaScript, and CSS for full control

Microsoft Dataverse

Microsoft Dataverse is the foundational data platform that powers Power Platform. It provides:

Enterprise Data Platform

  • Managed Database: Secure, cloud-based relational database with automatic backups
  • Standard & Custom Tables: Pre-built business entities and custom table creation
  • Relationships: One-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many relationships
  • Business Logic: Business rules, calculated fields, rollup fields
  • Data Types: Rich data types including currency, datetime, file, and image

Security & Governance

  • Role-Based Security: Granular control at table, record, and field level
  • Business Units: Hierarchical data segmentation
  • Auditing: Comprehensive change tracking and compliance reporting
  • Data Loss Prevention: Policies to prevent data exfiltration
  • Encryption: Data encryption at rest and in transit

Integration Capabilities

  • Connectors: 500+ pre-built connectors for popular services
  • Custom Connectors: Build connectors for any REST API
  • Virtual Tables: Access external data without replication
  • Dual-Write: Real-time synchronization with Finance & Operations apps

Development Approaches

Low-Code Development

Power Platform's low-code approach enables rapid development:

Canvas App Development

Build pixel-perfect mobile and web apps using drag-and-drop controls and Excel-like formulas. Best for:

  • Mobile-first applications with specific UI requirements
  • Apps that need to work with multiple data sources
  • Scenarios requiring full control over app navigation and layout
  • Offline-capable applications

Model-Driven App Development

Component-focused apps that automatically generate responsive UI from data model. Best for:

  • Data-centric applications with complex data models
  • Enterprise applications requiring consistent UX
  • Apps with sophisticated business logic and workflows
  • Solutions requiring role-based security and hierarchies

Pro-Code Extensions

Extend Power Platform with professional development tools:

  • Power Apps Component Framework (PCF): Build reusable code components with TypeScript and React
  • Custom Connectors: Create OpenAPI-based connectors for any REST API
  • Azure Functions: Serverless compute for complex logic and external integrations
  • Plugins: Server-side .NET code for Dataverse event processing
  • Custom Pages: Embed custom React/Angular apps in model-driven apps

Power Automate Integration Patterns

We implement sophisticated automation patterns for enterprise scenarios:

Cloud Flow Patterns

Automated Flows

Trigger-based flows that respond to events (new email, Dataverse record creation, file upload, etc.). Use cases include:

  • Email notifications when records are created or updated
  • Data synchronization between systems
  • Approval workflows with parallel branching
  • Document generation and distribution

Scheduled Flows

Time-based flows for batch processing and periodic tasks:

  • Daily/weekly/monthly report generation and distribution
  • Data cleanup and archival processes
  • System health checks and monitoring
  • Batch data imports from external sources

Instant Flows

User-triggered flows for on-demand automation:

  • Manual approval processes
  • Ad-hoc data exports and transformations
  • Integration testing and troubleshooting
  • Power Apps button triggers for complex operations

Desktop Flows (RPA)

Automate legacy systems and desktop applications:

  • UI Automation: Record and playback interactions with desktop applications
  • SAP Automation: Specialized actions for SAP GUI automation
  • Mainframe Automation: Terminal emulation for legacy systems
  • Image Recognition: AI-based element detection for unstable UIs
  • Attended & Unattended: Run with user interaction or fully automated

Power BI Analytics & Reporting

Data Modeling

We design optimized data models for performance and usability:

  • Star Schema Design: Fact and dimension tables for analytical queries
  • DAX Measures: Complex calculations and business metrics
  • Calculated Tables: Derived tables for specific analytical needs
  • Relationships: Active and inactive relationships with proper cardinality
  • Row-Level Security: Dynamic security based on user roles

Data Sources & Integration

  • Dataverse Connector: Native integration with Power Platform data
  • DirectQuery & Import: Choose between real-time and cached data
  • Dataflows: Self-service ETL for data preparation
  • Power Query: M language for data transformation
  • Incremental Refresh: Optimize refresh for large datasets

Visualization Best Practices

  • Interactive Reports: Drill-through, cross-filtering, and tooltips
  • Custom Visuals: Leverage community visuals or build custom with D3.js
  • Mobile Layouts: Optimized phone layouts for mobile access
  • Performance Tuning: Optimize DAX queries and reduce cardinality
  • Accessibility: Alt text, keyboard navigation, screen reader support

Governance & Application Lifecycle Management

Enterprise governance is critical for Power Platform success. Learn more about Power Platform governance.

Environment Strategy

  • Development Environments: Isolated environments for app builders
  • Test/QA Environments: Validation and user acceptance testing
  • Production Environments: Managed solutions with strict access control
  • Default Environment: Trial apps and personal productivity solutions
  • Environment Groups: Logical grouping for billing and governance

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Protect organizational data with DLP policies:

  • Connector Classification: Business, Non-Business, and Blocked connectors
  • Policy Scope: Environment-level or tenant-wide policies
  • Custom Connector Control: Restrict custom connector creation
  • HTTP Action Blocking: Prevent direct API calls to sensitive endpoints

Center of Excellence (CoE)

Implement the CoE Starter Kit for enterprise governance:

  • Inventory & Monitoring: Track all apps, flows, and resources
  • Usage Analytics: Dashboards for adoption and user engagement
  • Compliance Checks: Automated scanning for policy violations
  • Maker Support: Self-service resources and training for citizen developers
  • Innovation Pipeline: Formalize app idea submission and approval

ALM with Solutions

Professional ALM practices for Power Platform:

  • Solution Layers: Managed and unmanaged solutions for proper layering
  • Source Control: Git integration with solution export/import
  • CI/CD Pipelines: Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions for automated deployment
  • Environment Variables: Externalize configuration for environment-specific settings
  • Connection References: Manage connector authentication across environments

AI Builder

Add AI capabilities to your Power Platform solutions with AI Builder:

Pre-Built AI Models

  • Form Processing: Extract data from invoices, receipts, and custom forms
  • Text Recognition (OCR): Extract text from images and PDFs
  • Business Card Reader: Scan and extract contact information
  • Sentiment Analysis: Analyze text for positive, negative, or neutral sentiment
  • Language Detection: Identify language in text content
  • Key Phrase Extraction: Extract important phrases from text

Custom AI Models

  • Object Detection: Train models to detect custom objects in images
  • Prediction Models: Binary classification and multi-class prediction
  • Entity Extraction: Extract custom entities from text
  • Category Classification: Classify text into custom categories

AI Builder models can be used in Power Apps (canvas and model-driven), Power Automate flows, and Power Virtual Agents, enabling intelligent automation without data science expertise.

Best Practices

App Design Principles

  • Design mobile-first for Canvas Apps
  • Use delegation for large datasets (>500 records)
  • Minimize formula complexity; use variables for readability
  • Implement proper error handling with IsError() and IfError()
  • Use components for reusability and maintainability

Performance Optimization

  • Use concurrent functions for parallel data loading
  • Implement lazy loading with galleries and data tables
  • Cache static data in collections on app start
  • Avoid deeply nested galleries and containers
  • Use appropriate flow trigger conditions to reduce runs

Security & Compliance

  • Apply principle of least privilege for sharing apps and flows
  • Use service principals for production automation
  • Implement DLP policies before broad rollout
  • Regularly review and audit connector usage
  • Store secrets in Azure Key Vault, not in app variables

Our Power Platform Approach

At CRX Partners, we balance low-code agility with enterprise governance to deliver scalable Power Platform solutions. Our methodology includes:

Citizen Developer Enablement

Training, templates, and best practices to empower business users to build solutions safely and effectively.

Governance First

Establish DLP policies, environment strategy, and CoE framework before broad rollout to ensure sustainable growth.

Hybrid Development

Combine low-code development with pro-code extensions (PCF, plugins, Azure Functions) for optimal balance.

Enterprise ALM

Implement professional source control, CI/CD pipelines, and solution management for production-grade delivery.

Ready to Accelerate with Power Platform?

Let's discuss how Power Platform can accelerate your digital transformation while maintaining enterprise governance and security.