PowerPlatform Capabilities

I was recently asked for documentation on the capabilities of the PowerPlatform and this was a tricky question to answer. This was due to the size of the platform and the rapid rate of change on the features. I thought that it would be easier to create a summary.   

The major capabilities include: 

Let's walk through these, starting at the top.   

Microsoft PowerApps - PowerApps comes in two types: 

• Model Driven Applications – Model Driven Applications allows for a low-code approach to implementing business solutions. This includes a robust security model, auditing capabilities and complex logic handling. This is the main service that ESDC uses to implement solutions and typically is used to run larger business processes.  These model driven applications also include an internet facing portal that we have in production now and is configured to meet the Government Accessibility and Official Language standards.   https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/maker/model-driven-apps/model-driven-app-overview 
• Canvas Applications – Canvas Applications is another low-code approach to Implementing business solution with a focus on Mobile and tablet user experience. These types of application are more suited to a specific task in the business process.   https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/maker/canvas-apps/getting-started 

Dynamics 365 – This is an ERP solution that runs as a Model Driven Application. It includes a large amount of prebuilt processes and capabilities that are needed to run a business. This includes: Sales, Marketing, Service, Finance, Operations, Commerce, and HR. In ESDC, we only use some supporting processes in this module. An example of this is the Service Level Agreements. We use these to track if we are meeting the target time to contact someone. An important note on this is that our current licensing does not cover all of the capabilities in this module.   https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-ca/ 

 Dynamics 365 for AI – This is an Artificial Intelligence solution built into the platform that can extend the capabilities. It includes an easy to use interface for creating models as well as prebuilt models. We will be looking at this in the future for work on creating recommendations and working with documents in a more intelligent manner.   https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-ca/ai/overview/ 

 Microsoft Flow – This is a set of automation technology that is used to integrate different products together and automate manual operations. Think of this like the glue that ties the platform together and allows it to interact with other tools. There are two major types of Flows:  

• Automated Flow – This is a workflow created in a visual UI that is typically triggered by a business event to complete an action. As an example, we could have an event trigger when a citizen tweets "Service Canada"; this would create a case in a back end system where a user would need to review the tweet.   
• UI Flow – This is a flow where the actions are recorded by a user using their web browser or desktop application. This is typically named Robotic Process Automation(RPA) in the industry. This would be useful in the case that an interaction is needed in a legacy system that does not have an easily accessible back end interface due to logic embedded in the user interface.   https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/ 

 Power BI – This is a business analytics platform that is used to provide insights into the data. ESDC is not currently licensed for this solution.   https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/ 

 Common Data Service – This is a data solution that comes with pre-existing data entities that can be customized to meet the needs of the business. It also comes with an existing management, connectivity and security model.   https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/maker/common-data-service/data-platform-intro 

 Power Virtual Agents – This is a framework for creating and managing Bots that can interact with the user. This could be a citizen or an internal departmental user.   https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-virtual-agents/fundamentals-what-is-power-virtual-agents 

 Azure Services – The Azure cloud has a large number of services that can be integrated into the solution. Currently we are using Application Insights to understand the user experience better and to make proactive enhancements to the system.   https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/app/app-insights-overview 

We are reviewing Azure Maps to add geography based capabilities: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/azure-maps/ 

These will be reviewed service by service to determine viability.  

 On Premise – With support from SSC, the cloud can be connected back to our legacy environment to interact with existing systems.   

 Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment.