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Microsoft Power Platform

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Microsoft Power Platform
Developer(s)Microsoft
Initial release2018; 6 years ago (2018)
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
TypeBusiness intelligence, app development, app connectivity, robotic process automation
LicenseProprietary software
Websitemicrosoft.com/power-platform/

Microsoft Power Platform is a collection of low-code development tools that allows users to build custom business applications, automate workflows, and analyze data.[1][2] It also offers integration with GitHub, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Microsoft Teams, amongst other Microsoft and third-party applications.[3]

Microsoft Power Platform enables users to streamline processes, gain insights from their data, and build custom solutions to meet their business needs. It is designed to be accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise, making it easier for organizations to create custom applications and automate workflows.

Microsoft developed the Power Fx low-code programming language for expressing logic across the Power Platform.[4][5]

Products

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The Power Platform family of products includes:[2][6]

  • Power BI, a business analytics tool for visualizing data through various charts, graphs, and dashboards. It competes with tools like Tableau,[1] Spotfire or Qlikview.
  • Power Apps for low code custom business applications.
  • Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) for business process automation and optimization.
  • Copilot Studio (formerly Power Virtual Agents) provides tools for customizing or building copilot, or AI-powered chatbot, experiences.
  • Power Pages, graphical software for making low-code websites. Formerly part of Power Apps as "Power Apps Portals" until 2022[7]

Microsoft Dataverse

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Not to be confused with Dataverse.

Microsoft Dataverse, formerly known as Microsoft Common Data Service until November 2020, is a relational database engine[8] offered by Microsoft as a cloud-based data management software as a service for storing business data. Dataverse is a data storage and management engine serving as a foundation for Microsoft’s Power Platform, Office 365 and Dynamics 365 apps. It decouples the data from the application, allowing an administrator to analyze from every possible angle and report on data previously existing in different locations. It is based on Common Data Model principles, enhanced with rich security features, business logic, and productivity tools. Data of any size and format could be easily imported, managed and exported out of Dataverse with streamlined processes. Dataverse is built on Microsoft Azure. It is mainly a tool for managing and storing data, and allows for creation and management of datasets through a single user interface.

Dataverse is marketed for use with other Microsoft products such as Power Apps and Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications, and has data connectors to other Microsoft products like Azure Event Hub, Azure Service Bus, Microsoft SQL and Azure Data Lake. One example of use could be to use Dataverse as a form of data lake together with Microsoft Power Apps. Microsoft Dataverse is also offered as a standalone service for businesses looking to build custom data solutions with integration to external systems via webhooks. Dataverse has APIs so that the data can be consumed by other services, like for example Power Platform services like Power BI or Power Apps, or by custom services designed in for example Visual Studio.

In addition to relational data, Dataverse also has support for file and blob storage, data lakes and semi-structured data. Dataverse is based on Microsoft's Common Data Model as its common data model and is built on Microsoft Azure SQL, where its physical data also is stored.[citation needed]

Dataverse has the possibility to apply business logic like duplicate detection, calculated fields, rollup fields and business rules. It can be used to discover, validate and report data, and has the possibility to use Microsoft's proprietary common data model. Access in MS Dataverse is handled with Microsoft Entra ID which has conditional access and multifactor authentication (MFA), and offers individual column and row level security.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Novet, Jordan (2019-05-08). "Microsoft touted something called the Power Platform at its big event this week — here's what it is". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  2. ^ a b Foley, Mary Jo (2019-01-18). "Why Microsoft's 'Power Platform' is one of its biggest bets for 2019 and beyond". ZDNet. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  3. ^ Bishop, Todd (2020-09-22). "As 'low-code' competition grows, Microsoft integrates Power Apps with GitHub and Teams". GeekWire. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  4. ^ Anderson, Tim (2021-03-02). "Excel-lent: Microsoft debuts low-code Power Fx language... but it is not really new". The Register. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  5. ^ Melanson, Mike (2021-03-06). "This Week in Programming: Microsoft's Power Fx 'Low Code' Language". The New Stack. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  6. ^ Krill, Paul (2020-05-25). "Microsoft: Power Platform is for real developers, too". InfoWorld. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  7. ^ "Announcing Microsoft Power Pages: Build secure, low-code websites". powerpages.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  8. ^ What is Microsoft Dataverse? - Power Apps | Microsoft Docs

Further reading

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  • Rybaric, Robert (2020). Microsoft Power Platform Enterprise Architecture: A guide for architects and decision makers to craft complex solutions tailored to meet business needs. Packt Publishing. ISBN 978-1800204577.
  • Pearson, Mitchell; Knight, Brian; Knight, Devin; Quintana, Manuel (2020). Pro Microsoft Power Platform: Solution Building for the Citizen Developer. Apress. ISBN 978-1484260074.
  • Mendoza, Eickhel (2021). Microsoft Power Apps Cookbook: Become a pro Power Apps maker by applying practical use cases to solve ever-evolving business challenges. Packt Publishing. ISBN 978-1800569553.
  • Gunnarsson, Ásgeir; Johnson, Michael (2020). Pro Microsoft Power BI Administration: Creating a Consistent, Compliant, and Secure Corporate Platform for Business Intelligence. Apress. ISBN 978-1484265666.
  • Guilmette, Aaron (2020). Workflow Automation with Microsoft Power Automate: Achieve digital transformation through business automation with minimal coding. Packt Publishing. ISBN 978-1839213793.
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