When it comes to building and using custom apps, the development process can leave many businesses scratching their heads, as they lack the coding expertise needed to deliver the project successfully.
Removing the time and expense of custom software development, Microsoft Power Apps gives nontechnical users the ability to build apps from selectable templates.
Connecting to your business data and operating across web and mobile devices, the apps improve logic and workflow capabilities, transforming processes from manual to automated.
In a bid to further enhance the creative process, Microsoft has recently introduced the preview of Power Apps Portals, a new update that enables users to create powerful low-code and responsive portals.
Allowing external users to interact with data stored in the Common Data Service, Power Apps Portals offers a range of features, all designed to improve the user experience.
Engaging with customers
Ultimately, customer and partner communication are two of the most important aspects of modern business, and the new update looks to improve this.
Power Apps Portals gives organisations the ability to create websites that can be shared with external users either anonymously or through the login provider of their choice.
Whether it be LinkedIn, Microsoft Account or other commercial login providers, users can access the websites with ease, enhancing company collaboration and the accessibility of important info.
Businesses can also integrate enterprise login providers using a variety of industry standard protocols like SAML2, OpenId Connect and WS-Fed.
Dedicated portal designer
One of the biggest appeals of Power Apps is its customer-friendly approach, allowing users to easily create apps, websites and portals, regardless of their coding experience.
In keeping with this commitment, the new update gives users the ability to use a powerful no-code portal designer to create and manage content including pages, sitemaps and templates.
Using bootstrap themes, users can make their portals responsive, while customising the final design to meet their own branding specifications.
Familiar CDS components like model-driven forms, views and dashboards to surface data can also be used within the websites.
Enriching your content
When you’re designing a website or portal, it’s important that the content and its layout can be personalised to meet the unique needs of your audience.
From a content perspective, Power Apps Portals can be integrated with Microsoft services like Power BI embedded, SharePoint Online or Azure Blob Storage, providing users with enriched and personalised information.
Professional developer capabilities used in the Common Data Service platform and Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Portal can also be used in Power Apps Portals.
These capabilities include templates, code plugins, workflows and other features, allowing users to tailor their services accordingly.
You’ve got the power…
Creating apps can be an expensive process, with most businesses paying premium prices to enlist the help of experienced developers.
With Power Apps, organisations can design and tailor apps to meet their own unique needs, with easy-to-use tools giving them the creative license needed to achieve quality.
Through the new Power Apps Portals preview, it is now much easier for businesses to stay engaged with individuals outside of the business, as they can use the portals to access key information immediately.
If you’re interested in unlocking the true potential of Power Apps, contact our in-house team and explore the opportunities available to your business.