PL-900: Microsoft Power Platform

Fundamentals
Module 1

Describe the business value of the Microsoft Power Platform

Introduction
Microsoft Power Platform is a set of tools and technologies that helps businesses use
data effectively to improve their operations. In today's world, data is crucial for running
a successful business. People in various roles, from top executives to frontline workers,
rely on data to perform their tasks and make informed decisions.

With Microsoft Power Platform, businesses can create customized solutions to automate
repetitive tasks and gain insights from data. It allows users to interact with data easily
and find useful information that can drive the business forward. For example, employees
can enter their work hours for payroll more efficiently, streamline existing processes, or
use data to make smarter business decisions.

By using Power Platform, businesses can empower their employees to work more
effectively and make the most of the data available to them. It brings together
technology and data in a way that benefits everyone in the organization, from top
management to those on the front lines of daily operations.

simple example of how Microsoft Power Platform can be used in a business context:

Let's say you work for a customer support team in an e-commerce company. Your team
receives a large volume of customer inquiries through various channels like email, chat,
and social media. It can be challenging to manage and respond to all these messages
effectively. With Power Platform, you can create a solution to streamline and automate
the customer support process.

Here's how it could work:

1. Centralized communication: You can use Power Automate to integrate different

communication channels into a centralized system. For example, emails, chat
messages, and social media mentions can all be collected and organized in one
place, such as a shared mailbox or a customer support app built with Power
Apps.
2. Automated routing and categorization: Using Power Automate, you can set up
rules and workflows to automatically route incoming messages to the
appropriate team members based on predefined criteria. For example, urgent
inquiries can be escalated to senior support agents, while general inquiries can be
assigned to junior team members. Power Automate can also analyze the content
of the messages and categorize them based on keywords or customer sentiment.
3. Knowledge base integration: Power Platform integrates with tools like SharePoint
or Microsoft Teams, where you can maintain a knowledge base of frequently
asked questions and support articles. When a customer inquiry matches a known
issue, Power Automate can suggest relevant articles or provide automated
responses to common questions, saving time for support agents.
4. Performance tracking: Power BI, another component of Power Platform, can be
used to create visual dashboards and reports that track customer support
metrics, such as response time, resolution rate, and customer satisfaction scores.
These insights can help identify areas for improvement and measure the
effectiveness of the support team.

By implementing this solution, you can streamline the customer support process, ensure
prompt responses to inquiries, and provide consistent and efficient support to
customers. It reduces manual effort, improves response times, and enables the support
team to focus on more complex customer issues.

Microsoft Power Platform empowers businesses to create tailored solutions that

enhance productivity, automate processes, and improve customer experiences. It brings
together different tools and technologies to enable data-driven decision-making and
drive operational efficiency.

Explore Microsoft Power Platform

Microsoft Power Platform is a collection of tools that allows organizations to empower
their employees to create their own solutions without extensive coding knowledge. It
consists of five key products: Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Power Virtual
Agents, and Power Pages.
Power Apps

Power Apps is a tool that allows you to create custom apps for your business without
needing to write a lot of complex code. It provides a user-friendly environment where
you can build web and mobile applications that work on different devices like
smartphones and tablets.

Sometimes, the pre-built solutions available in the market may not fully meet your
specific business requirements or work well with other software you use. With Power
Apps, you have the flexibility to build apps that are tailored to your exact needs.

Power Apps provides a simple interface that makes app development easier, whether
you're a business user or a professional developer. You don't need extensive coding
knowledge to get started. The tool offers a range of services and features to help you
create powerful apps.

One key aspect of Power Apps is its ability to connect to various data sources, whether
they are stored in the cloud or on-premises. It integrates with Microsoft Dataverse, a
scalable data platform, allowing you to work with your business data seamlessly.

The apps you build with Power Apps can be used for different purposes within your
organization. For example, you can create an app to track inventory, manage customer
relationships, or streamline internal processes. The apps can run on all devices, including
smartphones, tablets, and computers, making them accessible to your team members
wherever they are.

Power Apps empowers both business users and professional developers to create
custom apps that fit their unique business needs. It provides a simplified way to build
apps, allowing you to improve productivity, automate tasks, and enhance efficiency
within your organization.

Power Automate

Power Automate is a tool that allows you to automate repetitive tasks and create
workflows between different applications and services. It saves you time and effort by
handling tasks that would otherwise be done manually.

Let's say you have a task that you need to do every week, like sending an email with a
status update to your team. Instead of spending time drafting and sending the same
email every week, Power Automate can automate this process for you. You can create a
workflow where Power Automate automatically sends the email at a scheduled time,
freeing up your time for other important work.

Power Automate can also help with more complex processes. For example, let's say you
need to collect data from multiple sources and consolidate it into a report. Instead of
manually gathering the data and creating the report, Power Automate can be set up to
automatically collect the data from various applications or databases and generate the
report for you.

Additionally, Power Automate can streamline approval processes. Instead of physically

moving documents or manually going through approval steps, Power Automate can
create automated workflows that route documents or requests to the right people for
approval. It keeps track of the process and ensures that nothing gets overlooked.

The best part is that Power Automate has a user-friendly interface, making it accessible
to everyone, regardless of their technical skills. Whether you're a beginner or an
experienced developer, you can use Power Automate to automate your work tasks.

In summary, Power Automate helps you automate repetitive tasks, create workflows
between different applications, and streamline processes. It saves time, reduces manual
effort, and allows you to focus on more important work. Its simple interface makes it
easy for anyone to automate their tasks, from beginners to seasoned developers.
Power BI

Power BI is a tool that helps businesses analyze their data and gain valuable insights. It
allows you to create visualizations, such as reports and dashboards, that make it easy to
understand and interpret the data.

Let's say you work for a retail company, and you have access to a lot of data about your
sales. This data includes information like the number of products sold, revenue
generated, and customer demographics. However, looking at rows and columns of
numbers can be overwhelming and may not provide a clear understanding of what's
happening.

With Power BI, you can import this data into the tool and create visualizations to
represent the information. For example, you can create a bar chart that shows the total
sales for each product category, a line chart that tracks revenue over time, or a map that
displays customer locations.

These visualizations make it easier to identify trends, patterns, and outliers in the data.
You can quickly see which products are selling well, which regions have the highest
sales, or how revenue is trending over time. Instead of spending hours analyzing
spreadsheets, you can now gain insights at a glance.

In addition to creating individual visualizations, Power BI allows you to combine them

into interactive dashboards. Dashboards provide a consolidated view of multiple
visualizations, allowing you to see different aspects of your data in one place. For
example, you can create a sales dashboard that includes charts for revenue, top-selling
products, and customer demographics.

With Power BI, you can share these reports and dashboards with others in your
organization. This means that you can replace regular meetings or lengthy reports with
a live dashboard that provides up-to-date information. For example, instead of holding
a weekly meeting to discuss sales performance, you can share a Power BI dashboard
that shows real-time sales data, allowing everyone to stay informed and make data-
driven decisions.

Power BI is designed to scale across organizations, meaning it can handle large amounts
of data and be used by multiple teams or departments. It also has built-in features for
governance and security, ensuring that the right people have access to the right data
while maintaining data integrity.
In summary, Power BI is a powerful tool that helps businesses analyze data and gain
insights. It enables you to create visualizations, reports, and dashboards that make data
easier to understand and act upon. With Power BI, you can replace traditional reporting
methods with dynamic and interactive visualizations, allowing for faster and more
informed decision-making.

Power Virtual Agents

Power Virtual Agents allows you to create chatbots without needing to write code. It
provides a user-friendly interface where you can build and customize chatbots using a
guided, step-by-step approach.

Imagine you have a website or an application where customers frequently ask questions
about your products or services. Instead of manually responding to each inquiry, you
can use Power Virtual Agents to create a chatbot that can handle common customer
queries.

Here's a simple example to illustrate how it works:

1. Building the chatbot: Using Power Virtual Agents, you can define the
conversation flow and responses for the chatbot. You can create a series of
questions and answers that address common customer inquiries. For example,
you can include responses for questions about product features, pricing, or
availability.
2. Deploying the chatbot: Once you've built the chatbot, you can deploy it on your
website or within your application. Customers can interact with the chatbot by
typing their questions or selecting predefined options.
3. Answering customer queries: When a customer interacts with the chatbot, it uses
its predefined responses to provide answers. The chatbot can understand the
customer's input, analyze it, and generate appropriate responses based on the
defined conversation flow. It can provide information, offer suggestions, or guide
customers to relevant resources.
4. Integration with back-end systems: If the chatbot needs to perform specific
actions or access data from other systems, it can be integrated with those
systems using Power Automate. For example, if a customer wants to check
product availability, the chatbot can call a Power Automate flow that retrieves
real-time information from your inventory management system and provides the
customer with an accurate response.
By combining Power Virtual Agents with Power Automate, you can create chatbots that
not only provide information but also perform actions or interact with back-end
systems. This integration streamlines processes, automates activities, and enhances the
customer experience.

Power Virtual Agents empowers non-technical users, such as subject matter experts, to
build and maintain their own chatbots. This reduces the reliance on IT departments, as
anyone with knowledge about the business and customer needs can create and update
the chatbot.

In summary, Power Virtual Agents allows you to create chatbots without coding. You
can build conversational solutions to handle customer inquiries or provide assistance. By
integrating with Power Automate, the chatbots can perform actions or access data from
other systems, automating processes and enhancing the customer experience. It's a
user-friendly tool that empowers subject matter experts to create and maintain their
own chatbot solutions.

Power Pages

Power Pages is a platform that allows you to create and manage modern business
websites without needing advanced coding skills. It provides a user-friendly interface
where you can design, configure, and publish websites that work well on different
devices and web browsers.

Here's a simple example to help you understand Power Pages:

Imagine you are a small business owner who wants to create a website to showcase
your products and services. With Power Pages, you can easily build a professional-
looking website without the need for extensive coding knowledge.

1. Designing your website: Power Pages provides customizable templates that you
can use as a starting point for your website. You can choose a template that suits
your business's style and branding. Then, using a visual design studio, you can
easily customize the layout, colors, fonts, and other design elements of your
website.
2. Configuring your website: Once you have the design in place, you can configure
the different sections and pages of your website. For example, you can create an
"About Us" page to introduce your business, a "Products" page to showcase your
offerings, and a "Contact" page for customers to reach out to you. Power Pages
allows you to add text, images, videos, and other content to make your website
informative and engaging.
3. Publishing your website: After designing and configuring your website, you can
publish it to make it live on the internet. Power Pages provides hosting options,
so you don't have to worry about finding a separate hosting service. Once
published, your website can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection.
4. Managing your website: Power Pages also includes tools for managing your
website. You can easily make updates or changes to the content and design
whenever needed. This way, you can keep your website fresh and up to date with
the latest information about your business.

With Power Pages, you can create an external-facing website that represents your
business professionally and effectively. It offers a low-code approach, allowing you to
build websites even if you don't have advanced coding skills. You can use the same data
stored in Microsoft Dataverse, which is a scalable data platform, to power your website
and ensure consistency with other Power Platform components you may be using in
your organization, such as apps, workflows, virtual agents, reports, and analytics.

In summary, Power Pages is a user-friendly platform that enables you to create and
manage modern business websites without extensive coding. It provides customizable
templates, a visual design studio, and integration with Microsoft Dataverse. With Power
Pages, you can quickly build and publish professional websites that work well across
devices, helping you showcase your business and engage with your customers.

In addition to the products listed above, there are additional tools that enhance the solutions
you create on the Power Platform. Some of these are:

AI Builder: AI Builder is a tool that lets you add smart and intelligent features to your
workflows and Power Apps without needing to know how to code. It's like having
artificial intelligence (AI) at your fingertips to help you make predictions and improve
your business performance.

Here's a simpler explanation with an example:

Let's say you run an e-commerce business, and you want to predict which customers are
most likely to make a purchase. With AI Builder, you can add a smart prediction feature
to your workflow or app without writing any code.
1. Collecting data: First, you gather data about your customers, such as their
browsing history, past purchases, and demographic information. This data helps
you understand their behaviors and preferences.
2. Building a prediction model: Using AI Builder, you can create a prediction model
based on the collected data. The model learns from the patterns in the data and
can predict which customers are more likely to buy from your business.
3. Adding the prediction to your workflow or app: Once the prediction model is
ready, you can integrate it into your existing workflows or Power Apps. For
example, you can use the prediction to prioritize customer leads or personalize
recommendations for each customer.
4. Improving business performance: By leveraging the power of AI, you can make
smarter decisions and take actions that are more likely to lead to successful
outcomes. For example, you can focus your marketing efforts on customers who
are predicted to be high-value, increasing your chances of driving sales and
improving overall business performance.

The key benefit of AI Builder is that it empowers you to use AI capabilities without
requiring coding knowledge. It provides a user-friendly interface where you can create
and customize intelligent features for your workflows and apps. This way, you can
leverage the power of AI to make more informed decisions, improve efficiency, and
drive better business outcomes.

In summary, AI Builder allows you to add smart features to your workflows and Power
Apps without coding. It helps you predict outcomes and make intelligent decisions
based on collected data. By using AI Builder, you can improve business performance and
drive better results without the need for coding expertise.

Microsoft Dataverse: Microsoft Dataverse is a powerful tool that allows you to store
and manage data securely. It acts as a foundation for various components of the Power
Platform, enabling them to work together seamlessly.

Think of Microsoft Dataverse as a safe and organized storage space for your data. It can
handle data from different sources, such as customer information, sales records, or
product inventory. With Microsoft Dataverse, you can store all this data in one central
location.

One of the key advantages of Microsoft Dataverse is its ability to provide a common
data model. This means that the data stored in Microsoft Dataverse follows a consistent
structure that makes it easier to use and understand. For example, instead of having
different formats for customer data in different applications, Microsoft Dataverse
ensures that the data is organized in a standardized way.

The common data model also allows you to integrate the stored data into various
business applications within the Power Platform. For example, you can use the data from
Microsoft Dataverse in Power Apps to build custom applications, in Power Automate to
create automated workflows, and in Power BI to generate insightful reports and
dashboards.

By using Microsoft Dataverse, you can consolidate, display, and manipulate your data
efficiently. It provides a foundation that brings all the components of the Power
Platform together, allowing you to work with your data seamlessly across different
applications. This integration ensures that your data is consistent, reliable, and readily
available for analysis, decision-making, and automation.

In summary, Microsoft Dataverse is a secure and scalable data service and app platform.
It serves as a central storage space for your data and ensures consistency through a
common data model. It allows the components of the Power Platform to work together,
enabling you to consolidate, display, and manipulate data efficiently across various
business applications.

Connectors: Connectors are like bridges that allow different apps, data, and devices to
connect and work together in the cloud. They act as a pathway for information and
commands to travel between different services and platforms.

Let's imagine you have different apps and systems that you use for your business. For
example, you have a customer relationship management (CRM) system, an email service,
a social media platform, and a cloud storage service. Each of these services has its own
way of storing and processing data.

Connectors make it possible for these services to communicate and share information
with each other. They provide pre-built integrations that allow you to easily connect
different apps and systems without needing to build custom connections from scratch.

For example, if you want to connect your CRM system with your email service, you can
use a connector. It acts as a bridge between the two systems, enabling data to flow
seamlessly between them. This means that when a new customer is added to your CRM
system, the connector can automatically send an email notification to your team or
update the customer's information in your email service.
The Power Platform, which includes Power Apps, Power Automate, and logic apps, can
utilize these connectors to enable smooth communication between different services. By
using connectors, you can bring together all your data and actions in a cohesive
manner, making it easier to automate processes, share information, and streamline your
workflows.

There are over 900 pre-built connectors available for the Power Platform. These
connectors cover a wide range of popular services such as Salesforce, Office 365,
Twitter, Dropbox, Google services, and many more. They provide ready-made
connections that you can leverage to integrate and interact with these services in a
seamless way.

In summary, connectors act as bridges that connect apps, data, and devices in the cloud.
They enable different services to communicate and share information with each other.
With pre-built connectors, you can easily integrate popular services and platforms with
the Power Platform, allowing your data and actions to connect cohesively and
streamline your workflows.

Describe the business value of the Power Platform

Many companies find it difficult to create solutions that help their customers succeed. They have
trouble updating their systems to keep up with the latest technology, and they also lack the
necessary resources to meet the constantly changing needs of businesses today. The demand
for specific applications is higher than ever before, but there aren't enough people available to
create them. In fact, the amount of applications needed is often five times more than what the
company can actually deliver.

This demand for applications and resources isn't the only challenge facing enterprises
today. As the business climate changes, new factors are impacting businesses.

These impacts include:

• Changing workforce expectations: Younger generations like millennials and Gen Z

have different expectations when it comes to work. They are used to personalized
experiences and working together through social media platforms. To make the most of
their skills and keep them engaged, organizations need to provide digital experiences
that are tailored to their preferences. This means creating customized and efficient tools
that allow for easy collaboration. By meeting these expectations, organizations can
better attract, retain, and maximize the potential of these younger workers.
• Increased costs for custom application development: Creating custom applications
can be a lengthy and costly process. It involves investing time and money to develop the
application according to specific requirements. But the expenses don't end there. Once
the application is built, there are ongoing costs involved in maintaining and supporting
it. This includes fixing any issues, updating the application to stay compatible with new
technology, and providing user support. So, organizations need to consider both the
initial development costs and the ongoing maintenance costs when investing in custom
applications.
• Need to become more agile: In the past, it used to take a long time to create and
launch solutions. Even making small changes to them could take weeks. But now, things
are different. Business strategies and requirements change rapidly, so organizations need
to be able to respond quickly. They need to build solutions that can adapt to these
changes in a timely manner. Being agile means being able to quickly create and update
solutions based on the evolving needs of the business. It's about being flexible and
responsive to keep up with the fast-paced nature of today's business world.
• Need to scale development efficiently: To keep up with the constantly changing needs
of the organization, it's important to change how solutions are developed. One way to
do this is by involving power users or citizen developers as part of the development
process. These are individuals within the organization who have a good understanding of
technology and can contribute to creating solutions. By including them in development
teams, we can form hybrid teams that empower the entire organization to participate in
the development process. This helps in scaling development efficiently and ensures that
solutions are aligned with the evolving needs of the organization.

The Power Platform is a set of tools that helps organizations overcome the challenges
we discussed earlier. It combines low-code tools, which make application development
easier, with enterprise-level development tools. This allows both citizen developers
(non-professional developers) and professional developers to work together in building
targeted solutions based on the needs of the users.

Let's take an example to understand this better. Imagine technicians working in the field
who often need specific mechanical parts to complete their tasks. Traditionally, they
would have to submit a request and wait for someone in charge of inventory to
respond, which could cause delays and frustration.

With Power Apps, technicians can create a dedicated app that allows them to check
inventory levels in real-time while they are on-site. They can also easily request the parts
they need directly from the app. Since the technicians have firsthand knowledge of what
they require, they can build a prototype of the app using Power Apps, focusing on the
user interface and overall experience. This prototype can then be refined by professional
developers who can add more complex functionality, like real-time inventory checks,
through APIs integrated into Power Apps and Power Automate.

This collaborative approach, known as fusion development, allows organizations to

leverage the expertise of both citizen developers and professional developers. It enables
the creation of functional and efficient applications that meet the specific needs of the
users, providing a better overall solution.

The image provides an example of the fusion development approach.

Using a low-code/no-code approach saves time for developers by reducing the amount
of work required for tasks like creating screens and automations. This frees up
developers to focus on more complex aspects of the solution. The Power Platform offers
over 900 prebuilt connectors, making it easier to integrate with both internal and
external systems without the need to build custom integration solutions from scratch,
which can be expensive to maintain.

Besides cost benefits, the Power Platform also improves performance and efficiency. Its
flexibility allows businesses to create applications and solutions that align with their
specific goals. For example, a time management Power App can be quickly built to
ensure consistent time tracking across the organization, reducing the chances of data
entry errors. Integrated approvals through Power Automate ensure that tasks are
automatically routed to the right person. For instance, time-off requests can be
approved or rejected promptly.

The Power Platform empowers organizations to meet their evolving needs efficiently. It
enhances business agility by enabling the rapid development of applications in hours or
days instead of weeks or months. This ensures that the solutions are still relevant and
valuable by the time they are completed. These solutions bring multiple benefits, such
as performance improvement, cost savings, risk reduction, and business transformation.

The speed of app development allows organizations to have a library of applications

that facilitate day-to-day operations. These apps can address various scenarios, such as
managing facilities for frontline workers, handling back-office administrative tasks like
personnel management and employee onboarding, and much more.

Explore connectors and Microsoft Dataverse

When organizations create business solutions, there are two important factors that can
affect how the solution works and performs: connecting to data sources and managing
business data. Power Platform offers two useful tools that simplify these tasks: data
connectors and Microsoft Dataverse.

Data connectors are tools that help you connect to data from various services. Think of
them as bridges that allow you to access and use data from different sources, such as
databases, cloud services, or online applications. They make it easier to gather
information from multiple places and bring it together in one central location, so you
can work with the data more efficiently.

Microsoft Dataverse, on the other hand, is like a specialized database designed

specifically for businesses. It not only stores your business data but also offers additional
built-in features that can be beneficial. One important feature is security, which helps
protect your data and control who can access it. Dataverse also provides functionalities
like data validation, automation, and collaboration tools, which can enhance the overall
effectiveness of your business solutions.

In simpler terms, data connectors help you connect to data from different places, while
Microsoft Dataverse is a powerful database that stores your business data securely and
offers extra tools to improve how you work with that data. Together, these tools make it
easier for organizations to build and manage their business solutions efficiently.
Connectors

When you're creating solutions that involve multiple services, it can be challenging to
ensure that you can perform the necessary operations in each system. The problem is
that you need a valid account that can perform the required actions across all the
services involved. Let's take an example of processing invoices to understand this better.

Imagine a building management company that hires vendors to perform services like
cleaning and landscaping. The vendors send invoices to the company via email. The
company wants to automate the process of processing these invoices. Currently, the
process involves the following steps:

1. Invoices are received as email attachments in Microsoft Exchange, which is used

for processing emails.
2. The attachments are downloaded and stored in Microsoft SharePoint.
3. Each invoice is sent to a specific person for approval using Microsoft Teams.
4. Once approved, the invoices are entered into the company's ERP system, Oracle.
5. Finally, a confirmation email with the invoice number needs to be sent back to
the vendor.

Automating this process requires interaction with multiple services, and each service
requires its own account and specific actions. In this example, we would be working with
at least four different services:

1. Office 365 Outlook: Monitoring a specific mailbox, downloading attachments,

and sending emails.
2. Microsoft SharePoint: Storing the downloaded attachments in a specific folder.
3. Microsoft Teams: Sending invoice approval requests to managers and capturing
their responses.
4. Oracle: Creating new invoices and storing invoice details.

Power Platform's data connectors make it easier to work with different data sources.
They act as a bridge between your app or workflow and the data sources you need to
interact with. Power Platform offers more than 900 connectors for various data sources.
Connectors come with prebuilt actions that simplify the process of working with those
data sources. For example, the Office 365 Outlook connector has actions for
downloading attachments and sending emails. When using a connector, you only need
to provide basic details about the action you want to perform.

Data connectors are used throughout Power Platform. In Power Apps, they are used to
connect apps to data sources like databases or Microsoft Dataverse. For example, a
company could create an app for order fulfillment, connecting it to an SQL database or
Microsoft Dataverse using data connectors. In Power Automate, data connectors are
used to connect to data sources that trigger actions or are used as actions themselves.

In simple words, data connectors in Power Platform act as bridges that help you connect
and work with data from different sources. They have prebuilt actions for common
operations, making it easier for you to interact with the data. Whether you're building
an app or automating workflows, data connectors simplify the process of connecting to
and working with various data sources.

Microsoft Dataverse

Microsoft Dataverse is a tool that allows organizations to securely store and manage
data used by their business applications. Think of it as a virtual storage space where you
can organize your data in tables, which are like grids with rows and columns. Each
column in a table holds specific types of data, such as names, dates, or locations.

Dataverse offers standard tables for common business scenarios, like accounts, contacts,
and activities, so you don't have to build everything from scratch. However, you can also
create custom tables tailored to your organization's specific needs and fill them with
relevant data. For example, a real estate company can have tables for properties, open
houses, or showings.

Once the tables are set up, you can use tools like Power Apps to build powerful business
applications that utilize this data. For instance, a real estate company can create an app
for their agents in the field, giving them access to property information stored in
Dataverse.

Using Dataverse provides several benefits:

1. Easy management: Both metadata (information about the data) and the actual
data are stored in the cloud, making it convenient to handle.
2. Enhanced security: Data is securely stored, and you can control who has access to
specific tables based on their roles within the organization.
3. Rich metadata: Data types and relationships are directly used in Power Apps,
making it easier to work with the data.
4. Logic and validation: You can define calculated columns, business rules,
workflows, and business process flows to ensure data quality and streamline
business processes.
5. Productivity tools: Tables can be accessed within Microsoft Excel add-ins,
increasing productivity and ensuring data accessibility.

Many solutions built on Power Platform utilize both Dataverse and connectors.
Dataverse acts as the main storage for business data, while connectors are used in
various apps and automations to connect to different data services.

In simpler terms, Microsoft Dataverse is a secure storage system where you can organize
your business data in tables. It provides pre-built tables for common scenarios and
allows you to create custom tables as needed. You can use Power Apps to build
applications that interact with this data. Dataverse offers benefits like easy management,
enhanced security, and productivity tools. It works hand in hand with connectors to
connect to different data services and create comprehensive solutions.

Describe how Power Platform works with Microsoft 365 apps and
services
Many organizations use Microsoft technologies like Microsoft 365 and SharePoint for
their email, productivity, and document management needs. Power Platform is a set of
tools that can interact directly with these Microsoft services to create more streamlined
solutions.

Power Platform offers connectors specifically designed to work with Microsoft 365
services. Some of these connectors include Office 365 Outlook, Office 365 Users, Excel,
and SharePoint. These connectors can be used by administrators, managers, and end
users to increase productivity.

For example, an end user typically receives numerous emails throughout the day, many
of which contain attachments that need to be saved. With Power Platform, the user can
create a flow using Power Automate to monitor their inbox for emails with attachments.
When such emails are detected, the flow can automatically save the attachments to the
appropriate customer folders in SharePoint. Automating this process can save significant
time, especially if it needs to be done multiple times a day.

Excel is still widely used in many organizations for various tasks. However, getting data
into Excel often involves manual copying and pasting or manual data entry. This can be
time-consuming and prone to errors. With Power Platform, end users can automate the
process of capturing and entering data into Excel using tools like Power Automate
Desktop. This automation mimics the user's keystrokes and mouse clicks, making data
entry faster and freeing up time for other tasks.
These are just a couple of examples highlighting how Power Platform can be used with
Microsoft 365 apps and services. The goal is to streamline processes, save time, and
improve productivity by automating repetitive tasks and integrating different
applications and services.

Explore how Power Platform works with Microsoft Teams

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, organizations had to adapt and find ways for their
workforce to work remotely. Microsoft Teams emerged as a popular solution to facilitate
collaboration and communication among team members. It serves as a central hub
where users can collaborate, hold meetings, manage projects, and more.

One of the key advantages of Microsoft Teams is its extensibility and adaptability. This
means organizations can customize and build their own applications within Teams to
meet the specific needs of their users. This is where Microsoft Power Platform comes
into play. Power Platform is a collection of tools that allows users to build applications
with minimal coding, known as low-code development.

With Power Platform, organizations can create custom applications that integrate
seamlessly with Microsoft Teams. These applications can enhance the collaboration
experience and provide tailored functionality based on the unique requirements of the
team. For example, a company could build a custom app within Teams to track project
progress, manage tasks, or automate certain workflows.

Power Platform includes different components like Power Apps, Power Automate, and
Power BI, which can all be utilized within Microsoft Teams. Power Apps enables the
creation of interactive and user-friendly apps, Power Automate automates repetitive
tasks and workflows, and Power BI provides powerful data analytics and visualization
capabilities. These components can be leveraged to build and extend the functionality
of Teams applications.

In simpler terms, Microsoft Teams became a go-to tool for remote collaboration during
the pandemic. It offers a central platform for teams to work together. Microsoft Power
Platform complements Teams by allowing organizations to build custom applications
within it. These apps can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the team, using low-
code development. With Power Platform, users can create interactive apps, automate
tasks, and analyze data, all within the Teams environment. This combination provides
organizations with a flexible and powerful solution to enhance collaboration and
productivity.
Let’s examine them in a little more detail.
Power BI: The Power BI tab in Microsoft Teams allows you to share interactive reports
and collaborate with others in Teams channels and chats. You can create and distribute
Power BI app content and access the basic Power BI service experience within Teams.

Power Apps: The Power Apps app in Teams lets you create and edit custom apps and
workflows without leaving Teams. You can quickly publish and share these apps with
your team members, making it convenient for them to access and use the apps within
Teams.

Power Automate: With the Power Automate app in Teams, you can automate repetitive
tasks directly within Teams. You can trigger flows from messages in Teams and
customize and enhance your Teams experience using Power Automate.

Power Virtual Agents: The Virtual Agents app in Teams allows you to create and manage
chatbots within Teams. These chatbots can provide answers to questions and help with
various tasks, and you can share them with others in your organization.
Dataverse for Teams: Dataverse for Teams is a low-code data platform within Microsoft
Teams. It enables users to build custom apps, bots, and workflows using Power Apps,
Power Virtual Agents, and Power Automate directly within Teams.

Virtual Assistant for Teams: The Virtual Assistant is a template provided by Microsoft
that allows you to create a conversational solution, like a chatbot, with full control over
the user experience and integration into the Teams environment.

In simpler terms, Power Platform brings different tools to Microsoft Teams. Power BI
allows you to share and collaborate on reports, Power Apps lets you create custom apps
and workflows, Power Automate automates tasks, Power Virtual Agents creates
chatbots, and Dataverse for Teams provides a low-code data platform. These tools can
be used within Teams to enhance collaboration and productivity, while the Virtual
Assistant template helps you create a customized conversational solution for Teams.

Let’s look at an example.

In the real estate industry, companies have adapted to remote work due to the
pandemic. Their agents primarily use Microsoft Teams for collaboration and daily tasks.
By combining Power Platform with Teams, we can provide real estate agents with the
following benefits:

1. Power Virtual Agent bots: Agents can interact with dedicated chatbots within
Teams. These bots can answer their questions and assist with day-to-day
activities. For instance, a chatbot can provide information on open house
procedures and help agents schedule open houses.
2. Expense submission app: A customized app can be created using Dataverse for
Teams. This app enables agents to easily submit expenses related to travel,
staging, and open houses directly within Teams, streamlining the process.
3. Power BI reports: Reports with property analytics can be embedded within
Microsoft Teams. Agents can access these reports to gain insights and make
informed decisions about properties, all within the Teams interface.

In simpler terms, real estate companies have embraced remote work and rely on
Microsoft Teams for collaboration. With the help of Power Platform, agents can use
chatbots to get answers and assistance, submit expenses conveniently through an app,
and access reports with property insights—all within the familiar Teams environment.
In the image, we can see a dedicated chat bot inside Microsoft Teams that helps answer agents’
questions related to different things such as open house scheduling protocols.

Describe how Power Platform works with Microsoft Dynamics 365

apps
Power Platform and Dynamics 365 work together to provide comprehensive business
solutions. Dynamics 365 consists of various applications that help organizations manage
different aspects of their business, such as finance, sales, and customer service. Power
Platform components, including Power Apps, Power BI, Power Automate, Power Virtual
Agents, and Power Pages, enhance and extend the functionality of Dynamics 365 apps.

Power Apps is used to create model-driven applications within Dynamics 365. These
applications are built based on a data model stored in Microsoft Dataverse and use
forms, views, charts, and dashboards to present data to users.

Power BI is used for business analytics and can connect to Dynamics 365 applications,
providing valuable insights and visualizations. These visualizations can be embedded
within Dynamics 365 apps like Sales or Customer Service.

Power Automate is used to create business process flows in Dynamics 365. These flows
guide users through predefined steps, helping them complete tasks efficiently. For
example, a business process flow in Dynamics 365 Sales can guide salespeople from
lead generation to closing a sale.
Power Virtual Agents enable the creation of intelligent chatbots. In Dynamics 365
Customer Service, chatbots can handle specific customer inquiries and reduce the
workload on customer service agents. Incoming phone calls, SMS, or messages from
channels like Facebook can be directed to the chatbot first, and if necessary, escalated
to a live agent.

Power Pages allows organizations to create external self-support sites connected to

Dataverse. Customers can access these sites to find answers to their questions, engage
with support, or open new support tickets.

In simpler terms, Power Platform components enhance Dynamics 365 applications.

Power Apps is used to build custom applications, Power BI provides analytics and
visualizations, Power Automate guides users through tasks, Power Virtual Agents create
chatbots for customer support, and Power Pages enable self-support portals for
customers. Together, they enhance the functionality and extend the capabilities of
Dynamics 365 apps to meet the specific needs of organizations.

The image shows an example of a Power BI dashboard displaying work order data that
was automatically created using the Visualize in Power BI feature that is built into

model-driven applications such as Dynamics 365 Field Service.

Describe how Power Platform solutions consume Microsoft Azure
services
Power Platform solutions can leverage the capabilities of Microsoft Azure services to
enhance their functionality and create more powerful applications.

For example, let's say an organization wants to automate manual processes and create a
user-friendly portal. They can use Azure services in combination with Power Platform to
achieve this. They can utilize Azure API management and Azure Functions to connect
custom APIs that access their existing legacy systems. By doing so, they can modernize
their systems and automate tasks. This helps in reducing costs and improving efficiency.

Additionally, Azure provides managed databases that can be integrated with Power
Platform solutions, enabling real-time data processing and storage. This ensures that
applications built on the Power Platform are reliable, scalable, and can handle a large
number of users.

In simpler terms, Power Platform solutions can make use of Azure services to connect
with existing systems, automate tasks, and store data. By doing this, organizations can
create more efficient and scalable applications while leveraging the capabilities of the
Azure cloud platform.
The data flows through the solution as follows:

1. The airline system communicates with a custom API hosted in Azure API
Management.
2. A custom API coordinator receives notifications and handles incoming
messages from the airline system, assigning flights to Microsoft Teams
channels and sending them to Power Apps.
3. When a user selects a flight to monitor, or when the system assigns the user
to a flight, the system queues a Graph API call in an Azure Storage Account
queue for further processing.
4. Azure Functions runs the Graph API calls based on the incoming messages
in the storage queue, sending notifications to Teams, and also streams all
events to an Azure Event Hubs for further analytics.
5. The airline's notification system is managed by a custom bot messaging
service that employs Azure Bot Service.
6. Custom bots send flight updates to users in Teams.
7. An Azure Data Lake storage offers long-term retention and micro-batch
processing of events from Event Hubs, ultimately generating insightful
reports with Power BI.

Explore how Microsoft Power Platform apps work together

Microsoft Power Platform is a set of tools that can help businesses improve their processes and make
their work more efficient. It consists of three main components: Power Apps, Power Automate, and
Power BI.

Let's say you have a business that lends out IT equipment to employees. Currently, employees have
to visit the IT office multiple times to check if the equipment they need is available. This process is
time-consuming and inefficient. With Power Platform, you can create a solution to streamline this
process.

Using Power Apps, you can build a custom app that lists all the equipment along with its availability
status and important details like serial numbers and warranty information. Employees can access this
app on their phones or tablets and check if the equipment they need is available. They can also see
any instructions or notes associated with the equipment.

When an employee wants to check out equipment, they can request it through the app and specify a
pickup time. This information is then sent to the IT office. IT personnel can prepare the equipment in
advance, so it's ready for pickup at the specified time.
To automate the process of equipment returns, Power Automate can be used. It can send reminder
emails to employees when their equipment is due for return. This eliminates the need for manual
tracking and follow-up.

Power BI can analyze the data collected from the app, providing insights into equipment usage
patterns. IT leaders can see which equipment is used most often and by whom. This helps in making
informed decisions like purchasing additional equipment or assigning dedicated equipment to
certain users or departments.

In simple words, Power Platform allows you to create an app that employees can use to check the
availability of IT equipment and request its checkout. It automates reminders for equipment return
and provides insights into equipment usage for better decision-making.

This is just one example of how Power Platform can be used to improve processes in a business. You
can apply the same concept to your own business and identify areas where Power Platform can help
make tasks easier, faster, and more efficient.

In the case of the real estate company, Power Platform can provide a customized
solution to meet the needs of both the agents and the managers. Here's how it can
help:

1. Agents' needs:
• Power Apps can be used to create a mobile app that allows agents to quickly
search for active property listings while they are out in the field. They can easily
access property details, such as location, price, and features, right from their
phones.
• Using Power Apps, agents can intake new properties by capturing property
details, taking pictures, and scheduling open houses. This simplifies the process
of adding new properties to the company's listings.
2. Managers' needs:
• Power Apps can also provide managers with a clear view of all currently listed
properties. They can easily see which properties are available for sale or rent.
• With Power Automate, managers can set up workflows to ensure property
inspections are conducted as needed. They can receive automated notifications
or reminders when inspections are due.
• Power Apps can enable managers to access important details, such as the
number of offers made on a property and manage any incoming offers efficiently.
• Power Apps can help managers identify similar properties in the area, making it
easier for them to compare and make informed decisions.
• Power BI, a part of Power Platform, allows managers to analyze the overall
landscape of the properties they are selling. They can gain insights into sales
trends, market conditions, and performance metrics. This data can drive better
business decisions.

Additional information:

• Integration with Microsoft Outlook allows seamless communication through

email for the real estate company.
• Integration with Microsoft Teams ensures that agents can collaborate effectively
and access the Power Platform tools directly within Teams, streamlining their
daily workflow.

In simpler terms, Power Platform offers customized solutions for the real estate
company. Agents can use a mobile app to search for properties, add new listings, and
manage their tasks. Managers can access a centralized view of properties, handle
inspections and offers, and analyze sales data. The integration with Microsoft Outlook
and Teams makes communication and collaboration easier for everyone.

By leveraging Power Platform, the real estate company can streamline its operations,
enhance productivity, and make more informed business decisions.

Summary and resources

Microsoft Power Platform offers a point-and-click approach to building custom

applications, data visualizations, and automated workflows. This approach makes it easy
for anyone familiar with Microsoft Office to create custom business solutions.

Now that you have reviewed this module, you should be able to:

• Explain Microsoft Power Platform

• Describe the business value of the Power Platform
• Describe the types of connectors available, as well as how they are used in
Power Platform
• Explain the importance of Microsoft Dataverse for business solutions
• Describe how Power Platform works together with Microsoft 365 apps and
services
• Describe the different options available for leveraging Power Platform and
Microsoft Teams
• Describe how Power Platform works with Dynamics 365
• Describe how Power Platform solutions can consume Azure Services
• Explain how Power Platform apps can be used together to create solutions

Resources

Use these resources to discover more.

Tip

To open a resource link, right-click and select "Open in a new tab or window". That way,
you can check out the resource and easily return to the module tab to unlock your
achievement when done.

Power BI

• Power BI
• Power BI customer showcase

Power Apps

• Power Apps
• Power Apps Resources

Power Automate

• Power Automate
• Power Automate Documentation

More on Connectors

• Connector Reference
• Overview of canvas-app connectors for Power Apps

Getting started with Custom Connectors

• Using a blank custom connector

• From an OpenAPI definition
• From a Postman collection
• Use custom connectors in a PowerApps canvas app

Get started with Power Virtual Agents

• Power Virtual Agents