Introduction to PowerApps and Flow Kurt Hagedorn Introduction to PowerApps and Flow

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Introduction and Background My Background: Financial Services: Ameriprise 14+ years Ecolab Corp: 2+ years Nihilent Technologies: 2+ years Application Development Reporting Database development & architecture Mostly Microsoft BI Stack + Sybase, DB2 and Oracle SQL Server Stack, PowerBI, Azure, PowerApps and Flow

Introduction to PowerApps and Flow What is PowerApps? What is Flow? How are they useful? How could they fit into your architecture? Ideas for possible application Q&A This is “beginner” level so won’t go into great depth but will highlight some technical details. Main goal is to give overview and hopefully spark some ideas as to how this could be useful to your organization Survey audience: PowerApps & Flow, Access DB, SSIS, App/Dev, Azure, Infopath?

What is PowerApps?

What is PowerApps? Rapid application development environment appropriate for building desktop, tablet and phone apps with a low-code solution Very useful for quick build and deployment of applications to support business and operations Most applicable for “last mile” applications

What is PowerApps? – Place in Power Platform Visualization End User Interaction Before showing the app dev environment, see how it fits into Microsoft Power Platform

What is PowerApps? – A UI Overview Development IDE is in-browser. Does not require Visual Studio or related IDE download and install  Give overview of UI,

What is PowerApps? – Templates

What is PowerApps? – UI Overview Walk through of UI development environment

What is PowerApps? – UI Overview

What is PowerApps? – Example NOTE: Password is redundant – users already authenticate with their Microsoft login, password CAN be added if needed. Demo of dynamic language translation

What is PowerApps? – Example

What is PowerApps? – Useful Functionality Access to functions and controls of device: Camera, GPS, accelerometer, compass, altitude, video/sound recorder, handwriting input Requires Common Data Service Offline storage of data https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/implementing-offline-capability-in-your-app/

What is PowerApps? – New Developments Requires Common Data Service – need at least 15 images per object – the more the better

What is PowerApps? – New Developments PowerApps Portals Portals – allow for sharing for users outside your organization via 3rd party authentication tools: Google, LinkedIn, Facebook logins Can enable authentication via enterprise identity providers like Azure AD B2C, Okta, Auth0 and others, can enable anonymous access Allow for hybrid access (some content is available for anonymous users, some available for authenticated users)

What is PowerApps? – Resources Requires Common Data Service

What is PowerApps? – Management Portal

What is PowerApps? – Management Portal Version History

What is PowerApps? – Management Portal

What is PowerApps? – Management Portal Execution Analysis

PowerApps: Caveats PowerApps – Individual PowerApp for Tablet OR Phone layout New features being added all the time https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/category/new-features/

What is PowerApps? – Summary Low code desktop / tablet / phone user interface application Integrates well into other applications like PowerBI (preview) Easy for business users to get up and running quickly Central publishing and deployment Allows for controlled user navigation & interaction experience Ability to use sensors on deployed devices and offline storage of data QUESTIONS SO FAR?

What is Flow?

What is Flow? - Overview Workflow / Business Process automation tool Examples: When a new work order, send text message to field representative When scanning a product, send image to ML model to identify probable make and model When National Weather Service extends possibility of extreme weather, automatically send notification to clients of potential delay of service

What is Flow? – Place in Power Platform Visualization End User Interaction Workflow, Data Interaction, small scale ETL

What is Flow? - Overview The best way of seeing what flow can do – look at templates

What is Flow? - Overview Simple example which sends email notification after an HTTP web service call

What is Flow? - Overview Actual example – upload documents from SharePoint

What is Flow? - Overview

What is Flow? – Admin center Can manage, set security policies and evaluate performance of executions via Admin Center

Flow: Caveats Drag and Drop options can vary based on subcomponent you are working on Auto-generation of some sub-components New features being added all the time https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/category/product-updates/

What is Flow? – Summary Workflow tool, which can enable: Ad-Hoc workflow Small Scale Data Movement and Batches Trigger Large Batches (via an SSIS package) Executing PowerShell Scripts (via call to an Azure function) Can execute in scheduled or on-demand mode Execution portal can enable evaluation of executions and exceptions QUESTIONS SO FAR?

How do PowerApps & Flow work together? How they are useful?

Relationship between PowerApps and Flow User Interface Direct Connection: Situations with less complex logic – Read and Write Data Business Logic Flow: Situations with more complex interactions and business process workflows PowerApps and Flow CAN be used independently, but they are frequently used together – exact pattern depends on use cases Key Benefit: Centrally manage, deploy and monitor

PowerApps & Flow: How Are They Useful? Rapid application deployment and release to large number of distributed teams Capability of leveraging mobile application capabilities in BYOD context (Android and iOS) Integration with organizational Active Directory Ability to centrally manage and organize business workflow and logic

PowerApps & Flow: How Are They Useful? Short-Term, quick turnaround of deliverables Useful for stop-gap solutions Excellent for prototyping Engage business in solution design Distributed teams Allow for mobility and offline use Ease of deployment in BYOD context More granular control of user experience and input Application IDE is 100% in-browser

PowerApps & Flow: How Are They Useful? Small scale data movement Workflow execution Small batches (or could trigger larger batches) Central Management and evaluation Central control of business logic

How can PowerApps & Flow work in your architecture?

Possible Architectural Applications Prototyping What can you build? Stop Gap Solution Well…what do you want? Business Technology Short Term -> Long Term Enable Power Users (Hybrid System Approach) BI Team

Possible Architectural Applications Traditional Configuration Possible Architectural Applications Enable Power Users (Hybrid System Approach) Business BI Team Technology Speed Stability Meet demands of the client Driving revenue Fast Ensuring stability of environment Risk Mitigation Not as fast (Source Code management, QA Reviews, environment migration, DR & change management considerations) ?

Possible Architectural Applications Common Configuration Possible Architectural Applications Enable Power Users (Hybrid System Approach) BI Team Technology Business Speed Stability Not easy to centrally manage or verify business logic. Difficulty to integrate end-user data. Internally-Built Applications 3rd Party Supported Enterprise Applications (e.g. Salesforce, Dynamics 365) Application Not very agile. Disadvantages with too much customization. Data Extracts, spreadsheets, enterprise databases Data Extracts, spreadsheets, enterprise databases Core Databases: OLTP, Data Marts, Data Warehouse, Analytical Cubes Data

Possible Architectural Applications Using PowerApps Possible Architectural Applications Enable Power Users (Hybrid System Approach) Business responsible for support BI (IT) Responsible for support after review and code validation Reviewed, Certified and Supported Apps IT responsible for support BI Team Technology Business Speed Stability Internally-Built Applications 3rd Party Supported Enterprise Applications (e.g. Salesforce, Dynamics 365) Application Data Extracts, spreadsheets, enterprise databases Centralized, Supported Data Model. Data Extracts, spreadsheets, enterprise databases Core Databases: OLTP, Data Marts, Data Warehouse, Analytical Cubes Data

Ideas for Possible Applications

Ideas for Possible Application – Distributed Teams Rapid distribution to distributed team via Android / AppStore Application

Ideas for Possible Application – Distributed Teams Dashboards to enable dispatchers and controllers to ensure Arriva aligns with KPI’s

Ideas for Possible Application – Distributed Teams Lauren Taylor, an assistant principal at Manitou Park Elementary, uses the Microsoft Power Platform to capture and visualize reading data and implement a data-driven culture in the school

Ideas for Possible Application – Offline Access

Ideas for Possible Application – Offline Access

Ideas for Possible Application – Offline Access

Ideas for Possible Application – Near Real-Time Analysis This is only Flow – no PowerApps

Ideas for Possible Application – Interactive Q&A Option for gaining user input Ever publish report and are not sure if people are using it and what questions they may have?

Ideas for Possible Application – Interactive Q&A

Ideas for Possible Application – Interactive Q&A

Ideas for Possible Application – Interactive Q&A

Ideas for Possible Application – Interactive Q&A

Ideas for Possible Application – Automated Alerts with Flow Report must include component which is a Card, KPI or gauge

Ideas for Possible Application: Summary Inventory Tracking Agriculture Insurance claim documentation and management Transportation and Logistics Billing and invoicing of distributed teams (construction and repair) Tourism Survey Training Countless others

Summary

Introduction to PowerApps and Flow: Summary What is PowerApps? What is Flow? How are they useful? How could they fit into your architecture? Ideas for possible application

Questions?

Appendix YouTube Videos by Shane Young: PowerApps - Pricing: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7_OGRP8BYvtGB8eZdPG6Ng/videos PowerApps - Plan Comparison: https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/#compare-plans PowerApps and Flow Planned Features: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform-release-plan/2019wave2/microsoft-powerapps/planned-features https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform-release-plan/2019wave2/microsoft-flow/planned-features PowerApps - Pricing: https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/ PowerApps - Implementing offline access: https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/implementing-offline-capability-in-your-app/ PowerApps – Whitepaper: Coding Standards and Guidelines: https://pahandsonlab.blob.core.windows.net/documents/PowerApps%20canvas%20app%20coding%20standards%20and%20guidelines.pdf

PowerApps - Pricing Details: https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/#compare-plans

What is Flow? – An Actual Example Actual example – upload documents from SharePoint

What is Flow? – An Actual Example Actual example – upload documents from SharePoint

What is Flow? – An Actual Example Actual example – upload documents from SharePoint