Microsoft Power Apps Reviews

PowerApps is mostly a front end. It's a form where users can input information, and it gets goes into a database.

If you want something that you can use for cellphones, multiple tablets, and things like that, you can use PowerApps for the front end. It gathers all the information, and the information goes somewhere else. 

PowerApps can't do a lot of things that users need now. For example, it can't handle signatures. 

We just started using PowerApps last year.

I don't know if PowerApps is suitable for the enterprise level. When we need an enterprise solution, we don't use PowerApps because it's too complicated for the users and creates too many headaches for IT.

It's hit or miss. Microsoft makes changes so fast that even their support engineers are confused. Sometimes I'll change my settings, and then I'll go back to my settings the next week, and I can't find it. Finally, I realize that Microsoft changed something, and this particular setting is now integrated into another part of the menu. They keep doing that. It confuses the admins and even their own people.

Microsoft had a solution called InfoPath that they discontinued and replaced with PowerApps. I still like it much better because of the licensing issues. PowerApps' use case is more general. Microsoft took InfoPath's functionality and made it more complicated in PowerApps. 

They did the same thing when they introduced the new version of Power Automate. Microsoft took away the best workflow feature. Without that particular one, it's hard to create general workflows for somebody else. Many people don't know how to create workflows, so they rely on IT to do that for them.

Setting up PowerApps isn't straightforward. We allow users to be citizen developers, as they call it, and around 95 percent of the time they end up going back to us, saying, "Hey, we can't use this. We don't know what to do. Help us!" As IT, we're spending a lot of time creating these forms for them instead of users doing it themselves.

There are better solutions like Jotform, which is a complete form solution. We're now using Jotform instead of PowerApps because the workflow is simplified. It can accept signatures, and there are many widgets you can use. Jotform has drag-and-drop functionality. However, even with drag and drop, many users still can't build forms and need help from IT. 

It's just a matter of which will make the best use of your time. If it takes a long time to create something in Power Apps and half the time to do it in Jotform, I would make it in Jotform and be done with it. We also use Microsoft Forms for simple forms instead of PowerApps.

I rate PowerApps four out of 10. 

We use the solution for making forms for Office 365.

The solution is easy to use and map.

The solution should have more integration with other platforms. 

The licensing price could be better. 

We have been using Microsoft PowerApps for five to ten years. 

The solution is definitely stable. 

For sure, the solution is scalable. 

As the solution is deployed on-cloud, there is no need for installation. 

The price for the license could be more cost-effective. 

Customers have the option of monthly and yearly subscriptions. 

The solution is deployed both on-premises and in the cloud. 

I would recommend the solution to others. 

We deal with around 15 customers. 

I rate Microsoft PowerApps as an eight out of ten. 

Once you have a cloud solution, for instance, and you work within a Microsoft suite, such as Dynamics CRM, ERP, or another dynamic platform and you want to extend it with a mobile app, Microsoft PowerApps is the right solution.

Main limits will be the "vendor lock-in" concept, pricing for mass external users, and the training could be better. It is not intend to serve ex-Azur assets or on-prem. 

The solution integrated well in Azure environment thus provide a full rapid development solution. Thanks to the extensibility (as low code platform should), You can do anything, and if not directly, you can use other Azure functionality. 

1. The licensing lakes a plan for a mass number of external users on the app.

2. The Data layer based on Azure data layer which complicates the environment, the min. required knowledge (citizen developers will not be independent under with PowerApps) and the vendor lock-in limitation.

3. The training is not integrated in the tool and the available training is not a full course which might be available in the online universities but not free and accessible like in other tools. 

It's a stable and trustworthy solution and can serve in an organizational critical processes.

Anything special to share.

Yes I'm using Mendix.

The major advantage of PowerApps is in Microsoft environment.  Once your assets are in Azure, this is the natural choice for rapid development.

As always - depends on the size and complexity of the needed solution. But the cloud based solution + the Low Code approach simplify it. 

I estimate that the time to market will be 3-5 times faster then 3rd generation solution or twice faster that best of breed of the shelf solution (which you have to find the specific specialist +rely on your solution provider ...)

The setup costs depend on the organization (it's professional knowledge) and it's assets location once the basic data and application is in Azure the setup effort will be very cost effective.

For organizational internal users the prices are fair. But for external users It's negotiation. The the long term is vague.

Our primary use for Microsoft PowerApps is to develop production-ready applications.

The most valuable feature is the simple data connectivity components. With no code, you can use multiple data sources with different software systems.

Integration with databases and other tools needs to be improved.

I have been working with Microsoft PowerApps for about three years.

The stability is fine and we have no issue there.

I am a bit concerned about scalability.

I have my own technical support team so we have not had to contact Microsoft technical support.

I have experience with Zoho Creator and I find that the environment is much better. The database integration is better and creating a production-ready app is very straightforward.

The initial setup is straightforward.

The problem that I am having with Microsoft PowerApps, and other no-code or low-code solutions, is that younger developers are not comfortable with it. They are more comfortable with C# because it gives them more control over what they are doing, and more control over the testing.

My advice for anybody who is implementing this solution is to first conduct a large-scale, enterprise-level project. This way, you will see if the product is scalable enough for your requirements.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

We use the solution for, production orders, and for statement classification expenses for a family company. 

The support is the most valuable feature.

The incorporation of AI to construct a no-code application is an advantageous feature. However, I believe it is an unfulfilled promise. I think it will eventually be implemented, but ultimately, we will require the assistance of a programmer to guide us through the process.

There is room for improvement with the amount of code required to implement the expense classification app.

I have been using the solution for three years.

The solution is stable.

The solution is completely scalable when we are also using Microsoft Dataverse.

The technical support is quick to respond.

The initial setup is not complex, but there were some areas that we struggled with, such as the gallery limitation. Nowadays, we are able to pull more than two thousand records, but if we do so, we have a lot of problems with the performance of Microsoft Power Apps.

The pricing is complicated to understand.

I give the solution a seven out of ten.

We use this solution for process authorization in our company.

It is very easy for us to implement. We have a Microsoft ecosystem, and this solution has many components for integration.

It would be good if this solution supports standard BPM notation. We are thinking of switching to a BPM solution next year because it is not a BPM solution.

I have been using this solution for a year.

It is stable.

Its scalability is very good. This solution is in Microsoft cloud, so we don't need to worry about scaling it.

We didn't use technical support. I have only used online documentation, and it is very good. There are good videos out there.

We didn't use any other solution.

The initial setup is very easy because it is a SaaS solution. We don't need to implement any server in the company. We just use the SaaS solution.

In terms of the implementation strategy, we take a small business use case in the financial area and do a proof of concept to evaluate a solution. 

We did it on our own.

We use the Office 365 package, and Microsoft PowerApps is a part of the package. We don't pay any separate price for this.

There are no additional costs. We just pay for the Office 365 package.

I would recommend this solution because it is an easy solution for the Microsoft ecosystem.

I would rate Microsoft PowerApps an eight out of ten. We are happy with this solution.

The primary use case of this solution is to automate the interaction between documents and departments. For example, it's a flow for someone who has to validate a request, a file, or to review another file. A flow is put in place to avoid email communication.

I like the status of the flow and the dashboard, with all of the flows that are running and showing the stages of them.

If you are accustomed to Microsoft technology, then it's quite easy to learn, but if you are new around the whole online platform of Microsoft, then it takes time. Even if you are familiar with Microsoft products then there is still a learning curve on the use.

Previously with Microsoft, they were offering hands-on exercises or labs. I think that should be put back in place. Also, a few years ago Microsoft had an MVA program. It was called Microsoft Virtual Academy, where you could learn a lot about technology, but now it's deprecated and that's why it takes time to learn the new platform.

I have always felt that you need an IT background to use this solution.

I would like to see more regarding the help element of the program itself. More courses around the usage and of the technology features, more training, and guides.

I have been using this solution for six months.

Normally, our downtime is planned, and we are aware of it. However, on one or two occasions we have experienced unplanned downtimes. As it was on our end, and not problematic, it was disregarded.

At this time we have three to five users.

We are using this solution once a week, as we have only just started using it.

We have not needed to contact technical support b. Microsoft has a tool located in the portal where we can see the service, help, and stages. This includes all of the help for Office 365.

The initial setup was very easy. It's a cloud solution. Because we were already using Microsoft products, we only had to enable the license and just start using it.

At this time, we are still learning the basics and the setups while discovering the entire product and how to best use it internally.

I would suggest investing in the training of the product. 

It is very important to know the capabilities of the product to be able to address any questions a customer or user may have for you.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Microsoft has come at the right time. To come out with a RAD (Rapid Application Development) tool where you can develop your apps on the cloud much faster, and deploy them for multiple devices, whether it is mobile, cloud, laptops, or desktops. It is similar to Oracle APEX or Oracle developer tools where you just drag and drop into your application within minutes.

The primary use case of this solution is case management reporting. If, for example, you have a set of engineers who have been assigned a particular case or project they will need to record all of their activities and their visits. Using the application created in PowerApps, they report everything, then it goes through a workflow. 

The workflow goes from recording the daily activities of the team for the specific project. The project then goes through a series of approvals and gets logged, completed, and the report is generated. 

Expenses are also being logged. 

We have Power BI as well, and it moves the data from the source to the data warehouse then generates a report.

This is quite a short term, six-week engagement. We wanted to create an application and have it up and running within four to six weeks, rather than spending three to six months on bigger projects on the platform. We wanted it to be quick and fast.

PowerApps is best suited for those cases where you have a small scenario and an application to support that project or scenario. You can call these departmental applications, which are needed on the fly. We create a much shorter development lifecycle and then deploy, and then people start using it.

Take an example of the COVID-19 situation. We wanted all of our branches to log their COVID cases or what exactly are they doing daily to manage the COVID cases and to know what the process is. All of those details are logged into the COVID folder and then the reports are generated daily or weekly.

Microsoft PowerApps is a no-code solution.

I would say that the most valuable features are the user interface, navigation, and business routes.

It quickly drags and drops. It doesn't take much coding, there is no coding in fact. You drag and drop, select a few things to configure, and then read those applications in the user screens. 

With business rules, you can just select and you don't need to elaborate coding or backend code. This way, it's much easier to write or create those applications using their features.

When you capture a lot of data, the data becomes enormous. It's one of Microsoft's challenges that there is a threshold limit of 5000 items. It has to improve the threshold limit where it can handle data beyond 5000 items.

I would like to see integration with on-premise business applications, complex business routes, and complex business workflows.

We started using Microsoft PowerApps in 2014.

Currently, there is a challenge in scaling up. We can't scale beyond large data.

We have approximately 10,000 users in our organization.

There is a challenge in getting support. The support staff is not trained properly in PowerApps.

The initial setup was not easy, but not exactly complex. There was a lot of research.

There are two licensing costs, one is pay-as-you-go, or you can develop it for one year.

I would advise others to make an informed decision before you implement it. There are a lot of challenges, and the product is going through a lot of changes.

It's promising, so I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.