Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
reviewer1777569 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Low-code, stable solution for creating applications in a more simplified way, and can be easily scaled up
Pros and Cons
  • "Microsoft PowerApps allows you to simplify business processes and user experience. You can also create responsive applications and canvas apps through this solution. It's an easy to scale, stable, and low-code solution."
  • "Microsoft PowerApps can be more costly for small teams or organizations."

What is our primary use case?

In the complete Microsoft Power platform, there are four components: PowerApps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, and Power BI. We use all these four so we can make a complete solution, e.g. a visualization dashboard, automated chat bots, and the rest we can achieve using PowerApps.

Microsoft PowerApps has three types of applications. One is the canvas app. Another one is the model-driven app that is business specific and data specific. Another type of app we can use is open source, e.g. open projects that are called "portals". We can achieve the same thing when developing a website and when doing it in the portal. These are what we can achieve using Microsoft PowerApps and the Power Platform.

Microsoft PowerApps provide the user interface and functionality, e.g. we can create a normal app that is used on web or mobile. Microsoft PowerApps is similar to a form where you perform whatever you want to do. Some look and feel controls are also found in this solution.

Power Automate, on the other hand, is where we automate the backend processes, e.g. the notifications, data extractions, etc. For something that needs calculation, we use Power Automate, while building the user interface and user experience, we use Microsoft PowerApps.  

What is most valuable?

What we like about Microsoft PowerApps is that it allows us to simplify business processes and user experience. We can also create responsive applications and canvas apps through this solution.

If we need an app that is more specific to what the business requires, we can create model-driven apps through Microsoft PowerApps. We can also create a reusable component which we can use in this solution, through the power component framework, which is a recent development model from this product.

We also love that this product is a low-code tool which has drag and drop controls, so building apps is simplified.

What needs improvement?

This solution can be more costly for small teams or organizations.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Both Microsoft Power Automate and Microsoft PowerApps are stable products.

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power Apps
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power Apps. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft PowerApps is a solution that can be easily scaled up.

How are customer service and support?

I had no issues with the technical support for this product.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing of Microsoft PowerApps is neutral, because it's completely based on user requirement. If your requirement is simple or less complex, then the basic licensing model can work, e.g. the free model, or else, you need to go for some premium features or model. The cost will be completely based on your product, and what app license is going to work for you. If per user license is going to work, then you can go for that.

Microsoft PowerApps is not that expensive, but for a small organization, getting the license could be tough, because if you have a team of five people, then it's going to cost you.

What other advice do I have?

I'm working as a developer, particularly the main power platform developer with Microsoft technology as a senior consultant. I'm working with Microsoft PowerApps and Power Automate.

Every automation nowadays is using Microsoft PowerApps and Microsoft Power Automate.

Microsoft PowerApps is best for medium to large enterprises.

I'm recommending Microsoft PowerApps for low-code projects. In the past, developers have to work a lot. They needed to use their technical skills, e.g. for developing codes. They needed to learn different languages to perform a simple mission. For web development, they need to use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Today, it's about using the Microsoft Power Platform, as it has low-code, no-code tools.

Microsoft PowerApps is a low-code solution, which means that we can now simplify things through drag and drop controls. We can also use different rebuild models through this solution. We can use different rebuild connectors that calculate to connect to different systems easily. Earlier, only developers were responsible for developing apps. Now, citizen developers can also make apps with the help of Microsoft Power Platform, because it's a low-code, no-code solution.

My rating for Microsoft Power Automate is an eight out of ten. I'm giving the same rating for Microsoft PowerApps: eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
SaurabhSingh1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Sales Architect at Softline
MSP
Top 5Leaderboard
A low-code platform that helps to develops solutions for general business processes
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool helps simplify tasks like conference room bookings, onboarding new employees, managing documentation processes, or handling form submissions; PowerOps can adapt to various use cases. Its ability to develop templates and seamlessly integrate data makes it a valuable tool. It can be integrated with Microsoft Copilot."
  • "I recommend improving Microsoft Power Apps' licensing model. I've encountered challenges related to licensing complexity, which has led some customers to opt for traditional solution development and deployment methods instead."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is a low-code platform that quickly develops solutions for general business processes. Companies can integrate it with their existing systems, access data flows, and deploy applications within a matter of days or even a couple of days.

What is most valuable?

The tool helps simplify tasks like conference room bookings, onboarding new employees, managing documentation processes, or handling form submissions; PowerOps can adapt to various use cases. Its ability to develop templates and seamlessly integrate data makes it a valuable tool. It can be integrated with Microsoft Copilot. 

What needs improvement?

I recommend improving Microsoft Power Apps' licensing model. I've encountered challenges related to licensing complexity, which has led some customers to opt for traditional solution development and deployment methods instead.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the product for one to two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the tool's stability a six to seven out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Microsoft Power Apps is a scalable solution. 

How are customer service and support?

We contact Microsoft architects for assistance if we don't get the help we need through the normal support channels.

How was the initial setup?

The tool's deployment is straightforward. Deployment doesn't take much time, usually just a couple of days.

What was our ROI?

The product's value and benefits vary depending on the solution being built. Some solutions may simplify employee tasks. However, ROI cannot be much since it is an internal process. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the overall product an eight out of ten. I recommend starting with exploration because it's a low-code/no-code solution that anyone, even without a technical background, can learn. Set up the flow and template, and you're ready.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Flag as inappropriate
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power Apps
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power Apps. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Programmer Analyst at Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Real User
Great cloud aspects and good integration potential but does work differently on different types of devices
Pros and Cons
  • "The cloud aspect has been great. We don't have to do a lot of research in order to begin integrations. It's so easy to integrate with other solutions."
  • "We're not in production yet, so we're still working through some issues."

What is our primary use case?

We're not in production yet. We're still very much in the early stages of this solution.

What is most valuable?

The cloud aspect has been great. We don't have to do a lot of research in order to begin integrations. It's so easy to integrate with other solutions.

The solution works well with Microsoft Teams. We used to use Skype for Business, and now we rely on Microsoft Teams Enterprise E5. 

There's great integration with Dynamics 365, Office 365, and more. It's great that everything is easily connected.

We can use the solution from cell phones, tablets, or computers. It works on every platform and in every environment. 

What needs improvement?

The solution does work a bit differently on cell phones and tablets.

We still have information on our SQL server and we need to migrate things over. The timing of doing that is going to be a little tight.

We're not in production yet, so we're still working through some issues. However, by the time we are in production, I'm confident this solution will be ready.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with the solution for about six months at this point.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution is quite good. Of course, if we run into any issues, technical support is right there to help us, and they are very helpful.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have more than 1,500 users in our organization. There are other users that will also be able to access the solution from the outside. With this particular solution, in terms of maintenance and direct work on it, we started off as a team of four, however, now we are a team of ten. We needed some more people to maintain the surrounding software. However, overall, it's been good.

We're not a small organization. We're pretty big. It's easier to focus on smaller projects rather than trying to implement something that's large scale.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've found the technical support to be very good. They are always right there, ready to assist. We can open tickets 24 hours a day. If they are critical, they are dealt with quickly.

How was the initial setup?

Our company is quite large. With 1,500 or so people, changes take a while to implement. It's not like a small organization where you can do everything quickly. You need to make sure people know how to use it.

In general, the full deployment took a few months.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't have too much information on licensing It is likely per application we use, or per machine. I don't deal directly with billing and therefore don't have the exact pricing.

What other advice do I have?

We have a very good and very close relationship with Microsoft.

I started working more on PowerApps as we were making a comparison with Salesforce. We decided on PowerApps mostly due to the fact that Salesforce would not work. 

We have to maintain our current environment, so at some point, it's not that we are 100% in these new tools. Right now we have more than 60% of our time in these new tools and try to not develop any coding. We do make some code in JavaScript, however, it isn't too much.

It's a good solution. There is some coding needed for customization aspects, however, it's a pretty solid product.

There's still a lot that I need to learn about the solution. Therefore, currently, I'd rate it at a seven out of ten. We're not in production yet, and therefore it's hard to gauge many aspects of the solution.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
BENDER BENEDICT - PeerSpot reviewer
L3 Technical Support Engineer at SV Gaming Limited
Real User
Leaderboard
Valuable 365 and Microsoft integrations; ROI is visible
Pros and Cons
  • "The features I find the most valuable are the 365 and Microsoft applications integrations and the automation."
  • "The area where this product can be improved is the documentation. When we get stuck it's with the documentation when we are not able to find the codes we need."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case for this solution for us is building in-house applications rather than having to purchase them. We build fairly basic applications and we would rather use Power Apps to deploy them or create them in-house.

How has it helped my organization?

The way this solution helped us improve is by allowing us to collect data by combining it with phones and the tools Microsoft uses to send out surveys and also use it for a number of automation and requests. It creates forms with which people can make requests or respond to surveys and those are worked on the backend. The whole process is done using Power Apps.

What is most valuable?

The features I find the most valuable are the 365 and Microsoft applications integrations and the automation.

What needs improvement?

The area where this product can be improved is the documentation. When we get stuck it's with the documentation when we are not able to find the codes we need. The solution requires a lot of codes and understanding of the scripting language. Most of the time I end up going to forums to get them. I would like to see Microsoft come up with a knowledge base for Power Apps.

In the next release, I would like to see more integrations because there are some that are not available and we end up having to get adjacent script to work on to work with that.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for two years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

My impression is that it is very stable. I would rate it a 10, on a scale of one to 10, with one being not stable at and 10 being very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We rarely scale when it comes to Power Apps. Once you deploy the application, that's it. So if you need to scale something more robust you probably have to deploy a new one.

Currently, there are over 500 users of Power Apps in our company.

We plan on expanding because it saves us a lot of cost in terms of the application that we currently use this for.

How are customer service and support?

I am not even aware if there is any technical support for Power Apps because most times we have to go through online communities and forums to get what we want. I think the support for Power Apps should be something Microsoft could look into.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward because they have a quite number of templates that you can pick from. The deployment does not take long as it comes with the Office 365. If you have Office 365, you have the Power App enabled in your directory.

What was our ROI?

The ROI is visible considering the number of applications we have been able to use it to build.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The Power Apps comes included with the Office 365. When you purchase a business standard license, the Power Apps comes included.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Vice President - Information Systems at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Easy to create and deploy apps, but needs more RPA capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is very simple."
  • "There are occasional performance challenges."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution as part of Dynamics 365 Online. Within that, we use Power Apps and we've integrated something on the on-prem database.

The app is located within Dynamics 365 Online. It draws data from an on-prem data source. We use it to perform certain actions in Teams, so we have Dynamics 365 and Teams integration.

We've created an email reader using Power Apps.

What is most valuable?

The solution is pretty easy to create and deploy apps.

You don't need a very high level of technical knowledge. Of course, you do need some level of technical knowledge, however, a normal developer can easily learn and deploy Power Apps.

The initial setup is very simple.

The solution scales well. 

What needs improvement?

They need a bit of RPA functionalities. There are other competitive products such as ServiceNow and Automation Anywhere. They offer exhaustive functionalities. Power Apps as a platform maybe need some ready-made templates that could be deployed. That would help.

There are occasional performance challenges. 

The product could do some integrations with third-party providers. That can be still expanded. They do have a decent number of integrations and connectors available, however many of those connectors only offer the basic functionalities. I'd like to see better, wider connectivity.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for six to eight months at this point. It's been less than a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In general, the product works fine. That said, there are occasional challenges in performance and when you actually have Power Apps working with other products on Power Platform, such as the Power Automate, et cetera. By and large, however, it's pretty stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have about 300 users on the solution currently. We do have approximately 700 plus users on Dynamics 365, however, not all of them are using Power Apps.

The solution is pretty easy to scale. 

We pretty much use this solution on a daily basis. It's used a lot.

How are customer service and support?

We reached out to technical support just once where Power Automate wasn't actually triggering an event. Apart from that one ticket, it's been working fine. We haven't really dealt with technical support too much.

We have normal support. We don't have Premier Support. Of course, the response time was about average when we used them. In the end, the issue was something to do with the core product, so they have actually had to take it up with the product engineering team at Microsoft as well.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I'm aware of ServiceNow and Automation Anywhere. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very straightforward and simple. It's not complex or difficult. 

There was some background development involved during the deployment process. 

The is no maintenance required.

What about the implementation team?

We did not need any outside assistance from consultants or integrators. We handled it in-house ourselves.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is pretty good. Microsoft offers very good value for money.

Apart from the licensing, storage is actually the costliest part. One needs to actually look at how to optimize the use of storage as ultimately it's on the cloud. It's part of the Dataverse storage now, with Dynamics 365, Power Apps, et cetera. That bit of the offering is the costliest part.

The product license and platform licensing are good. That's definitely value for money compared to some of the other vendors. Microsoft is placed well. It's just the storage, as I said, that's costly. 

What other advice do I have?

We are customers and end-users.

We are using the cloud version, and therefore we are going with whatever is the latest available functionality.

At least for the regular day-to-day work, one can build very useful apps with minimal investment. One can start fast. The only thing is, you need to have people actually experiment on this. Other than that, it's a good platform.

Currently, I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten right now, as there's continuous improvement that's happening and, once that happens, in the future, I will likely be rated even higher.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
IT Senior General Manager at Abdul Latif Jameel
Real User
Stable with good technical support but doesn't integrate with non-Microsoft products very well
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is not complicated."
  • "Microsoft is not cheap. The pricing could be lowered for their customers."

What is most valuable?

From an architecture point of view, the architectural criteria are the most valuable aspect of the solution.

The solution is quite stable.

The product integrates well with other Microsoft products.

Technical support is very helpful

The initial setup is not complicated.

What needs improvement?

Microsoft is not cheap. The pricing could be lowered for their customers.

It's not easy to integrate the solution with other products that aren't Microsoft-related.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about two to two-and-a-half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has proven to be quite stable. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. I find the solution to be reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have about 1,000 users on the solution currently.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support has been very good. It's definitely helpful. We are a big, big, big company. We have a relationship with them, and we find that the service is good. We get pretty much good support from them. We're satisfied with the amount of attention we have when there are issues.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use Appian. We use both products simultaneously.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very easy and quite straightforward. I would not describe the process as overly complex or difficult. A company shouldn't have any issues with the implementation.

What about the implementation team?

We have a Microsoft partner we deal with. They assisted us with the implementation.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing could definitely be lowered.

We pay an annual license fee to Microsoft. We do not pay monthly.

I cannot speak to the exact cost our company pays yearly in order to be able to use this product.

What other advice do I have?

We have a Microsoft partner that we work with.

I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using.

I'd advise people to consider working with the product. It works very well with the other products of Microsoft in general and integrates with Microsoft Teams and other apps, which is helpful if you use a lot of Microsoft. I'd highly recommend it. It's easy to integrate.

Overall, I would rate it at a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Jaime López - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at Avanade
MSP
Top 10
I like how fast you can develop an application and put it into production
Pros and Cons
  • "I like how fast I can develop an application and put it in production with PowerApps. I think the integration is also excellent. The platforms is growing, so they are constantly adding more connectors on all these things."
  • "Microsoft could streamline monitoring and management. In addition, it should be easier to put the solution in different environments. For example, you should be able to move from a dev environment to a production environment seamlessly."

What is our primary use case?

I belong to a consulting company that develops applications using PowerApps.

What is most valuable?

I like how fast I can develop an application and put it in production with PowerApps. I think the integration is also excellent. The platforms is growing, so they are constantly adding more connectors on all these things.

What needs improvement?

I would like it if PowerApps stored the code differently. For example, it would be nice if it were held in our GitHub repo or some other place, and we could version it to evolve it more easily. Another thing I'd like to see is more collaborative features so that more than one person could develop several things in PowerApps at once. For example, you could have creative technologies doing stuff for the visual design while the developers are doing the different things that they have to do to make the application run.

Microsoft could streamline monitoring and management. In addition, it should be easier to put the solution in different environments. For example, you should be able to move from a dev environment to a production environment seamlessly. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using PowerApps for three years give or take. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

PowerApps is totally stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I don't have so much experience at this point, but I don't think we can do much about its scalability. I believe it scales by itself, but we cannot modify many properties or configurations to allow that. We are a multinational that operates globally, but I work at a regional office in Iberia. There are 700 people working in the company here in our region, but my company has around 20,000 employees globally.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up PowerApps is easy, and I can do it by myself.

What other advice do I have?

I rate PowerApps eight out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Technical Lead at SmartIMS India Pvt.Ltd
Real User
Very simple setup with easy connection to any database or technology
Pros and Cons
  • "Can design apps quickly and can connect to any database."
  • "Customer support needs improvement."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is for the three locations in our company. We use it mainly for setting up meetings in our various conference rooms. Numerous choices need to be made - size of room, number of phones and projectors, date, time, number of participants. It's a great way to keep track of everything. We have 200 users. We're gold partners and I'm a lead consultant in our company. 

What is most valuable?

We can design apps quickly and we can connect to any database. We can connect to any technology, like Microsoft Analytics or SAP. It requires less code from our side and is available on cloud. Updates are done automatically, which is a valuable feature. 

What needs improvement?

If they would reduce the price, that would be an improvement, and they should also improve their customer service support, because the last time I contacted them it took one week to resolve the issue. That's not right.

I would like to see improvement in terms of implementation. Sometimes the application is a little slow. If I want to load the data from Power Apps, it generally takes time to take the data from experiential Power Apps, but in this case it takes longer compared to other technologies. I've written to them about this.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for six months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable product. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is good. 

How was the initial setup?

Initial setup is not very difficult. Even with minimal knowledge it's easy to understand. Deployment took somewhere around half an hour and it required one person to implement. We have four people in the company maintaining the solution. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

If I want to use Power Apps with Singalab, then I have to pay $10 per month. But if I want to have unlimited access to Power Apps that is $40 per month per user. Prices may have changed.

What other advice do I have?

It's very easy to use this solution, you can do integration, there's no need to write much code. I would suggest that Power Apps is for all ERP people.  If you want to connect to SPL on-premises, it requires one gateway. That's the bridge between Power Apps and the on-premises SPL. 

The Power Apps tool is relatively new technology. Not many people are using it yet so whatever problems they are facing, they will be posting to WordPress or something similar. If I need an answer I can go there.

I would rate this solution a nine out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Power Apps Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Power Apps Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.