We use the Microsoft PowerApps platform to create low-code applications that are used for optimizing internal business processes.
Information Technology Operations Analyst at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
Straightforward to setup, stable, and the automized processes are useful
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is automized processes."
- "The connectors are the main components that reference the data sources, and these need to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is automized processes.
What needs improvement?
The connectors are the main components that reference the data sources, and these need to be improved. They have to both improve the ones that are already there and add new ones.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this product for a couple of years, since 2018
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a pretty stable product. So far, we haven't had any critical issues with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are some options for scaling the product but we haven't used them, so I am not sure about scalability. We have approximately 1,000 users.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate the technical support a nine out of ten. They are very good but the response time could be improved.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It is a self-service solution, so there is no real deployment. It is a case of enabling that functionality within the Microsoft account, and then telling the people that it is enabled and available. At that point, I think that that they can create their own applications if they need to.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is implementing this solution is to research the material that is available in the documentation, as well as videos on YouTube. These sources contain a lot of information and recommendations for how to implement and use the platform.
They also have a really good community with Microsoft the websites, where many people post their issues and the solutions as well.
Overall, this is a really good product.
I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.
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.
Founder at Simplify IT
Full solution that can do almost anything
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very good. It's very full. You can do almost anything."
- "This tool doesn't have an internal database. It only relies on the data layer of Microsoft Cloud."
What is our primary use case?
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.
What is most valuable?
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.
What needs improvement?
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.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable and trustworthy solution and can serve in an organizational critical processes.
How are customer service and technical support?
Anything special to share.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
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.
How was the initial setup?
As always - depends on the size and complexity of the needed solution. But the cloud based solution + the Low Code approach simplify it.
What was our ROI?
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 ...)
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
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.
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.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Power Apps
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Power Apps. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Business Intelligence Consultant at FumAstra Management Consulting
Affordable, customizable, and easy to set up
Pros and Cons
- "There are a lot of different applications; you can connect PowerApps, or Flow, or Power BI to many different types of applications to interchange data."
- "The solution is evolving very fast and every month new features are introduced. Sometimes it's difficult to catch up with all the evolution that's happening. I had to focus on Power BI for a while and left PowerApps at the side for a couple of months and when I came back, it had changed its interface and moved components around."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution to create and arrange a number of requests, including requests for expenses, requests for leave, requests for documents, etc. Depending on the type of business, we can customize the request application.
How has it helped my organization?
In our organization, PowerApps is used to manage internal requests for expenses, leaves, documents, company resources. One connects to the application, enter the details of the requests and the request flows directly to the appropriate approvers. Less paperwork and more efficient management of the requests.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable aspect of the solution is the fact it is highly customizable. All types of forms can be created to collect information, pictures, and files. With PowerApps, you can connect your application to a wide variety of databases and applications where your data lives to read or write to it. If a connector doesn't exist, it's also possible to create a custom one.
With a plan starting at 10 USD, it makes it very affordable for anyone to create a low-code, no-code application. Very little costs are needed to run the solution. Furthermore, PowerApps has a community plan for free, and usually offer a trial period of about 2 months. Plenty of time and potential to learn, discover and develop.
The solution has a large community, so it's quite easy to find tutorials, how-to, and help.
PowerApps is part of the PowerPlatform from Microsoft, with Flow, or Power BI and enhances the possibilities to collect data, to automate processes, and to create rich and visually appealing data visualizations.
What needs improvement?
The solution is evolving very fast and every month new features are introduced. Sometimes it's difficult to catch up with all the evolution that's happening. I had to focus on Power BI for a while and left PowerApps at the side for a couple of months and when I came back, it had changed its interface and moved components around.
Some connectors are not very easy to use and sometimes they lack proper documentation.
There should be better connectivity with other applications. I tried connecting with IBM and it brings errors at each refresh. The PostgreSQL connector is useless as it doesn't work. There's a lot of research needed and you often need to download extra drivers or equivalent components that end up not working well.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for a year now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There are a few issues with the environment, where we would have needed to create a new one. This would have been a problem if we had a lot of data. However, but I haven't faced any stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is okay, but they recently changed the pricing. Depending on what we do and what we use it for, the pricing is a bit confusing now. They're also offering a bit of a delay on the adjusted pricing for those who have a certain subscription, so I'm still figuring out what that means for us.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is very fast, with answers within 24 hours. Most of the time they either call directly or send an email. I've found them very good and they are helpful. They try to give a solution and offer direct service.
I've had experience with IBM and it was a bit more difficult to find the right solution and obtain results. As with some other PRN providers, I was expecting a slower turnaround, so this has been a nice surprise. Microsoft and PowerApps have been very good.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is very easy to set up. Deployment is almost instantaneous. It's on the cloud, so you connect the logins and it's ready to go. You don't have to download it onto any device.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the implementation myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is pretty good. Right now, I'm paying for a two or three-month trial that is priced well. This trial period gives a company time to try an application, develop it, test it, and decide as to whether they will go ahead and pay for a modular plan.
I find their pricing quite affordable.
What other advice do I have?
We use the cloud deployment model. I'm a consultant; I work mainly with other companies.
Already with what exists, the solution is quite good and we can do quite a lot. I don't think too much can be improved.
I'd advise others to make sure they have good parameters and documentation before they get started. It's a good idea to follow the tutorial at the beginning. There are a lot of things about the solution that are good to understand beforehand, including how the different components work.
I'd rate the solution ten out of ten. For me, it has worked very well.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Operations Section Head at Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation
Generates reports quickly and is stable and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "Generating reports is very fast with Microsoft PowerApps. It's stable and scalable as well."
- "The price could be lower."
What is our primary use case?
We migrated all the applications to the PowerApps Server and are sending some to other users.
What is most valuable?
Generating reports is very fast with Microsoft PowerApps. It's stable and scalable as well.
Also, the technical support is good.
What needs improvement?
The price could be lower.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using it since last year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft PowerApps is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
I am satisfied with the technical support for Microsoft PowerApps.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was very easy because it's already in the cloud. It took about 20 minutes to install PowerApps.
What about the implementation team?
You can install Microsoft PowerApps by yourself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost for licensing could be lower.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution at nine on a scale from one to ten.
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.
Business Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Easy to use with good speed and very good design capabilities
Pros and Cons
- "Overall, the tool is very democratic. It's easy for anyone to use. You don't have to be a professional or well-versed in technology."
- "It's sometimes hard to import groups of options. At this point, I need to enter those manually and it slows the process down."
What is most valuable?
The solution is really strong. I'm not an engineer. I'm an economist. Even without being an engineer, I can handle working with the data warehouse. It offers good speed and excellent design.
If I want to process for payments, I can do it fast and easy in Power Apps. If I need to process information from Facebook, from Twitter, or other places, it's really wonderful.
Overall, the tool is very democratic. It's easy for anyone to use. You don't have to be a professional or well-versed in technology.
What needs improvement?
For me, it's easier if I have visual references in order to learn the system. However, I'm also Spanish, and the tool is in English. That's one level of difficulty. Another level is that there aren't too many Spanish use cases and examples. It would help if there was more documentation in my native language to help me learn the system more effectively. In English, I don't think this is necessarily a problem. There seems to be a lot of English documentation.
It would be helpful if there was more explanations built right into the solution's interface so that I can understand what action is supposed to get what result.
In terms of usability, when I tried to make an amortization table, I couldn't find an exponential option. I don't know if it's ideal for financial tools that deal with credit or loans. I'm still looking into this.
It's sometimes hard to import groups of options. At this point, I need to enter those manually and it slows the process down.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've only been using the solution for about four months at this point. It hasn't been too long. I've used Power VA, Power Pivot, and Power Query for a long time, however, in terms of Power Apps, it hasn't been nearly as long.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The tool is good for work. I haven't had issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
For me, and the way I am using it, the tool is fine. I'm unsure if it would work on a very large scale for big, big companies.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was not complex. It's very easy as it's on the cloud. You don't need to be an expert in order to deploy it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm using a trial version right now. I'm still learning the system, so I haven't moved into a paid version yet.
It's my understanding that the pricing isn't too bad. I've heard other people mention it's not as expensive as Azure in comparison with Linux. One or two licenses may not be too expensive, however, I don't know the exact pricing.
What other advice do I have?
I started working with the common data model and the entities and working with my data warehouse. Now I'm working on my data warehouse with common data series. I use Power Apps for my standard entities' values. I need to modify it now with the new processes that are in place. And in the beginning, I use Power Apps for the management of the entities for Power VA. Since I've started using Power Apps, as I can see it's powerful and makes it easy for many, many, many kinds of work processes.
I'm still trying the solution out, and I'm still learning a lot about it. I'm by no means an expert yet.
I'm pretty satisfied with the product. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten. It's a good tool and it's nice that it's part of a suite in Microsoft.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
Founder & CEO at Logesys Solutoins India Pvt Ltd
Reliable and issue free with helpful technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is stable and reliable."
- "We'd like to see more integration capabilities in the future."
What is our primary use case?
We use it as part of our analytics offering. We are basically into analytics. Maybe sometimes we use it to build small apps to instrument the research process. That's what we do.
What is most valuable?
I am from the sales side, so I really do not know the technical aspect of it.
It's my understanding that it has been issue-free.
We have pretty easy integration options.
Technical support is great.
The solution is stable and reliable.
The scalability is good.
What needs improvement?
I don't have any notes for improvement. It does what it says it does.
We'd like to see more integration capabilities in the future.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using the solution for about three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution works well. It's stable. the performance is good. there aren't bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We use it for a very specific purpose, and therefore scalability is not really a factor for us.
We have about ten clients using the solution currently.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support has been fine. We are satisfied with their level of service.
How was the initial setup?
We use the cloud version of the solution. There isn't an in-depth deployment process.
What about the implementation team?
We handle the projects and the implementation for our clients.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't have any comments on the cost or licensing. It's fine. It's cheap compared to other RPA tools. It was about $40. There are people that are lower than that, however, they don't give you the features.
What other advice do I have?
We use a lot of Microsoft products. We use Microsoft Power BI, Power Platform, and Azure Patch Solutions.
I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using.
I'd recommend the solution to others.
I would rate the solution eight out of ten.
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
Architect/Manager at Deloitte
Custom app building solution used for workflow automation that offers free licences for POCs
Pros and Cons
- "Power Automate has been the most valuable feature."
- "The set up of the solution could be simpler."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for workflow automation.
What is most valuable?
Power Automate has been the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
The set up of the solution could be simpler.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of this solution an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support for this solution could be faster.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is fairly straightforward. I would rate it a seven out of ten.
The whole life cycle takes two months to develop, test, implement and deploy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is possible to make use of free licences for the sake of a POC.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Owner at Alopex ONE UG
Makes client communication easy; high level of tech support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the completeness of the concept. It is not restricted by where you are allowed to use it and that is its greatest strength."
- "There is room for improvement in error handling and debugging."
What is our primary use case?
My primary use case for Microsoft Power Apps are mostly demos for my customers and in trainings. I am a Microsoft Registered Trainer.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the completeness of the concept. It is not restricted by where you are allowed to use it and that is its greatest strength.
What needs improvement?
There is room for improvement in error handling and debugging. I would appreciate it if Microsoft created something like the social network graphs Facebook sometimes shows you (potential connections). It would be great for Microsoft to take a similar point of view regarding the data and data flow in Power Apps. It would help us see which field is changing and which is influencing the follow-up field or display or workflow, etc.
As a chief financial officer, I would like to see the mark of chain retracement and where the money flows. Imagine dropping a little drop of ink onto a handkerchief and seeing the ink sucked into the fibers of the handkerchief and distributing itself. Similar things happen to money if you put it into a small market and a chief financial officer needs to have that information.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Microsoft Power Apps since 2018.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Power Apps is definitely stable. It is as stable as SharePoint and this app model has been in place since 2013. Essentially, it requires you to put code onto a SharePoint site which is not executed there, but rather on a client or on specific workflow codes, which are client. If code executions are well work-flowed, it is capable of saving your script and of the global resources. That capability to take off where you left off, including external resources, is a great strength.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Power Apps is scalable. SharePoint is a farm. It is a big forest of machines interconnected by a messaging system, Windows Azure Service Bus. It can be understood as a telepathic network between the machines. As long as one machine is running, the system's running and as soon as more machines are adding the capabilities, the load is distributed automatically.
How are customer service and support?
Microsoft's technical support is at a high level.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did previously use a different Microsoft workflow operating system, but it was complicated to program and difficult to provide interactions with the users. All of that is much easier now that we use SharePoint platforms like Teams. Microsoft has the best of all worlds. I am confident that it will rock the market.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I have an MSD end subscription; it's a flat rate subscription.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anyone looking to implement Microsoft Power Apps is: please have a closer look at the Azure infrastructure and do not underestimate the complexity of Azure Active Directory and SharePoint. I recommend spending a week or so letting someone informed like me introduce you to the complexity of Azure Active Directory, SharePoint, and Windows Azure. Not having this information is like driving a car without having put oil into the motor and air into the tires. In other words, it would not be wise.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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