Small, midsize, and large companies have a universal need for advanced software solutions capable of delivering real value. As such, countless businesses explore low-code development options, owing to a shortage of skilled developers. This approach simplifies the process by automating various steps of the application lifecycle.

A Gartner study revealed that 75 percent of large businesses will adopt the low-code or no-code approach by 2024. These findings show that the organizations deploy low-code development tools to create apps and handle citizen development initiatives. Thus, analysts expect the continued rise of platforms like Microsoft Power Apps.

Companies without technical capability are sure to leverage the tools to create fast and efficient cloud environments.

Sean Connery with Las Vegas IT company, Orbis Solutions shares that low-code development comes with wide-ranging benefits. These include:

• Reducing maintenance tasks
• Boosting productivity
• Enhancing customer experience
• Shortens app development time
• Simplifies legacy system integration
• Reducing the barrier to entry by lowering cost and skill requirements

Businesses in various industries take advantage of the low- or no-code approach to achieve internal process automation. In addition, they also build robust customer-facing apps and enterprise-grade applications to streamline business operations and enhance the customer experience.

Microsoft Power Apps

Power Apps is a popular low-code solution that comes with a drag and drop interface. Organizations with a Microsoft 365 subscription gain access to enterprise data and service elements offered by the solution. With MS Power Apps, companies can connect a low-code application to services like SQL Server, SharePoint, Dynamics 365, and Office 365.

By building applications via Microsoft’s Power Apps solution, organizations tap into an extensive list of prebuilt templates. Non-tech teams find it easier to achieve specific objectives, thanks to the drag and drop interface. As a result, app deployments are faster, and the team can improve the application’s features and functionality as they go.

With Power Apps, all departments and business units gain access to tools to build apps they need. The best part is that the tools allow non-tech staff to create apps with advanced features and functionality. Thus, companies save on app development costs without compromising the quality. Power Apps comes with prebuilt artificial intelligence components.

The solution also empowers professional developers by providing access to tools capable of expanding application functionality. Azure Functions and custom connectors help enhance the capabilities by connecting apps to on-premise or proprietary systems. In turn, the entire team, including professional developers and analysts, can handle development tasks more efficiently.

Enhance Innovation

Your organization solves operational challenges using no-code visual tools capable of integrating data and facilitating distribution. Internal teams can create and share apps with advanced functionality using any device. You can infuse digital transformation into legacy systems or outdated manual operational processes.

Microsoft Power Apps empowers both professional developers and non-tech staff by enabling wide-ranging app scenarios. Teams employ canvas and model-driven applications to create apps that streamline day-to-day business processes.

You can count on the tool to provide effective solutions for role-specific and task scenarios. These scenarios include integrated marketing views, inspections, prospect to cash, and field sales enablement. Power Apps allows users to customize various aspects of the application to ensure that it can handle specific tasks more efficiently.

The apps are compatible with a wide selection of controls like location and cameras. Your teams can also work with a sample application containing fundamental business scenarios, such as site inspections and expense reporting.

On the other hand, Power Apps allows you to use your organization’s data to build sophisticated applications. The platform makes it easier to create responsive and immersive apps based on your data model and operational processes. Depending on your company’s needs, you can develop low-code websites for external users.

The pixel-perfect portals are accessible via standards like Okta, Azure AD, Microsoft account, and LinkedIn. With Power Apps, professional developers and non-tech teams rely on Microsoft Dataverse to model processes and business logic. At the same time, Dataverse also provides data storage functionality.

How the Low-Code Approach Boost Growth in an AI-Driven Environment

Adopting the low-code approach enables your organization to deploy effective solutions faster. The solutions typically align with your company’s strategic roadmap. Hence, you can count on the low-code apps to help achieve short-, medium- or long-term operational objectives.

Many companies take advantage of the apps to keep up with the latest technology trends. In turn, they empower teams to add value to day-to-day operations faster and more effectively. The simplicity of Power Apps allows your workforce to transition from problem statement and mock-up to app implementation in less than 24 hours.

A team of between one and three people can work on a proof of concept in four to six weeks. This process prepares the team for expanding and integrating the project into an existing business model.

Software as a service (SaaS) platforms that employ the low-code approach provide large and small businesses with an opportunity to embrace new technologies. More importantly, companies can achieve their objectives without worrying about technical skills,

Planning a Power Apps Project

A successful app development project starts with a comprehensive planning phase. During this stage, your team should identify the target audience and problems solved by the application. In doing so, you avoid the temptation to overly focus on building the app as the objective while forgetting to solve the business problem.

To create a useful app, your team should have an in-depth understanding of the business processes. This approach makes it easier to build an application capable of optimizing operational processes. Scoping the project allows you to determine various aspects that help achieve your team’s objectives. The project’s scope has a direct bearing on the app’s features.

Jason Simons with ICS in Austin shares “During the low-code app planning phase, outline any project constraints. Some key factors to consider include time, feasibility, budget, and personnel. When it comes to feasibility, you should assess your team’s access to critical data and the viability of making changes to operational processes. Additionally, consider the skill sets at your disposal.”

Setting a deadline is another key aspect when assessing constraints. Although Microsoft’s Power Apps platform drastically reduces the time it takes to develop a highly functional and advanced app, you still need to set a deadline.