Master Microsoft Power Platform Development: A Developer’s Cheat Sheet in 2024 - Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM Tips and Tricks

A common software development hurdle is the scarcity of time. While it’s widely acknowledged that merely increasing the number of developers doesn’t necessarily boost productivity, the inclination toward adopting new tools and technologies persists. The goal is to minimize code writing, expedite the development process, reduce susceptibility to bugs, and adhere to standards, especially in terms of security. Microsoft Power Platform adeptly addresses these needs in professional software development.

Microsoft Power Platform offers a wealth of functionality with minimal coding, facilitating easier and faster development. Traditional languages like C# and TypeScript can be employed for extensions, deployable to the cloud or on-premises servers if necessary. Emphasizing “low-code” essentially translates to writing less code, streamlining maintenance, support, and upgrades, thereby freeing up time for innovative feature development.

Microsoft Power Platform has four primary components:

Power Apps is a no-code/low-code way to build canvas-based or model-based apps.
Power BI is a set of tools for data analysis and visualization.
Power Automate is a template-based application for building workflows and automating key tasks.
Power Pages is a low-code hosting SaaS platform, perfect for crafting and launching business websites
Power Virtual Agents (Copilot Studio) is a renovated solution for creating AI-powered chatbots to help your employees and customers.

The Excellence or let’s say Power of Power Platform 💪

Unlike conventional software libraries that require constant updates to evade deprecations and security vulnerabilities, Microsoft Power Platform excels in staying up-to-date with security patching. Additionally, it seldom removes features, providing ample notice before doing so.

Microsoft Power Platform developer tools empower professionals to craft more effective business solutions than ever before. Development accelerates, applications become more secure, and deployment occurs within managed environments that enforce organizational policies and champion best practices.

Developers engaging with the platform should grasp its fundamental offerings. For a comprehensive overview of each core product area and key extensibility points, refer to this link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/developer/get-started.

To evaluate the business value of Power Platform solutions across various spectrums, visit https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/guidance/adoption/business-value.

What’s the Hype around Copilot? 🤯

Now, if you’re skeptical about the buzz surrounding “low-code,” especially with the rise of AI and Copilot’s natural language app building, consider Microsoft Copilot Studio.

Note: Copilot integrates Power Virtual Agents capabilities, allowing the creation of powerful AI-powered copilots for various tasks.

These tasks range from answering common questions to resolving complex issues through intricate conversations. You can access Copilot Studio as a standalone web application or as an integrated application within Teams, providing comparable functionality in both instances. Learn more about Copilot Studio at this link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/fundamentals-what-is-copilot-studio.

For insights into Copilot Studio’s use cases and how it accelerates development processes, watch this informative 34-minute video: https://youtu.be/WKOJOOGdj2o?si=v5BTYOtkZmLIp9pR.

The demand for application development is undeniably massive and growing. Developers are finding ways to expedite their processes by creating new apps, modernizing existing ones, or incorporating innovations with Copilot’s AI capabilities.

For additional information on Copilot’s users and insights into generative AI at work, refer to the Microsoft Worklab’s Work Trend Index: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/copilots-earliest-users-teach-us-about-generative-ai-at-work.

Commencing a development project involves critical decisions on technology, data access layers, security measures, and app scalability. The chosen level of abstraction often dictates development speed, with trade-offs between productivity, flexibility, and cost. Leveraging Microsoft Azure services, such as Microsoft Azure API Management, is a prime example of reaping benefits in this context.

Curious to know more about Microsoft Azure API Management? Refer to this link for a quick overview and essential points https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/api-management/api-management-key-concepts

Crafting business applications can get pretty intricate, considering the multitude of factors like UI design, storage, security, compliance, and scalability. But fear not, because Microsoft Power Platform steps in to make this whole process a breeze.

Imagine whipping up responsive and user-friendly applications once and unleashing them across various platforms, be it desktops or mobile devices. The secret sauce? Reusable UI components built with React, neatly arranged using a drag-and-drop interface. And don’t worry about limiting them to a single application – with Microsoft Visual Studio Code, you can develop and deploy React components for one app or share them seamlessly across multiple projects via a centralized repository.

Deployment is a walk in the park too. 🚶‍♂️🌳

Packages containing metadata components, compiled code, and data import files can be effortlessly deployed as apps. Need to go mobile? No problem. Deploy canvas apps as native mobile applications to your users via Microsoft Intune, Visual Studio App Center, Google Play Store, or Apple Business Manager.

Oh, and the perks don’t stop there.

Picture this: Native offline support with a local MySQL database, automatically storing data operations to replay them once you reconnect to the network. Testing? Covered. The Test Engine uses Playwright to run UI tests as part of your automatic testing pipelines.

Want to kick things up a notch in automation? 🚀

Enter Microsoft Power Platform CLI (A one-stop developer CLI that empowers developers and ISVs to perform various operations) your go-to for automating solution development, deployment, and environment management. It syncs seamlessly with Azure PowerShell, Microsoft Azure Pipelines, or GitHub actions.

And hey, if public-facing websites are on your to-do list, Power Pages are your friend. Create them swiftly and polish them up with Visual Studio Code. These sites, backed by Azure-deployed ASP.NET, come with automatic CDN and caching support. Plus, you can flex your creative muscles with the built-in Web API, complete with a configurable security provider, to craft intricate single or multi-page applications.

Data is scattered across your organization, and external services play a crucial role in business processes. For seamless business solutions, integration and connectivity are key, and Microsoft Power Platform steps in to simplify the process.

Ally = Microsoft Visual Studio à True 💻

Unlocking a library of over 1,000 connectors, you can create event-driven orchestrations without the hassle of Azure subscription setup and deployment. Microsoft Visual Studio becomes your ally, allowing you to craft ASP.NET Web APIs that can be easily deployed as custom connectors. Debugging? A breeze with dev tunnels, courtesy of Visual Studio’s Microsoft Power Platform Connected Services configuration.

Visual Studio Installation Guide – https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/install/install-visual-studio?view=vs-2022

Manage your Fragmented Data with Dataverse and AI 🗃

For real-time analytics within OneLake, leverage Dataverse Synapse Link and Dataverse Link to Microsoft Fabric data. Dataflows in Microsoft Power Platform utilize Power Query to import or synchronize data from diverse sources.

Explore the newly introduced Microsoft Fabric and witness how it revolutionizes data access, management, and action through a unified, AI-powered platform.

Now, onto the data platform as a service. Storing data securely, efficiently, and at scale is a breeze with Microsoft Power Platform utilizing Microsoft Dataverse (A data storage management used by business applications). It’s a cloud-based data platform, robustly built upon Azure, offering familiarity with Microsoft Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Data Lake, and Azure Blob Storage. Data, whether relational, Azure Blob or unstructured, is metadata-driven, facilitating highly contextual access. Fully functional apps can be automatically generated using this metadata, with AI enabling natural language queries.

Uptime guarantees and monitoring tools provide complete visibility without the need for additional logging and monitoring solutions. The Dataverse SQL endpoint seamlessly generates visually captivating Microsoft Power BI dashboards and reports.

Extend Dataverse with custom business logic using C# and create custom APIs within the platform.

Native integration with Microsoft Azure Service Bus allows easy extension with Azure Functions, Event Hubs, and Event Grid. Virtual tables enable surfacing, querying, and linking of non-Dataverse data sources. Built-in audit log capabilities and long-term data retention features allow tracking changes without added development or management. Dataverse search offers a fast, AI-powered way of finding data and documents.

Moving on to native AI support 🤖

Configure and deploy conversational bots using Azure Bot Service. Train complex AI models for document, image, and sentiment recognition, easily deploying them in business applications. Microsoft Copilot Studio facilitates the creation of natural language conversational AI copilots through a graphical UI, trained for internal or external scenarios. Copilot plugins, built using OpenAI connectors and prompt engineering, can be seamlessly added to business applications for a user-friendly natural language interface.

Copilot in Power Apps and other Power Platform tools helps developers by letting them ask questions and seek information effortlessly. It makes the developer experience more interactive and streamlined. For more details, check out the article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/power-platform-ai-apps-copilot-amber-weise/.

For all your security concerns related to Copilot accessing your data to provide relative responses, go through this https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/faqs-copilot-data-security-privacy

If you are seeking Power Platform Development as a service to unlock advanced functionalities

Or access a dream team for Power Platform projects? Look no further than Inogic Professional Services, your go-to partner for unleashing the full potential of your data and streamlining workflows.

With a pool of over 150+ Power Platform experts boasting 15+ years of industry experience, Inogic is your ideal companion for all Power Platform and Dynamics 365 requirements. Here’s what Inogic brings to the table:

Power Platform Professional Services :

Elevate your business with Inogic’s Industry Experience and Expertise in Power Platform Development.

AI Solutions Professional Services:

Make your Business AI-enabled and Future Ready with latest AI solutions.

Azure OpenAI for business processes
Copilot-enabled AI Apps for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform

Development Services:

Empower your business to thrive in its core areas while our Dynamics 365 Resource Augmentation allows seasoned experts to handle your development needs with precision and proficiency.

Techno-Functional Consultancy: to maximize your sales potential, nurture lasting customer relations, and accelerate processes.

Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Services, or Field Services expertise.

Inogic offers an array of cutting-edge innovations to make your development efficient, scalable, and future-proof.

Connect with us today at crm@inogic.com or visit Inogic.com/Services to discover how we can elevate your organization’s capabilities. Your journey to harnessing the Power Platform and Dynamics 365 advanced feature packed development starts here!