Power Apps is a part of the low code Microsoft Power platform, and provides a quick development environment where your business can build custom apps that fit your business needs, such as data collection, automation of business processes, and communication with other systems.
You can connect these custom business apps to your existing data, whether stored in the underlying data platform, cloud, or on-premises, and they can be integrated with other Microsoft services such as Power Automate and Power BI.
Power Apps makes it easy to create apps with a responsive design for web and mobile devices. It is a solution that allows non-technical users to create feature-filled custom apps with minimal coding that can be applied to a variety of industries and scenarios. It also has an extensible platform that allows pro developers to interact with data and metadata, create custom connectors, apply business logic, and integrate with external data.
Here are some examples of common use cases for Power Apps:
Data collection and tracking: With Power Apps, you can build custom forms and surveys for collecting data from employees, customers, or other stakeholders. Using Dataverse, you can then store and manage the data securely in a set of pre-built or custom tables, for further analysis, giving you useful and applicable business insights.
Automation: Power Apps allows you to build apps, that can be integrated with Power Automate, which can automate the more repetitive tasks like data entry, notifications, and approvals, creating value for your business by reducing workload and freeing up resources.
Integration: Apps built with Power Apps can connect to external systems and data sources such as Excel, SharePoint, and Dynamics, giving your business improved data accessibility and consistency.
Communication and collaboration: Power Apps can build apps that help improve communication and collaboration within a team or with external partners, increasing productivity within the business.
Inventory management: You can also build apps for tracking and managing inventory levels, orders, and shipments, ensuring that your business is always on top of things.
These are just a few examples of what Power Apps can be used for, but the possibilities are almost endless as the apps can be customized to fit your specific needs and requirements, allowing businesses to create specific solutions for specific problems.
We use Power Apps both internally at Cegal and with our customers. It facilitates quickly creating both prototypes and finished applications that simplify tasks for us and our customers. For example, when certain data needs to be entered and later visualized.