Tracy van der Schyff

#Microsoft365 – PowerApps is used to build custom business applications – with no development skills needed.  Think Leave Application, Product Ordering, Claims etc. AND it runs on mobile devices.

For previous posts in my #Microsoft365Challenge go to the index page.

I come from a compliance background. ISO compliance, SHEQ and such. And whenever we needed a new application (App) it would take months to gather requirements and then eventually have it built by a developer (contracting consultants), which always ended up being a very costly affair.

The person who knows best what an application should do and look like – is after all the business process owner / super user. In the past it was near impossible for “end users” to learn the development skill needed to build Apps. I’m not even talking about mobile Apps.

Now imagine the Internal Auditor or SHEQ Representative having the ability to create an app used to log Audit Findings. As most audit finds are based on Site Walkabouts – how great would it be if the app could be a mobile app? Well – it’s possible. REALLY 🙂

This blog will give you an overview of PowerApps, I will do some How-to blogs later in this series.

What is PowerApps?

Build apps that help you get work done, and connect them to services you’re already using, like Excel, Office 365 people profiles, SharePoint lists, and more. Read more…

Good to know:

• You can build an App from a template to get started
• You can share an app with others in your organization
• An app can be run in the browser or on mobile phone
• PowerApps announces packaging, an easier way to move your apps between your UAT and PROD environments – July 27, 2017
• Now with the new Power BI tile control, you can show your Power BI tiles inside your app – July 27, 2017
• With the launch of the new SharePoint modern list experience will come the ability to create an app for a list from directly within the SharePoint list experience.
• The new SharePoint list view menu you will now have an option to create a PowerApp for this list.
• PowerApps is available on selected Office 365 and Dynamics 365 plans as well as standalone Plan 1 & 2
• Log into https://web.powerapps.com and start your free trial today

See this impressive list of connections available for PowerApps:

Here’s a great video on Building business applications with Power Apps, Microsoft Flow, and Office 365. It’s an hour – but well worth it as it includes an Introduction and hands-on examples and walk-through:

Resources:

• Choose the right plans for your team
• Licensing overview
• PowerApps – Ready to go with Office 365
• Leveraging SharePoint Document Libraries and Calendar Lists in PowerApps
• Introduction to PowerApps
• Connections list for Microsoft PowerApps

Purpose of this blog challenge:

I will write 365 blogs in 365 days around Microsoft 365. I did a similar challenge with Office 365, blogs can be found here. I won’t just be talking about the new Microsoft 365 subscription model. I will be sharing any news, tips and tricks around Office / Office 365 / Windows / Mobility and Security. And let’s not forget all the great new Apps & services available.  A lot of what I’ll share on Office and SharePoint will also be applicable to none “Office 365” versions.

Feel free to #AskBraam if you have questions or would like me to write about a specific topic. I’ve created a Flow to monitor Twitter for the #AskBraam hashtag and will try my best to incorporate any questions into the blogs, or answer them directly on Twitter. This is a “Learning through Sharing” approach to teach my pet sheep about Microsoft – read more on this here.