Microsoft Power Apps are a simple, cost-effective catalyst for intelligent automation
You do not need a highly qualified programmer to quickly and cheaply create professional business applications that will connect or supplement automated processes with the use of Robotic Process Automation tools. All you require is a general idea of the operation of business applications, basic technical knowledge, and the technology available as part of Microsoft Office 365—Power Apps.
What are Microsoft Power Apps?
Microsoft Power Apps is a low-code business application platform, i.e., a solution that allows employees of business departments with minimal programming competence to create professional applications using intuitive mechanisms such as drag & drop.
The importance of this technology for business is immediately realized by all those who have tried to hire or train a programmer in the last few years to create the applications they require. In a world where business is hard to imagine without an application and where agility and flexibility have become the holy grail, the fact that companies can quickly and independently develop software that helps them optimize processes, reduce costs, or accelerate business operations cannot be overestimated.
This is especially important as most companies do not need advanced systems that offer all possible functions to digitize their business and drive digital transformation—costly, complicated, the implementation of which requires a lot of time and effort. On the contrary, virtually all business processes can be significantly accelerated by running simple applications, the development of which will take at most a few weeks.
Moreover, low-code platforms such as Microsoft Power Apps can also be used in a different model. In addition to creating applications yourself, you can also outsource them entirely to the outside world. It is associated with incurring certain costs, but it certainly speeds up the process of program development. Finally, there is also the third indirect model, in which the company’s employees independently create the application interface, entrusting the preparation of the internal logic to an external company.
Processes of robotization
Anyone who has come across the concept of low-code or even no-code probably knows it all. However, you may not know that Power Apps are ideal as a solution to fill the gaps in the automation processes carried out by RPA robots.
Low-code platforms are perfectly complemented by robots created with the use of Robotic Process Automation tools. Why? Let’s take a closer look at a typical robotization project. In most cases, the robot works by extracting data from one source or system and feeding it to another.
However, sometimes there is a problem. Namely, in order for the processes to be carried out properly, human involvement is required. Thus, an automation gap is created. The robot performs a task but cannot do anything else because it lacks confirmation or verification of how to proceed. At times, you have to add something, make it more specific, or decide. Otherwise, he could go on and perform more complex tasks. These are significant limitations of broadly understood automation.
This is where Microsoft Power Apps come in. It is enough to quickly create a mini-application that will facilitate human involvement in the robot’s work to take automation to a whole new level. Moreover, all data remains digitized and easy to use.
OCR software and Power Apps
Sometimes companies look for OCR software. While it is relatively easy to do with printed text, it is practically impossible with handwriting. However, by creating a form that eliminates the need to write something by hand, we get rid of the problem of digitizing paper documents. This is what digital transformation is all about.
It is also important in the case of Microsoft Power Apps that it is a cloud-based, scalable solution that is capable of dealing with little as well as vast amounts of data. In addition, employees can use it on any device—computer, tablet, or smartphone—because the application is available via a web browser.
Profits from Power Apps
Finally, it is worth adding that Microsoft technology is recognized by Gartner analysts as one of the market leaders in the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant ™ for Enterprise Low-Code Application Platforms report.
On the other hand, Forrester Consulting analysts calculated how much application development costs have decreased, and overall efficiency has increased thanks to the use of Power Apps. In their report, Total Economic Impact ™, one can read, among other things, that the return on investment in three years is 188%, the reduction of application development costs reaches 74%, and the average improvement in employee productivity reaches 3.2 hours/week.
And one more significant advantage of Microsoft Power Apps—integration with office applications included in Office 365, Dynamics 365 software, and Azure services. This is because it additionally facilitates the combination of data from various sources and the creation of user-friendly programs based on the well-known text editor, spreadsheet, or email program.