[Power Apps Guide]: understand, deploy and succeed your applications low-code
- Elise Dejour
- Aug 26
- 3 min read
What is Power Apps?
Microsoft Power Apps is a low-code/no-code business application development solution integrated into the Microsoft Power Platform. It allows you to quickly create custom applications, whether for the web or mobile, without needing to master a complex programming language.
For example, a company can create in a few hours an internal leave management application synchronized with Microsoft Teams, without going through a long development project.
Power Apps is based on Microsoft Dataverse technology, a centralized and secure database that stores information and ensures its consistency. This allows for reliable, scalable and interoperable applications with the entire Microsoft ecosystem.
Why use Power Apps in your company?
The interest of Power Apps lies in agility: Companies must do more with fewer resources. The Power Apps platform offers several concrete advantages:
Quickly digitize business processes: no need to wait several months for a service provider to develop a custom application. With Power Apps, a team can create a prototype in a few days, then develop it according to user feedback.
Reduce development costs: developing a classic business application can cost several tens of thousands of francs. With Power Apps, much of the work is simplified, and low-code allows internal teams to participate directly.
Improve productivity: by creating applications that allow the elimination of time-consuming tasks for employees. One could imagine an application that allows to remove repetitive manual tasks (scattered Excel files, email exchanges). Thus, employees save time and focus on missions with higher added value.
According to Microsoft, companies that have adopted Power Apps see an average ROI of 188% in 3 years, with a 74% reduction in development costs.
Power Apps in the Microsoft ecosystem
One of the great strengths of Power Apps is its native integration with the Power Platform and the Microsoft ecosystem.
With Power Automate: we connect applications to automated flows (for example, automatically send a Teams notification when a form is filled out in a Power Apps app).
With Power BI: we enrich the applications with visual and interactive dashboards to track performance.
With Microsoft Teams: we directly integrate applications into communication channels, where the teams are already working.
With the Dynamics 365 ecosystem: we customize the CRM or ERP with applications specific to the company’s business.
For what type of business?
Contrary to popular belief, Power Apps is not just for large organizations.
For SMEs: who often do not have internal IT resources, thanks to Power Apps, they have a simple and affordable way to create applications tailored to their business.
Multisite or international companies: who need uniform tools to connect teams.
In reality, all companies that still use Excel a lot or manual processes can take advantage of Power Apps to gain efficiency.
+48 million monthly active users of the Power Platform in 2024, compared to 33 million in 2023.
Security and compliance
Security is often a major concern for companies, particularly in Switzerland. On this point, Power Apps benefits from the same standards as all the Microsoft infrastructure:
Hosting on Microsoft Azure
Authentication and user rights management via Azure Active Directory.
Compliance with international standards: ISO 27001, GDPR, Swiss GDPR.
The data remains localized in the data centers chosen by the company, particularly in Switzerland since 2019.
For a Swiss SME, this means enjoying a high level of security and compliance, without having to manage the IT infrastructure itself.
Low-code and AI: a revolution accessible to all
Low-code / no-code: this means that even employees without advanced technical skills can create applications. IT remains of course involved to oversee governance and security, but development and creation are accessible.
Artificial intelligence: thanks to Copilot, it is enough to describe the need in natural language ("I want a customer request tracking application with a form and a tracking table"), and Power Apps automatically generates the structure of the application.
Example: an HR manager can create an application to manage applications without writing a single line of code, then ask Copilot to add an automated field for tracking interviews.
What is the price of Power Apps?
Power Apps works like other solutions in the Microsoft ecosystem and is available under different licenses, which allows it to adapt to the needs of businesses:
License for developers: free with three development environments
Unlimited license: about 18 CHF / user / month to access an unlimited number of applications.
Included in Microsoft 365: some features of Power Apps are already accessible with Microsoft 365 subscriptions, which allows you to start at a lower cost.
This flexible pricing model makes Power Apps accessible even to small structures, which can start with a limited project and then expand according to their needs.
When Power Apps is not enough: the importance of an integrator
Power Apps is a powerful tool for quickly digitizing simple processes, but some companies have more complex needs:
Integration with specific business systems (ERP, CRM, vertical solutions).
Applications requiring advanced logic or a sophisticated user experience.
Multi-site projects where governance, security and maintenance must be guaranteed.
In these cases, it is recommended to work with an integrator/publisher, who combines Microsoft expertise (ERP, CRM, Power Platform) and the ability to develop custom business applications.
The ideal approach is often hybrid: use Power Apps for simple quick needs, and call on an integrator for strategic projects that require more skills.
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