5 Benefits of Using Microsoft Power Platform for Your Business

Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of business applications and services that combines the power of  Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate and Power Virtual Agents to help organizations transform their day-to-day business processes and operations. It allows you to analyze data, deliver personalization, develop better applications, respond to the generated insights, and automate various processes without needing any deep technical expertise.

The Core Components of Microsoft Power Platform

Each of the components included in the Microsoft Power Platform is built on the Common Data Service for Apps (CDS), making them dynamic when used alone and more capable when combined with other integrated solutions.

• Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics service that offers real-time insights from enterprise data, allowing you to develop profound visualizations and highly-personalized and informative reports on the dashboard, be it about sales, marketing campaigns, customer service, or other business functions.
• Microsoft Power Apps is a no-code infrastructure that allows you to build easy-to-use, mobile-friendly enterprise applications for standard business needs. It also supports a wide range of third-party systems and can be configured with other Microsoft business applications for better flexibility.
• Microsoft Power Automate is a workflow automation solution that allows you to create automated business workflows between your preferred apps and services through Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and prebuilt templates and triggers to collect data, sync files, get alerts, and more.
• Microsoft Power Virtual Agent is a chatbot development platform that allows you to build powerful AI-driven chatbots without the need for any code or expertise in data science or development. These chatbots can be easily integrated with products and services you use every day.

5 Fundamental Benefits of Microsoft Power Platform

You can see that all the four primary components in the application suite, Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Virtual Agents have different functionality for enterprise users. However, the advantage of Power Platform is that these applications can also be combined to work in a unified way and significantly improve your operations.

For instance, say that a business application is developed using Microsoft Power Apps for creating sales orders using their mobile devices. As the required information is stored in the CDS here, a Power Automate workflow can help to send an automatic email or alert to the manager to approve the sales order. Likewise, a Power BI dashboard can be set up for viewing the sales data, monitoring employee performance, tracking various metrics related to the sales, and more.

In essence, the Microsoft Power Platform can help to simplify the business processes and reduce the workload on your employees to a great extent. Below are some of the chief benefits of using the Power Platform.

1. It Allows You to Manage All Business Processes in a Single Platform

Managing enterprise data is critical for all organizations irrespective of the industry they belong to. One of the key advantages of Microsoft Power Platform is that it provides an enterprise-grade platform to help you manage all kinds of information from a unified dashboard even when you are using multiple, disparate tools for generating data.

2. It is Designed for All Kinds of Users

The tools in the Microsoft Power Platform are created to simplify business operations. They are code-free to allow all kinds of users without any weighty technical proficiency in designing and developing business applications to solve their existing problems. On the other hand, IT professionals can employ the tools to create advanced business solutions.

3. It Reduces Your Dependency on Third-Party Tools

Microsoft Power Platform consolidates powerful analytics, design, development, and automation tools in one suit to help you make the most of your subscription. It eliminates the need for separate software licensing and maintenance, which further eases the stress from your IT staff while keeping the costs in control.

4. It Allows You to Work across Devices

Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate can be used individually or collectively on any desktop, tablet, or handheld device as per your needs. This allows you to connect with your remote team members and have them contribute to organizational data. You can also leverage native device capabilities like GPS and camera to your benefit when using the Microsoft Power Platform apps on them.

5. It Comes with Office 365 Integration

As you enable end-to-end capabilities with Microsoft Power Platform, the data collected can be managed using SharePoint, Excel, or any other Office 365 app depending upon your needs and preferences. This not only allows you to seamlessly manage enterprise data but also simplifies everyday business processes and tasks.

Beyond all these, another advantage of Microsoft Power Platform is that it can connect with a wide range of third-party apps and data sources, such as Google Analytics and Twitter. This way, you can unlock the full potential of the application suite and extend, customize, and integrate the required services for the maximum benefit of your business.

Real-world applications of Power Platform

1. Employee Dashboard Process

We tackled the challenges faced by a leading Power & Utilities company in HR operations by developing an automated Employee Dashboard Solution using the Power Platform, effectively transforming the organization’s processes. The solution centralized HR data, automated workflows, and provided employees with self-service capabilities, resulting in streamlined operations, improved data accuracy, and enhanced decision-making. Prior to implementation, the company grappled with disparate HR systems across entities, leading to difficulties in consolidating and analyzing data, inconsistencies in employee data, and administrative burdens on HR teams. These challenges were addressed through features such as a centralized data repository, an employee self-service portal, automated workflows, real-time reporting, and data validation and governance measures. The outcomes included 100% real-time updates in the HR dashboard system, and 99% reduction risk of human errors by improved data accuracy and consistency, efficiency gains, enhanced decision-making capabilities, and empowerment of employees.

2. Compliance Management System

10xDS devised a robust Compliance Management System tailored to manage the Gifts, Entertainment & Hospitality (G,E & H) Disclosure process for the Compliance Department of a leading MNC based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, effectively addressing the challenges inherent in tracking and reporting G,E & H expenses. The previous manual and time-consuming process, marked by numerous email exchanges and the risk of missed communications, resulted in delayed approvals and inefficiencies. A solution based in Power Platform stack featuring category-based request forms, provision for supporting documents, alerts/notification mechanisms for the compliance team, approval workflows aligned with organizational policy, and channels for employee-compliance team communication. The outcomes included a simplified and streamlined review process, an audit trail for all requests and decisions, improved customer and employee experiences, and the provision of reporting and real-time dashboards, ultimately promoting a culture of compliance and mitigating misconduct risks within the organization.

3. Vulnerability Management Solution

A prominent Media Industry brand in the Middle East effectively addressed the challenges of vulnerability management for by automating a Vulnerability Management. Before implementation, the organization faced manual processing and tracking of vulnerability scan reports using disparate tools and spreadsheets, leading to inefficiencies and security risks. With 10xDS’s intervention, a robust Power Platform-based application was developed, featuring user roles, options to upload and assign vulnerabilities, real-time notifications, escalation mechanisms, and a comprehensive dashboard for security status monitoring. This initiative resulted in centralized vulnerability management, improved accountability, efficiency gains through automation, data-driven insights, and enhanced communication via real-time notifications. Notably, the vulnerability resolution rate exceeded 90%, signifying the success and effectiveness of the solution in bolstering the organization’s security posture and operational efficiency.

In conclusion, the Power Platform stands as a transformative toolset with myriad benefits and diverse applications across industries. From streamlining business processes to empowering users with low-code development capabilities, its versatility and efficiency are unparalleled. By harnessing the power of Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI, organizations can drive innovation, enhance productivity, and achieve tangible business outcomes. Whether it’s automating routine tasks, building customized applications, or gaining actionable insights from data, the Power Platform offers a comprehensive solution suite tailored to meet the evolving needs of modern enterprises. As businesses continue to navigate digital transformation journeys, embracing the Power Platform emerges as a strategic imperative, unlocking new opportunities for growth, agility, and success in the ever-changing landscape of the digital age.

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Read more use cases here: 5 Real-World Use Cases from 10xDS in Microsoft Power Platform