Microsoft Power Platform
Developer(s)Microsoft
Initial release2018; 5 years ago (2018)
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
TypeBusiness intelligence, app development, app connectivity, robotic process automation
LicenseProprietary software
Websitepowerplatform.microsoft.com

Microsoft Power Platform is a line of business intelligence, app development, and app connectivity software applications.[1][2] Microsoft developed the Power Fx low-code programming language for expressing logic across the Power Platform.[3][4] It also provides integrations with GitHub and Teams among other apps.[5]

Products

The Power Platform family of products includes:[2][6]

Microsoft Dataverse

Not to be confused with Dataverse.

Microsoft Dataverse, formerly known as Microsoft Common Data Service until November 2020, is a relational database engine[10] offered by Microsoft as a cloud based data management software as a service for storing business data. It is mainly a database with associated functionalities, and separates itself from on-prem solutions like for example Microsoft Access in that a developer needs internet access to connect to Dataverse. It is mainly a tool for managing and storing data, and allows for creation and management of datasets through a single user interface.

MS Dataverse is marketed for use with other Microsoft products such as Power Apps and Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications, and has data connectors to other Microsoft products like Azure Event Hub, Azure Service Bus, Microsoft SQL and Azure Data Lake. One example of use could be to use Dataverse as a form of data lake together with Microsoft Power Apps. Dataverse is also available as a separate service for companies who want to develop their own solutions, and has integration capabilities to other systems through webhooks. Dataverse has APIs so that the data can be consumed by other services, like for example Power Platform services like Power BI or Power Apps, or by custom services designed in for example Visual Studio.

In addition to relational data, Dataverse also has support for file and blob storage, data lakes and semi-structured data. One example of use could be to use Dataverse as a form of data lake together with Microsoft Power Apps. Dataverse is based on Microsoft's Common Data Model as its common data model and is built on Microsoft Azure SQL where its physical data also is stored.[11][12] In November 2020, Microsoft's Common Data Service was rebranded into Dataverse.

Dataverse has the possibility to apply business logic like duplicate detection, calculated fields, rollup fields and business rules. It can be used to discover, validate and report data, and has the possibility to use Microsoft's proprietary common data model. Access in MS Dataverse is handled with Azure Active Directory which has conditional access and multi-factor authentication (MFA), and offers individual column and row level security.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Novet, Jordan (2019-05-08). "Microsoft touted something called the Power Platform at its big event this week — here's what it is". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  2. ^ a b Foley, Mary Jo (2019-01-18). "Why Microsoft's 'Power Platform' is one of its biggest bets for 2019 and beyond". ZDNet. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  3. ^ Anderson, Tim (2021-03-02). "Excel-lent: Microsoft debuts low-code Power Fx language... but it is not really new". The Register. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  4. ^ Melanson, Mike (2021-03-06). "This Week in Programming: Microsoft's Power Fx 'Low Code' Language". The New Stack. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  5. ^ Bishop, Todd (2020-09-22). "As 'low-code' competition grows, Microsoft integrates Power Apps with GitHub and Teams". GeekWire. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  6. ^ Krill, Paul (2020-05-25). "Microsoft: Power Platform is for real developers, too". InfoWorld. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  7. ^ Marvin, Rob (2018-08-24). "Microsoft PowerApps". PCMag UK. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  8. ^ Lamanna, Charles (2020-05-19). "Microsoft acquires Softomotive to expand low-code robotic process automation capabilities in Microsoft Power Automate". Microsoft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  9. ^ "Announcing Microsoft Power Pages: Build secure, low-code websites". powerpages.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  10. ^ What is Microsoft Dataverse? - Power Apps | Microsoft Docs
  11. ^ Microsoft Dataverse - Avantiico
  12. ^ Microsoft Dataverse – An underappreciated gem - Calculate Data

Power Automate

Further reading

External links


Microsoft development tools
Microsoft
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