Microsoft Power Apps Reviews

I'm working for a company that provides services and develops projects for our clients. I am a solution architect and I use Microsoft PowerApps.

In Microsoft PowerApps the most valuable features are the fully customizable design that we can control everything that we would like to control. For example, the integration between Microsoft and third-party services through pre-built connectors, and the functionality to create custom connectors.

The solution could improve by having more connectors for different solutions in a way to create custom connectors. Additionally, they should make HTTP Connectors free again because it was not always a premium feature. These HTTP connectors allow you to send API requests which can be important.

I have been using Microsoft PowerApps for approximately four years.

The performance and the stability of Microsoft PowerApps are great because it is based on the Microsoft platform. We are able to use a lot of other features, we have no problems with the performance.

The technical support from Microsoft PowerApps is quite good because they respond in a few hours. They provide comprehensive support as well. If you do not buy any support package, SLA agreement, et cetera, and only have a standard license, you are able to raise a ticket with them and they will support you.

The initial setup is very easy.

There are areas of Microsoft PowerApps that can be improved. For example, the license policies are expensive to purchases the premium connectors. If a company would like to use the premium features, they have to pay a lot of money. The Microsoft PowerApps portal could be easier to use when there are a lot of external users because if a company has 1,000 external users, it is too expensive to use the Microsoft PowerApps portal.

I would recommend people to pay attention to not only the documentation of the solution but Microsoft provides a lot of video and text documentation. They give step-by-step guides on how to use different features and how to start and complete the implementation. Microsoft documentation is a good way to start for non-familiar people to Microsoft PowerApps.

I rate Microsoft PowerApps a ten out of ten.

We primarily use the solution as a general business process improvement. We use it as more of a digital transformation to eliminate some archaic manual processes that the business has built up over time. We're working to make everything more streamlined.

The solution has allowed us to remove a lot of manual redundancies and to update and streamline our processes.

It's easy to use due to expert UI. It is great.

The initial setup is easy.

There's a lot of online knowledge on the solution, to the point where new users can basically teach themselves how to use the solution.

The solution is limited in a very specific way. One of the major problems with it is what PowerApps calls the delegation warning. Regardless of what platform, data source, et cetera, that you're using, you can't retrieve more than 2000 records.

I connect to an Oracle server that has well over 150,000 records that business users want to see or could use at any given time. The only thing that I could surface in the app is a portion of up to 2000 records at one data call.

Due to this limitation, I have to build in options for the user to refine the search, to go back out to the server, and then pull back records that match that search as opposed to offering all 150,000+ records. You need to filter quite extensively. Microsoft refers to is as a "delegation issue".

I've only been using the solution for about a year. It hasn't been too long as of yet.

The stability has been very good. We've been pretty satisfied with it. It's not buggy. It doesn't crash.

You cannot scale with PowerApps. PowerApps is still very much a point solution. The size is the size.

We've dealt with technical support in the past. Everybody that we've worked with at Microsoft is phenomenal. They are always willing to help troubleshoot and get to the bottom of issues. That said, with PowerApps and even Power Automate, sometimes the teams at Microsoft still don't know why some issues occur or how to work around them.

I joined the company a year ago in September. I don't think they used anything prior to that beyond the citizen developer level. There might have been a solution that the actual coders used, however, I can't recall the product's name. It was a pretty standard Microsoft application in any case. It may have been Visual Studio.

The initial setup is not complex. It's quite straightforward.

For me, just using it on my own, I just used Google searches or YouTube to figure out how do this or fix and tie items together. After about a month of learning and experimenting, I had a pretty good handle on how PowerApps works.

The company as a whole used Microsoft consultants to set up a center of excellence. 

The solution is free if you have a Teams account, or Office 365. 

If you start to use any premium connectors that are not stored in a SharePoint list or on an Excel workbook, then it costs $4 per user per month. If you want unlimited, it's about $16 per month for unlimited apps and unlimited connectors.

There might potentially be a few other extra fees, however, I'm not sure what they are. Microsoft is one of those organizations that manage to nickel and dime its customers on everything.

We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with Microsoft.

We are most likely using the most recent or updated version of the solution, however, I'm unsure of the exact version number.

While Microsoft is an option, I'd recommend users check out OutSystems first and see if it makes sense for them to use that before looking into Microsoft.

Overall, I'd rate the solution six out of ten.

We had a new requirement from a business in the clinical domain and the business wanted to identify risk at a study or site level. We created an application using PowerApps, which works well as we usually interact with the SQL Server on Azure.

I did some POC for another application. We’re expecting we'll get it in a new project in the near future. It is a really good tool. We can run programming knowledge, we can learn the PowerApps and we can interact with applications.

It is user-friendly. Anyone can easily learn and work on this tool.

The solution is easy to implement.

It’s a stable product.

Not much coding is required.

I don’t have much hands-on experience with PowerApps. I’d need more time with it. As of now, I can’t think of an area for improvement.

We did a POC with the solution. We’ve used it for the last 12 months.

It’s very stable. It’s reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn’t crash or freeze.

I cannot speak to how scalable it would be. However, it may work best with a lesser amount of data.

We might have about 100 people on the solution.

I don’t have any experience using any other tool.

It’s straightforward to set up the solution. It’s not overly difficult or complex.

We did the integration ourselves. We didn’t need the help of any consultants or integrators.

I don’t have any details in relation to the pricing or licensing.

The tool was suggested to us, and we decided to try it. We did not evaluate other options.

I’m not sure of the exact version number. However, we are using the latest version.

I’d recommend the solution to others.

I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. There may be other tools that are easier to work with. However, I’m not sure. In general, it works well, and we have been happy with it.

With Power Apps, we create some of the collaboration forms for our employees to use during the pandemic. We can record our employees' status health daily, and start a database of the information. After that, we can track using Power BI if there are any symptoms or if the risk is low, high, or medium. We use it basically for self-declaration forms.

The solution offers good integration on the Microsoft Power platform. You can use and develop apps, local apps using Microsoft Power Apps. It helps automate processes. We can do the monitoring and tracking of the Power BI app in Microsoft. 

It's very easy to set up.

The solution is stable.

The scalability is good.

The flexibility of the user interface could be better. Currently, they are using the Microsoft OMS, Management System. It would be ideal if we could customize the layout of the user interface.

I've used this solution for one to three years. 

The solution is very stable. We haven't dealt with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It is reliable. 

You can easily scale the solution as needed. 

We have 500 people that use the solution. We use it quite regularly. We do not, however, plan to expand usage at this time. 

Technical support has been good. They're also very supportive. When we have any problem or issue, we can reach out to them and they will reply.

The initial setup is not complex or difficult. It's easy to set up. It's very straightforward. 

It took us about four to five months to set everything up. The apps vary in how long it takes to develop and release them.

We develop everything in-house. We handled the setup in-house as well. We didn't need any outside assistance. 

We have not yet seen any ROI.

I cannot speak to the exact pricing of the product. We are, however, heavily affiliated with Microsoft.

We're users and Microsoft partners. We use a lot of Microsoft products.

It's my understanding that we are using the latest version of the solution. 

I'd recommend the solution. Everyone would be able to use it as it is not overly technical. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. 

We have built a couple of apps ourselves, but mainly, we are building the apps for our customers.

The best aspect of Microsoft Power Apps is its time-to-market efficiency. Unlike traditional programming, it doesn't involve lengthy coding processes, allowing for rapid deployment. You can input your requirements and get started without writing millions of lines of code.

The product is expensive. It costs around 20 euros per month.

There is no stability concern from clients. It could be faster, but it's stable. When it is on your infrastructure, it takes more time to work than the public cloud.

Microsoft support is not solving your problem. They're closing the ticket and telling you to open a new ticket. When you're writing back, they're not answering. When you are calling, they don't hear you. Microsoft support is the cheapest support.

The initial setup is easy because you don't need to write a million lines of code.

Microsoft Power Apps runs only on the cloud. There is no on-premise possibility to run it. You can run a connector connecting your on-prem infrastructure and the cloud. We are developing on Azure Active Directory. We're also using it because our clients also use Azure. We have big and small Azure clients. Everything is in the cloud.

If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription. You already have access to Power Apps. You can utilize pre-built apps and even create your own without needing additional data apps.

The solution is fast to adapt.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We predominantly use the product for a lot of intake forms. There is a lot of data collection and a lot of intake forms. We use Power Application for validation rather than using spreadsheets. It's good for automation, where we need a data repository of the input, which we get from the resource.

It's extremely user-friendly. It's easy to use. Of course, it's a local tool, however, if you're aware of some of the basic Microsoft products, you can really get on with it. That's something which is really wonderful. 

Even a beginner can set up a Power App and run with it. That's one of the most important features when it comes to the adoption of Power Apps.

The solution becomes easier the set up once you get used to it.

It's a stable product.

The solution has the potential to scale. 

I would like to see some of the connectors which they have right now to be more basic. The ones they have right now, they claim, are premium connectors. They should make that a little more affordable and have it in the free version. Some of the basic databases like SQL should be part of their normal connectors, and it should necessarily be premium.

It can be a bit more difficult to set up the first time.

They have a feature that integrates well with Power BI, however, it is not seamless. We'd like a better, more seamless integration with Power BI in the future. 

They need more of a font selection. If I'm in Excel and I'm using a particular font, I'm limited in terms of which I can use. It should allow for use of any fonts under Microsoft 365.

We've been using Power Apps for the last two years or so.

The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

It is scalable if we integrate with other applications like Power Automate and connect it with some other applications or some other databases like SQL. That said, in the current arrangement with SharePoint, we have some limitations. The moment the data increases, if we're able to integrate Power Automate, then surely it becomes a scalable application. Right now it can be scaled, however, it's not something that we are looking to do. 

There are maybe 60 to 70 users at this point of time actively giving us data, however, there could be other applications that people are using.

In terms of technical support, we do have a governance team. The IT governance is a security team who helps us navigate through issues. We raise requests internally within our organization to help us see where the issue is, and they will escalate as required. They might reach out to Microsoft support to kind of get it sorted. That said, we have not found any major issues so far. If we do, our internal team is the first team to go to.

We previously used mostly manual consolidation using Excel, emails, and things like that. There was no other tool before. That said, we used normal Office productivity tools like Excel and Outlook. We went with Power App since we were already using Microsoft and Office 365, which helps us to integrate multiple other Microsoft solutions. That's the reason we thought Power Apps would be the best way for us. It also integrates with SharePoint and is easy to build in. 

The initial setup was not straightforward, however, once you get a hang of it, then it's pretty simple to create things. From a documentation perspective, it's kind of a good guide that they have as far as Power Apps is concerned. It's easy to get started. Like any tool, you have to spend some time understanding and navigating around it. There is just a normal learning curve that is required as with application. You won't really find it that difficult if you are ready to invest the time to learn the tool. There's a moderate level of complexity.

It was not that effort-intensive, yet it definitely took us close to three weeks to create our first app on Power Apps, which was mostly SharePoint driven and had pretty decent complexities. It was not a very straightforward application. It took a fairly decent time. It was not a very long-term project, it was short-term, and we could manage to do it in three weeks.

We have not found it difficult to maintain Power Apps. It's pretty straightforward. We haven't had any challenges so far.

Everything was handled in-house. 

Right now, we are using an enterprise license without the premium connectors at this point. For Power Automate, we are definitely going to need some licenses which we're exploring. 

Depending upon the user requirements, we're still exploring the licensing requirement. Most of the applications that we leverage are without any cost other than the normal license which we are paying for as part of Office 365. We'll take additional licenses depending on the solution and the need.

We have performed a lot of other projects on the Power platform, which is a Microsoft product. So we have used Power App and Power Automate to do many of our automation initiatives.

We are working with the latest version of the solution. 

I'd advise potential new users to have the UI designed well in advance. Articulate the flow in which you want to create your Power Apps so that you can save time. Then, do a dry run using Excel as well. It's important when you're using Power Applications, to have your UI design and the BRD clearly articulated, otherwise it might take a little longer to implement Power Apps. Once you have everything in readiness, it will be easy. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

I use the solution to build customized platforms for clients and provide data-driven, focused statistics on threat attacks. I collect data and import it into Power Platform or Power BI to generate statistics. My clients use that information to apply new methodologies for implementing security in their environment. 

We are resellers of the solution and primarily implement it for small business clients. 

There is value in being able to collect and compare information in real-time to present alternatives for correcting vulnerabilities. When implemented, the solution collects information on the number and type of licenses in a client's environment to present a correct diagnosis. 

The solution should move to the next step in its maturity model and include mobile versions for Android and iOS. This type of distribution would make it possible to integrate other platforms and applications. It is our vision for the future. 

I have been using the solution for five years. 

The solution is stable with no bugs. 

The solution is scalable in regard to the number of users. Internally, we have five users but our clients have hundreds of users. 

The solution is not very scalable overall because it is not yet deployed on the Web Store, Microsoft Store, or Apple Store. 

We have to further evaluate support. It's in the middle of the scale because they only operate during business hours. We would like support anytime, anywhere, 24/7. 

Neutral

The setup is easy. In five steps you configure the dashboards and decide on data imports. 

We implement the solution for our clients. 

We are resellers of Windows Server, Microsoft 365, Azure and other licenses and Microsoft products.

The licensing price varies by customer and can be $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Price is based on the number of users, number of features, and application customizations. 

We always audit our customer's needs and conduct a software assessment before recommending and implementing any solution including Microsoft, Oracle, and others. 

In a roadmap, we decided to implement additional features such as a cyber map and real-time communications to the CTO, CEO, and CSOs so they are immediately alerted of critical situations.

I rate the solution a seven out of ten. 

The solution is for rapid application development software.

There is a specific environment, in part a platform of PowerApps, in which you can just deploy the solutions and then you share the link with the users and they are able to open them using iPads or mobile devices, or even a computer.

We have been working to build a maintenance events app for assets, it's an app to manage and show all the assets that have been working or down for maintenance in an operation, inside one bigger mining company. They have many trucks and many other, let's say, machines in the operation and sometimes they have to put these machines just through a maintenance mode, to see what's happening, or to change some part specifically, or even if the machine is having some kind of issue. That's due to the fact that if it's down, they have to manage how long it's down and what was the part that was the issue, the cause of the issue. They have to change the parts and everything's very costly in terms of money for the company when we have one specific asset that's down.

Previously, they were using a board in a room, just to manage all these statuses.  Instead of this, now we have one specific app that is working in live modes in almost real-time. Just getting the data from the services and showing it on a big board in PowerApps can show what's happened, what's the status, and what's the reason for the issue. This app allows for adding some comments. It's a collaborative app where many people can just go there and add comments and notes about what's happening with the machine.

There are many things there that I like about the solution. I like the galleries, which are really powerful. I like the way that we can build forms very quickly. 

In terms of timing to develop, PowerApps is very fast. We can integrate with Power BI. You can just show the Power BI report embedded in PowerApps, and it works really nicely.

In my experience, the solution's deployment can be tricky.

In my experience, it was not good as it was giving errors around the tables and I couldn't find what was happening. I had to break it down into different solutions - one solution containing all the tables and the second solution containing the application, plus the power domain that I had for this particular application. It's something that's not good, in terms of the way that things work. 

When I added Power Automate into the solution, for some reason it disappeared from my Power Automate page, as it was added inside the solution. It was very, very weird. It may be a bug. 

There's a primary interface and integration feature and we build some HL processes there. However, suddenly after adding this part, and automating the solution to deploy it, it was just not available for me anymore and I had to go inside the solution and open the MS files from there instead of the usual place where all the Power Automates are created. It was like a bug and also. In terms of the issues that I have with the solution feature inside PowerApps, I didn't like it. I've seen this too complicated. It's something that Microsoft has to improve.

The speed and performance could be better. PowerApps sometimes gets stuck, gets slow and I don't have any reason for why it's happening. Suddenly you are trying to see the rows on your screen and you just have a wait to get the results back, then there's nothing happening. These things look like an environmental issue, however, I don't know if it's something about the localization or something else.

We'd like our option in terms of licensing that can be paid by the app and not by users. That could be something good. Just the way that they charge the license, it's too much. There are not many options. They could give a little bit more flexibility to choose in terms of options for a license.

I've used the solution for six months. 

It's stable, however, sometimes it is slow.

There are no issues about the connection falling. Just, when you are using it, suddenly the page is broken. There is no issue yet, sometimes it gets a little bit frozen and you're waiting a little bit more time to gather results. The table is not a big table with many, many rows, so why is it taking so long, so much time to get the answer back from the app? That's the main issue. There's a performance problem. It's not a stability question.

It's scalable if we're talking about the database, about data warehouse, however, not about PowerApps. PowerApps is not scalable. It's scalable, in the sense that the app you can share for many users, however, you have to pay by user. Scalability isn't really applicable.

We're still not running it fully. We're just prepared to start testing. 

We've dealt with technical support in the past. 

We had some little situations where we couldn't get the help as we needed, however, that was a limitation in the tool - it was not an issue with them.

For the most part, they are really good.

Positive

IN terms of the initial setup, we have to choose which kind of approach we are going to use in PowerApps, as PowerApps has different strings. You can choose PowerApps Canvas, or you can choose a driving app, and that's a little bit different. In my case, I chose a PowerApps combo as I needed a little bit more in terms of flexibility and in terms of how I build this topic they screen. 

In terms of the development, it's quick, really it's quick, however, it's not the fastest way to develop and there are some other solutions in the market that are faster in some ways. In terms of deployment, in my experience, when you're going to deploy perhaps an application, you have to build a solution and a solution and it's a little bit tricky. You have to add all the components to the solution and, after that, you have to export the solution and import the solution into the production environment. We have an environment for development and a second environment for production.

The application is deployed, however, it's not in use yet. They are just preparing to start testing the application and once they finalize the test, the app is going to go live.

After I passed over all these little issues that I had, it was quick to deploy. It was just a question of minutes. When we export the solution and import the solution back, it's easy. However, all the processes to be able to finally get over these issues and everything, it took me four weeks just to realize what was going on and handle it. 

I was the one that deployed the solution. 

In terms of ROI,  I didn't see any. However, if you look at the cost of building an app, the coding costs would be much higher without this solution. You can save months of development time and the money needed to deploy the solution. In that sense, the ROI is awesome. 

The licensing is restrictive and can get expensive as you have to pay per user, not per app. It's a range of users. For example, if you go above 50 users, you need to pay more. 

If you compare it with competitors like Google, they are more expensive than Google. Google has another option that's a PowerApps competitor called AppSheets and AppSheets is cheaper than PowerApps.

We are Microsoft partners. 

I'm using the latest version of the solution. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

There are some things that need improvement in some ways to make the tool better. However, it's very powerful and it's very fast to deploy something. It's great.