Why is there so much debate on Power Apps vs. Power Automate? One of the reasons for this is that more and more companies are building their own custom applications, automating all their manual workflows, etc. The fact is that we are moving towards full automation.
In fact, 86% of employees believe automation can help them do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.
However, not everyone knows the differences between these two flagship products from Microsoft.
Keep reading this article to understand Power Apps and Power Automate and their key differences.
Power Apps
Microsoft Power Platform also includes Microsoft Power Apps, allowing users to quickly create their own business applications anywhere, without code.
We know how difficult and time-consuming it can be to create your own solution from scratch using an existing application. It’s even more difficult if you don’t have programming skills. Power Apps takes care of all these issues so that companies don’t have to worry about developing creative business solutions.
Power Automate
Imagine a scenario where the time you currently waste on monotonous, repetitive tasks could be eliminated. Imagine living in a world where workflows work while taking care of essential things. Worry no more because Power Automate brought this universe into our world.
Microsoft describes Power Automate as “a feature that helps you build automated workflows between your favorite apps and services to sync files, get notifications, gather stats, and more.”
Think of it as an all-in-one toolkit for automating cumbersome operations. It’s important to note that Power Automate is a member of the well-known Power Platform quartet, along with Power BI and Power Virtual Agent.
Now that you have an overview of Power Apps and automation let’s discuss the critical differences between the two.
Automation
Both Power Apps and Power Automate offer the ability to automate workflows and business processes.
Power Apps enables anyone to create their own custom apps using pre-built templates, easy drag-and-drop functionality, and rapid deployment. What you end up with is a fully streamlined process that enables your team to overcome the most demanding challenges and focus your attention where it’s needed most.
Power Automate’s automation capabilities are a little different and more advanced, you might say? The platform has pre-defined templates that let you choose a workflow and start working immediately. Or you can create your own workflow from scratch using the app’s easy-to-use step-by-step process.
With Power Automate Flow, you can take advantage of automated tasks in over 290 applications, including SharePoint and Outlook. Add the ability to perform actions with simple triggers, and you have arguably the most powerful automation tool.
Managing Documents
Data is the lifeblood of any company. Every other day, companies generate an astonishing amount of data of various types, quantities, and specifications.
However, the amount spent managing these data files is equally staggering. In fact, according to recent statistics, companies waste an average of $20,000 on document problems.
Microsoft Power App and Power Automate don’t look like document management solutions per se, but they serve their purpose well. Power Apps supports uploading and viewing documents directly to and from SharePoint in simple or advanced formats through powerful low-code websites called portals.
As a result, portal users can easily view, download, add, and delete documents within the portal. It is also possible to create subfolders directly within the portal, which serves the overall goal of effective document management.
Power Automate makes real-time document management easy. Set up your document management workflow, and you’re ready. You can always get the most out of Document Automation if that’s difficult. This is a recently released end-to-end solution that includes the following components:
- Manage documents received via email coordinated by Power Automat
- Extract data from these documents using the AI Builder form processing solution
- Process extracted data and allow users to review and approve it
If this sounds Greek, feel free to talk to a Microsoft consulting firm (like us) to clarify further.
Privacy and Security
Power Apps and Power Automate are easy to use to secure user data, set access levels, and apply privacy restrictions.
Below is an overview of how Microsoft Data Verse implements a robust security archetype.
- Azure Active Directory uses user authentication (Azure AD)
- Licensing is the main barrier for Power Apps users to access platform components.
- Sharing a line-of-business application with user’s controls user access to view and use the application.
- Security roles in your environment regulate who can create business applications and processes.
Collaboration
Remote work weighs heavily in the “new normal”. Now, 62% of employees between the ages of 22 and 65 work at least part of the time remotely. It goes without saying that 16% of businesses worldwide work remotely. If these numbers indicate, implementing collaboration software should be a top priority for your organization.
Power Apps and Power Automate are two applications competing for the best choice for remote offices within the Microsoft Power Platform ecosystem. However, there is one crucial pitfall.
Microsoft Teams integration is required to take full advantage of both technologies’ collaboration potential.
Integrating Power Apps with Microsoft Teams provides some benefits, including,
- To meet
You can schedule and host meetings and link them to your calendar
Outlook call. You can make calls through the platform even if the person you call does not have a Teams account.
- File exchange
This software allows you to create Excel, Word, and PowerPoint documents and communicate on the same page in real-time.
With Power Automate and Teams, companies can combine processes to fill gaps in their organization’s workflows. For example, the new Teams Connect feature lets you quickly create Teams meetings on the go.
Depending on your situation, you can make the most of Power Apps or Power Automate. Microsoft Power Apps is an excellent tool for developing unique solutions for small businesses with a limited user base.
Consider the example of deploying an online collaboration platform that supports real-time analytics with her team of five working on a project. Power Apps allows you to create apps that give you access to all the data you collect and create visualizations and charts that help you better understand what’s going on.
Which is the best for you?
Deciding between the two technologies can be difficult for large companies with thousands of users. In situations like these, you need to evaluate which tools are most likely to help you be more successful.
Power Automate can help in this situation by developing hybrid apps that collect your team’s data, provide real-time analytics and visualizations, and allow you to collaborate remotely with your team.
Contact our team at Inference Labs for Microsoft Power Automate consulting services. We are more than happy to help!
