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PowerApps and Microsoft Flow for Business Users. Business-solutions on Microsoft SharePoint. Adis Jugo, Director Product Technology at skybow Microsoft MVP Office Servers and Services Microsoft MVP Office Development. skybow accelerates, standardizes and simplifies!. Adis Jugo.
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PowerApps and Microsoft Flow for Business Users Business-solutions on Microsoft SharePoint Adis Jugo, Director Product Technology at skybow Microsoft MVP Office Servers and Services Microsoft MVP Office Development skybow accelerates, standardizes and simplifies!
Adis Jugo • Director of Product Technology at skybow • Microsoft MVP • Office Development • Office Servers and Services • http://adisjugo.com • Twitter @adisjugo
PowerAppsbackground • Extension of Project Sienna • Cloud-based apps for range of mobile devices and browsers • Authentication through Azure Active Directory • Built in connectors for some popular data sources • Extensibility through custom managed APIs (Azure Functions, Azure API Apps…) and Microsoft Azure
Microsoft Flow • Workflows and task automation • Data connections, connected services • Actions • Conditions • Loops
What can I build with PowerApps? • Apps based on data (SharePoint*, SQL, but also DropBox and Google Drive) • Onedimensional, form-based apps • Simple, single-task apps • Microphone, camera, GPS coordinates. Ink and pen support. • Multiple data sources in one app • Multiple screens
What it isn’t? • InfoPath replacement. It is a successor, not a replacement. • Limited functionalities • List forms • Microsoft stated there will be no 1:1 parity • SharePoint-specific product • Limited SharePoint support • Will get better • Free
High-level architecture SaaS apps mobile enterpriseservices tablet businesssystems browser
Data sources? SaaS datasources • Excel on OneDrive • Excel on Dropbox • Excel on Google Drive • Office 365 • SharePoint Online lists • Google Sheets • Salesforce • Dynamics CRM
Common Data Model • Secure Business database, comprising of standard business entities • Encrypted at rest. Built for scale –Service Fabric and elastic SQL. • Standard entities, Custom entities Issues • No management capabilities • Multitenant databases Future • Some kind of Office 365 integration • 3rd Party ISV Apps
Microsoft Flow • Simple, data-drivenactions, conditionsandloops • Start from PowerApps, by another services/events, or schedule • No write-back to PowerApps
Security / Permissions • AAD • Internal sharing • External users – still no info • Anonymous use – still no info
ActionsandConditions Expressions { LOB } { C# } Azure Service Bus Azure API App,Azure Function
For your developers: Extending PowerApps and Flow • http://www.adisjugo.com • Adding custom data sources to PowerApps and Flow • Extending PowerApps language through Azure API Apps • Extending PowerApps and Flow with Azure Functions • Exchanging data from PowerApps and Flow with 3rd party system using Azure Service Bus • Using Azure API Apps to create custom Flow Actions • …
Managing PowerApps & Flows • Limited management capabilities • Basic export and import capability (”Save as”) • Automatised deployments are missing • No PowerApps or Flows versioning • Limited data and security governance capabilities through Environments • Limited authentication and sharing story • Rogue data sources along the enterprise-ready data sources • Custom entities throufgh Common Data Model • No governance • No management • Multitennant SQL Azure
WrapUp • Loosely coupled forms and flow engine. • NOT the InfoPath replacement you were waiting for, some scenarios covered (take a look at skybow Rich Forms – www.skybow.com) • Mixed enterprise and consumer oriented data sources, manage wisely • Limited expression language in PowerApps • Extensibility options still pretty limited / undefined • Limited SharePoint support
WARNING • PowerApps are published as a Minimum Viable Product: things are changing. Prepare for change, and make your plans flexible. • First prove that feature you require is supported by PowerApps, or is at least on the roadmap, to avoid dead-ends. • Don’t overpromise. Remember your lessons from InfoPath. • You might end up deploying hacks as workarounds
THANK YOU questions? Business-solutions on Microsoft SharePoint skybow accelerates, standardizes and simplifies!