Loading...

Power Apps Spectrum

Power Apps Spectrum

PowerApps and Power Pages: Your Guide to Microsoft’s Low-Code Powerhouses


Microsoft PowerApps has revolutionized the way organizations build, deploy, and manage business applications—empowering everyone from citizen developers to IT professionals. With a suite of app types and flexible licensing models, PowerApps offers solutions for internal and external users alike. Let’s break down the main offerings: Canvas Apps, Model-Driven Apps, and Power pages (Portals).


Canvas Apps: Flexibility at Your Fingertips


Canvas Apps are designed for low-code/no-code development, making it easy for business users—sometimes called citizen developers—to quickly build custom applications without deep technical expertise. With Canvas Apps, you get a pixel-perfect, highly customizable user interface, and can connect to over numerous data sources using Microsoft’s robust connectors. These apps are ideal for scenarios where you need tailored UX/UI or want to integrate with a wide range of services.


Key Points:

- Target Users: Azure Active Directory (AAD) users currently, with external user access coming soon.

- Data Sources: Over 300 connectors for databases, cloud services, and more.

- Licensing: Available as per user per app or unlimited app access models, making it adaptable to different business needs.

- Development: Drag-and-drop interface for screens and controls, with formulas to add logic and actions.


Model-Driven Apps: Data-Centric and Enterprise-Ready


Model-Driven Apps are built on the Microsoft Dataverse (formerly Common Data Service), leveraging Dynamics 365 CRM under the hood and SQL Azure as the backend. These apps are strictly for AAD users and focus on data structure and business logic rather than UI design.


Key Points:

- Target Users: Strictly Azure Active Directory (AAD) users.

- Data Backbone: Dynamics 365 CRM with SQL Azure.

- Licensing: Module-based, such as Sales, Service, Field Service, Talent, and Project Management. For example, a Sales Enterprise license may be sufficient for users of multiple Model-Driven Apps built with standard or a moderate number of custom entities.

- Development: UI is automatically generated based on your data model and business processes, making it ideal for structured, data-centric applications.


Power pages (Portals): Extending Access Beyond Your Organization


Power Pages or PowerApps Portals (formerly Dynamics 365 portals and Adxstudio) enable organizations to build external-facing websites for employees, customers, or partners. These portals are provisioned on top of the Model-Driven PowerApps platform and can leverage external logins such as Google, Facebook, or Microsoft accounts.


Key Points:

- Purpose: Build B2B or B2C portal solutions—think self-service sites, partner collaboration, or customer onboarding.

- Authentication: Supports both anonymous and authenticated users.

- Licensing: 

    - External Users: Microsoft differentiates between anonymous and authenticated users. Authenticated access is charged on a “per log-in” basis, where a log-in is defined as a 24-hour period of access by a single authenticated user. For example, 100 log-ins cost $200 per month.

    - Internal Users: Licensing is more straightforward and tied to PowerApps or Dynamics 365 licenses.

- Features: Robust security, responsive design, integration with business apps, and analytics for user behavior.


Conclusion


Microsoft PowerApps offers a comprehensive suite for building business applications—Canvas Apps for custom, citizen developer solutions; Model-Driven Apps for data-driven, enterprise scenarios; and Power pages (Portals) for secure, external-facing websites. With flexible licensing and robust integration, PowerApps empowers organizations to drive digital transformation at every level.


Published on:

Learn more
Arun Vinoth @ Dynamics
Arun Vinoth @ Dynamics

Share post:

Related posts

Make Complex Records Easy to Read with Power Apps AI Builder’s Row Summary

In model-driven apps, forms often have many fields spread across multiple tabs and sections, which can make it hard and time-consuming for use...

2 days ago

Power Apps – Agent builder in Power Apps

We are announcing the ability to create custom AI agents by using existing knowledge, logic, and actions in Power Apps. This feature will reac...

3 days ago

Create a clone command in Power Apps Model Driven Apps

In Power Apps you can create custom commands in your views when developing Model Driven Apps. In this post I'm looking at how you can develop ...

3 days ago

Introducing the new Power Apps: Generative power meets enterprise-grade trust

Microsoft Power Apps brings generative pages to public preview, providing enterprises with a new AI-powered, agent-first approach to app devel...

4 days ago

User-Defined Function (UDF) in Power Apps Canvas App – EMI Calculator Example

In this blog you will know about User-Defined Function (UDF) in Power Apps Canvas App with a EMI Calculator Example Watch the video below or s...

7 days ago

Exploring the new Xrm.Copilot API client reference for Power Apps

In this blog post, we will explore the new Xrm.Copilot API client references introduced for Power Apps and Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (C...

7 days ago

Variables with Incompatible Type in Power Apps

Last week, one of the issues I ran into as I re-engineered an app, I suddenly ended up with my Power Apps Studio complaining about 100s of inc...

8 days ago
Stay up to date with latest Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform news!
* Yes, I agree to the privacy policy