Back in 2009, Apple coined the phrase “there’s an app for that”. The slogan, promoting their App Store (at the time less than a year old), highlighted how apps can help with almost any task. Over a decade on, and it’s certainly proven to be true.
Today, we use apps to read the news, check our bank balance and keep track of our health. But they’re also hugely useful for businesses, who can build custom apps for tasks they do on a day-to-day basis.
How is this done? That’s where Microsoft Power Apps comes in. In this post, we’ll explore what Power Apps is, how it works and whether it would work for you.
What is Power Apps?
Broadly speaking, Power Apps is a suite of tools that enables you to build custom applications tailored to your business needs. Released at the start of 2017, it can be used to create apps for mobile (Android and iOS) or desktop (Windows or any internet browser).
The main selling point is that you can do this without the need for coding expertise. There’s no need for the HTML or JavaScript know-how that acts as a hurdle for so many businesses.
How does Power Apps work?
In line with its main purpose of making app building simple, Power Apps features a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface. From here, you can build your app from scratch, adding control fields, media and forms.
Crucially, it also allows you to store data within the platform or integrate it from external sources including Excel, Office 365 and SharePoint.
So, what can it be used for?
Power Apps enables you to create apps to automate or simplify a number of time-consuming business process. That could be anything from basic workflow and reporting to data visualisation and collaboration, including:
- A reporting app for site inspections which provides fields to log faults in various areas
- An app for creating standard documents tailored to specific clients or requirements
- An automated marketing tool which interacts with clients based on their actions, status or interactions with your company
- A tracking system for business assets, logging the use of company cars at all times
- An app to check employees for coronavirus, including a series of questions and a temperature check, as we recently developed for one of our clients.
Is it any good?
Power Apps solves two of the main issues of app development – the need for coding and the challenge of creating apps for different devices and operating systems. These two benefits alone make it a valuable platform for businesses of all sizes.
However, as with most things, the proof is in the pudding. Power Apps allows you to create custom apps that save you time, drive productivity and improve the end product, whether it’s customer service or internal processes.
Talk to a Power Apps specialist
While Power Apps is designed to simplify app creation, you’ll need experience and know-how to take your apps to the next level. If you want modernise your business processes and solve tough challenges, you need an expert at the wheel. That’s exactly what we can provide at silverlimes.
Our business automation specialists can work with your team to create apps that tick every box for your company and your customers. To find out what Power Apps can do for your business, contact us today on 0116 319 4402 or hello@silverlimes.co.uk.
