How to Use the Power Platform: Part 3

HOST: Welcome to Digital Journeys. Today we're going to look at how to use the Power Platform. Our guests today are Jim Holman and Trace Armstrong.

JIM HOLMAN: Thanks, Jerry, for having me. We're here with Trace Armstrong to discuss how to use the Power Platform.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: There are many great ways to use the Power Platform. The best way to explain is with a use-case example.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: We work with a customer who sells construction equipment. They integrated their ERP with a Power Apps application and SharePoint Online.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: Previously, when salespeople were in the field at construction sites, they couldn't make timely decisions. Their systems were on-premises—SharePoint on-premises, SQL on-premises, ERP on-premises—so they had to be on a laptop connected to a VPN with a strong internet signal.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: As a result, they lost sales when competitors could provide faster answers. We migrated their SharePoint to Office 365 SharePoint Online and began a cloud implementation of their ERP.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: We built a Power Apps application that allows them to convert a sellable piece of equipment into rental equipment in the field. A salesperson can pull up the Power Apps app on a tablet connected via a cellular network, fill out the application, and query inventory in the ERP.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: For example, if they need a bulldozer, they can check inventory: "I don't have any bulldozers available for rent; let me check for sale." They might find 40 bulldozers in inventory and submit a request to convert one to rental. The ERP supplies pricing for daily, weekly, and monthly rental rates.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: The salesperson can show the customer the price, the customer can agree, and the salesperson can submit the request right there on the tablet. The request goes to the ERP team, who approve or reject it within minutes. The salesperson can set a delivery date and provide the customer an immediate answer.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: A process that sometimes took three days to a week was reduced to about 30 minutes. We used Power Apps for the application and Power Automate for approvals. Once approved, the requester receives a text message, an email, and a Teams notification.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: They also have a Power BI dashboard to analyze metrics such as how many pieces of equipment are being converted from sale to rental and how many have been in inventory longer than 90 days. These analytics help drive business decisions.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: With this information available, the company can make more money and use the Power Platform to automate many processes.

JIM HOLMAN: What can an organization that fully deploys a Power Platform solution expect in terms of return on investment, given licensing expansion and consulting costs?

TRACE ARMSTRONG: Forrester published a study last year analyzing the economic impact of investing in the Power Platform. Their combined results for organizations fully integrating the Power Platform showed a return on investment of 52% in less than three years and a reduction in application development costs of about 50%.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: The ROI comes from increased workforce productivity and eliminating inefficiencies. Developing on the Microsoft cloud means updates, new features, and enhancements are rolled out automatically as part of the subscription.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: Historically, many custom applications lived in on-premises data centers, which required physical servers, electricity, maintenance, and backup generators. If the power goes out, applications are down until power is restored. Cloud solutions remove many of those physical and support costs.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: Pushing out updates for homebrew applications can break parts of the app and require redevelopment and support tickets. Moving to the cloud replaces many legacy practices organizations have used for the last two decades, creating ROI through cost savings and reduced support overhead.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: This shift allows internal employees to focus on innovation rather than maintenance.

JIM HOLMAN: The ROI examples you mentioned focus on cost and efficiency offsets. Those are about doing more with the same resources and retiring legacy solutions. Are there examples of how the Power Platform can drive revenue growth?

TRACE ARMSTRONG: Yes. The equipment example demonstrates revenue impact. Reducing time to decision prevents lost sales. In retail or automotive sales, if a customer doesn't buy immediately after a test drive, the chance of losing the sale is high. Immediate decision-making increases closing rates.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: Integrations with e-signature tools and automation can generate contracts from templates and capture signatures in the field, making agreements legal and ready to execute instantly. By moving to the Power Platform, performing thorough business process analysis, and scoping how the platform supports those processes, organizations can increase productivity and efficiency and improve sales outcomes.

JIM HOLMAN: You've mentioned other projects. What's one of your favorite front-end data entry projects you've been involved in, and what did it replace?

TRACE ARMSTRONG: My favorite is a Power Platform app development project integrating an e-signature tool. Many e-signature tools require selecting a document in a SharePoint library or Teams, and the document lives in the vendor's system until it returns signed.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: This particular solution fully integrates an e-signature tool with Teams. We are developing a control for Power Apps that lets users fill out a Power Apps form, click a button for e-signature, and post that data into a template. Users can send the document for e-signature directly from Power Apps without leaving the screen.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: This integration does not trigger premium licensing within the Microsoft ecosystem. Custom Power Apps controls can also work in Dynamics 365 Business Central and the CRM area. So a control developed for Power Apps can be used in Dynamics to generate invoices, statements of work, employment agreements, and more by filling out a Power Apps form, posting data to a template, and sending for signature via email or SMS.

TRACE ARMSTRONG: This project pushes the innovation of what the Power Platform can do and speeds up processes for many customers. E-signature within the Microsoft platform has been difficult to crack, and this solution helps address that gap.

HOST: Thanks, Trace, for discussing why the Power Platform matters. This is part three in the series on collaboration and workspace productivity.

HOST: Thank you, Jim and Trace, for the great discussion, and thank you to our listeners for tuning in. Stay tuned for more Digital Journeys.