PowerApps portal with Dynamics 365 F&O – Part 1

In today’s article, we will see what PowerApps portal is, when and why to use with Dynamics 365 Finance and operations. PowerApps portal was introduced by Microsoft in June 2019 to build low-code, responsive websites which allow external users to interact with the data stored in the Dataverse (Comman Data Service). PowerApps portal is a component of Power apps.

What is PowerApps portal

Power Apps Portals enables organizations to create external-facing websites, forms, and web pages without the need for extensive coding or development. It allows non-technical users to create and manage websites, forms, and web pages using pre-built templates, custom entities, and data from Dynamics 365, SharePoint, and other external sources.

PowerApps Portals can be used to create a variety of different types of websites and forms, such as:

• Customer portals
• Partner portals
• Event registration pages
• Job application forms
• Contact us forms.
• Survey forms
• Community portals
• Knowledge bases

PowerApps Portals also enables users to create custom forms, web pages, and templates using Liquid, a markup language that is used to create dynamic templates and web pages. Additionally, Power Apps Portals can also be integrated with Dynamics 365 to provide data-driven web pages with the ability to view and update data in Dynamics 365.

PowerApps Portals is a great tool for organizations that want to create external-facing websites and forms quickly and easily, and it can be used in a variety of industries.

Why to use PowerApps portal

There are several reasons why an organization may choose to use PowerApps portals:

1. External Data Collection: PowerApps portals allow non-technical users to create custom forms and web pages to collect data from external stakeholders, such as customers, partners, and suppliers.
2. Easy Customization: The portals provide a set of pre-built templates, web forms, and web pages, which can be easily customized to suit the needs of the organization.
3. Dynamics 365 Integration: PowerApps portals can be integrated with Dynamics 365 data, making it easy to share information and collect data from external stakeholders.
4. No Code Required: PowerApps portals allow users to create and publish external-facing forms, pages, and websites without writing any code, making it accessible to non-technical users.
5. Cost-Effective: PowerApps portals can help organizations to create external-facing websites and forms without incurring the costs associated with hiring a developer or a web design agency.
6. Improve customer engagement: It allows creating self-service portals for customers, improve customer engagement, and reduce the workload on customer support teams.
7. Streamline Business Processes: PowerApps portals can be used to automate and streamline various business processes such as event registration, lead capture, and employee onboarding.

When to use PowerApps portal

PowerApps portals can be used in a variety of scenarios, some examples include:

1. Customer self-service portals: PowerApps portals can be used to create a customer self-service portal where customers can access information, submit support tickets, and track the status of their requests.
2. Event registration sites: PowerApps portals can be used to create an event registration site where attendees can register for events, view event schedules, and receive updates about the event.
3. Employee onboarding portals: PowerApps portals can be used to create an employee onboarding portal where new hires can complete paperwork, view company information, and access training materials.
4. Partner portals: PowerApps portals can be used to create a partner portal where partners can access information, submit leads, and track the status of their partnership.
5. Vendor portals: PowerApps portals can be used to create a vendor portal where vendors can submit invoices, view purchase orders, and access other important information.
6. Public-facing website: PowerApps portals can be used to create a public-facing website for an organization, where visitors can view information about the organization, contact the organization, and access other resources.
7. Lead capture and management: PowerApps portals can be used to create a lead capture forms, landing pages to capture leads from various sources, and manage them in Dynamics 365.

In general, PowerApps portals can be used whenever an organization needs to create an external-facing website or form that is integrated with Dynamics 365 data and can be easily customized and maintained by non-technical users.

PowerApps portal Architecture

The Portal is a view onto the information held in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations.  The Portal itself is built on Power Portal, one of the PowerApps available in Azure. The Portal data is all held in the Dataverse, which is synchronized with Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations through the dual-write mechanism.

The following diagram depict the high-level process architecture to support the combination of process capabilities.

PowerApps portal pricing

The pricing for portals will depend on the plan that you have.

References

The PowerApps portal announcement can be found here

In the next article, we will see how to create Power app portal and connect with Dynamics 365 Finance and operations.

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