Seamless Integration: Connecting Systems and Data with Microsoft Power Platform

The world is becoming increasingly interconnected. This includes businesses, which rely increasingly on interconnected systems that work together to complete tasks.  

Apps that bring together different parts of any infrastructure synergistically provide lots of value for an organisation – and Microsoft’s Power Platform is the golden standard for this. Not only does Microsoft’s Power Platform provide a suite of apps that complement each other perfectly, but it also enables your organisation to become more interconnected. 

In this article, we’re going to go over the basics of the Microsoft Power Platform, as well as how it can be used to connect different parts of your organisation — from the Microsoft ecosystem to much further beyond. We’ll also take a look at ways the Power Platform enables your data to become more interconnected and flexible. 

What is the Microsoft Power Platform? 

The Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of interconnected applications and tools developed primarily for business intelligence, app development, and interconnectivity for companies. 

The main applications of the Power Platform are: 

• Power BI: This is a business intelligence application that facilitates intelligence-backed data visualisation for your organisation.  
• Power Apps: With this app you can create powerful low-code applications with ease using a graphical interface. 
• Power Automate: Formerly known as Microsoft Flow, Power Automate lets you use powerful automation tools to automate important processes. 
• Power Virtual Agents: These can be used to create rich and deep virtual assistants for your organisation. 
• Power Pages: A tool allowing you to create low-code websites. 

These cutting-edge tools are all specifically designed to help unlock your business’s potential for the future and are already helping many organisations stay ahead of the curve. 

Power Platform data connectors 

Data connectors are used within the Power Platform to easily utilise APIs for both Microsoft applications and other external applications. This means that you can easily utilise the Power Platform with lots of powerful external applications throughout your business. 

These can especially be used in Power Automate to automate tasks and services throughout your organisation, making it especially easy to fully customise your automation workflow. 

The applications available as data connectors are always growing – with powerful external applications such as Dropbox being available for use within the Power Platform. 

Microsoft applications 

There is a multitude of Microsoft applications that are available as Power Platform data connectors – from Azure to Bing, and even Microsoft Sentinel. The data connectors available within the Power Platform can fully enable any Microsoft tools within your organisation. 

By using data connectors with other Microsoft applications, you can take full advantage of the power of the Microsoft ecosystem, such as Microsoft 365, to create a powerful automated environment. 

Relational databases 

Using PowerApps, you can easily connect databases of related data throughout your organisation to create powerful new databases. 

For example, you can use data connectors – from 365 Dynamics to PowerApps – to link databases together, making it easier to utilise your data in new powerful ways and optimise the Power Platform’s data capabilities. 

SaaS solutions 

There are lots of great Software as a Service (SaaS) tools available that your business can start – and probably is – utilising. Microsoft Power Platform makes it so easy to integrate these into your business using data connectors. 

Microsoft has even created first-party data connectors for different SaaS solutions that are frequently used worldwide, enabling SaaS providers to create data connectors for use within Power Automate workflows. 

API integrations 

An Application Programming Interface (API) allows you to build and integrate applications based on existing applications with ease. A lot of tools online use API solutions to let other developers and organisations use their platform. 

Data connectors can essentially be used as API wrappers, to facilitate use of low-code API integrations within your Power Apps and Automate workflows. 

On-premises data gateway 

You can create custom data connectors using your own on-premises data as a data connector. This can be used throughout the Power Platform – from data visualisation to Power Apps – and can fully transform the way your organisation uses its data. 

Dataflow to Power Platform 

Dataverse 

The ‘dataverse’ is Microsoft’s solution for creating interconnected data sources for use within Microsoft’s Power Platform. Data within the dataverse is stored within tables, that are easily readable by the Power programs. With these tables, you can manage and secure your data while also using it throughout the Microsoft ecosystem – even outside the Power Platform, in tools such as Dynamics 365. 

Azure data lake storage 

You can connect Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS) to the Power Platform to essentially store any new dataflows within the data lake provided by ADLS.  

With this, you fully unlock your data’s potential by capturing important metadata – giving you even more powerful ways to analyse and use your data. ADLS also helps your data reach further throughout your organisation and ensuring all of the data – and related intelligence – is widely available and accessible. 

How to Get Started 

With more ways for businesses to become interconnected, learning how different applications work together can make a massive difference in pushing your organisation to the next level. Microsoft’s Power Platform enables interconnectivity with lots of different applications and data sources, meaning you can easily create next-level power solutions to truly innovate with the platform. 

If you’re looking to get started but don’t know how, get in touch with Extech Cloud today. Our experts are here to help you get started on your Power Platform journey. We’ll work with you to ensure your organisation has everything it needs to thrive, while also offering top-level support along the way.