Microsoft Power Platform-A low code solution for automations

Power BI vs. Tableau | Business Intelligence Battle Ground

Tableau leads in advanced data visualization and flexible deployment, making it ideal for data-driven analysts. Power BI offers strong Microsoft integration and affordability, making it the go-to choice for cost-conscious businesses.Power BI vs Tableau If you are looking for a Business Intelligence or data visualization solution, chances are you have come across Power BI and Tableau. Founded in 2003, Tableau is often regarded as the gold-standard in data visualization and has been so for a long time. With intuitive data exploration capabilities, Tableau makes a strong case of data visualization. Power BI, on the other hand, debuted in 2013, it is Microsoft’s BI option. It’s strong integrations with the Microsoft ecosystem enable performance and support productivity. Through this blog, I intend to provide a concise yet comprehensive guide to help you decide which should suit your requirements better. From the research undertaken for writing this article (which I can say is substantial), we can assure you that ultimately it all comes down to business requirements. What problem are you looking to solve and how much are you willing to pay for it. We will discuss these two products one-on-one on three parameters: Functionality, Deployment Options and Cost. Next, we will briefly touch upon Gartner’s magic quadrant report, 2019 and what it means, and finally we will wrap up. Functionality Tableau is a sophisticated product built to explore data visually. It provides a wide range of data representation, dashboard design, and user functionalities. It works very well with users with large datasets from multiple data sources. You can ask a question about your data and get insights almost immediately. Tableau is available for both cloud and on-premise. Its no-code powerful drag and drop analytics makes it very popular among the users. It has a large community and quality customer service. Image source: www.tableau.comPower BI with its common foundation as Excel provides a familiar experience to Excel users. One of the biggest selling points of Power BI is integration with the Microsoft environment. Power BI integrates natively with Azure data services. Power BI also offers unique experiences for business users like Natural Language Query and custom visualizations. The Power BI community is not as strong as Tableau and customer service is just okay. Power Bi comes in two different variants, Power BI Basic and Power BI Premium, the basic version does not address on-premise analytics. Bottom line: Tableau is the best tool when it comes to Data Visualization (seeing and exploring data) whereas Power BI focuses more on predictive modeling and reporting. For processing large data sets from multiple sources, you can go for either Tableau or Power BI premium, the basic version does not address on-premise analytics. DeploymentPower BI’s deployment option are limited. It is available as a SaaS (software as a service) model and on-premise; on-premise is only supported by Power BI Premium licensing flexibility. Tableau, on the other hand, is much more flexible in its deployment and is available both on-premises and cloud.Bottom line: Tableau is flexible offers both on-premise and cloud service. If the SAAS model works for you then you can have Power BI basic for free with Microsoft 365. Also, if you are invested in Microsoft technology, then Power Bi may still be profitable from a deployment perspective. CostBoth the products offer a subscription-based licensing model. While both these products offer comparable services, Power BI is way cheaper to Tableau. Power BI premium does increase the cost considerably. If you have a small budget (less than $30 per user) Power BI is your product you will settle for. It is easy to use and does not require a power user. However, if you are looking for a data visualization option for your analysts looking to leverage data, Tableau totally justifies its price.To have a better picture here is a pricing break down for both: FeaturesPower BITableauAuthoring and data preparation Power BI Desktop ​ Free Creator ​ $70 user/month Self-service BI, sharing and collaboration Power BI Pro ​ $9.99 user/month) Tableau Server ​ $35 user/month​ or​ Tableau Online ​ 42 user/month) Viewing and Interaction Power BI Pro ​ $9.99 user/month​ or​ Power BI Premium ​ viewer ​ On-premise or Public Cloud ​ 12 user/month ​ Or​ SaaS​ or $15 user/month​ Tableau publicly available pricing here. Power BI publicly available pricing here. Bottom line: On of the biggest advantage Power BI has over Tableau is its rock bottom price. It’s a cost-effective BI product. Tableau, on the other hand, is a sophisticated product and justifies its bigger price tag. Gartner’s Magic quadrant 2019 In 2018, Power BI tied with Tableau in terms of functionality but strongly outplaced it in “completeness of vision” because it is embedded with the Microsoft stack. This year, however, Microsoft has left Tableau marginally behind, thereby improving on the ‘ability to execute’ axis. No surprise there considering the value for money and ease of use. That being said, Tableau is still placed comfortably among the leaders and is still popular among its users with strong customer ratings. As the saying goes, the most challenging part of buying a BI solution is figuring out which one meets your needs. I hope it will help you decide on a BI solution. If you are a Microsoft 365 user, I would suggest you go for Power BI and if you are not satisfied you could always upgrade to Tableau.

Empower your enterprise with the immense potential of Power Apps

If change is the only constant in the modern world, then the growling engine for the change to happen constantly is Technology. Technology is evolving rapidly, and it is transforming the way we communicate, conduct business, and operate. Every hour there is either a new software or an application that’s getting launched to streamline operations and improve efficiency.Who is the king of all operating systems? Microsoft isn’t it! They have been making lives easy and fulfilling business needs for years. In 2017, Microsoft launched PowerApps, a simple, convenient, and connected platform that allows one to create world-class business applications with great agility. With PowerApps, you can simply drag and drop features and create your app in no time. You don't need to be a coding champ to create apps on PowerApps.What is PowerApps?Microsoft PowerApps is a platform as a service (PaaS). It is a collection of services, connectors, and data platforms that provide an environment wherein you can create business apps running on any operating system or browser.These apps can directly connect with your cloud or on-premise database. They come with highly interactive controls and can seamlessly integrate all your workflows and business logic. PowerApps can help you build responsive apps that can run on any device (Android, Windows, or iOS) and any browser. It also gives you the flexibility to connect with external data sources, interact with metadata, develop customized connectors, and integrate business logic.Building professional apps has never been so easy. You don’t need to understand the complexities of coding or need to be a tech geek to build an application. All you need to do is use some existing template, apply the business workflows, and deploy the app in the blink of an eye.Top Business Benefits of Microsoft PowerApps1 Integration with Microsoft AzureMicrosoft Azure makes application development easy and simple! You can easily run code snippets on Azure without worrying about the infrastructure, platform, or web containers. This feature is very beneficial for applications like processing jobs, images, or performing regular file maintenance.2 High Speed and PerformanceWe live in a world where even the next day can be too late. PowerApps eliminates some of the time-consuming processes with simple drag and drop features in the application development cycle. You can now develop a fully functioning business app quickly using PowerApps. Rapid app development is one of the biggest benefits that PowerApps brings to the table.3 Streamlined Development ProcessTraditionally in most companies, developers/coders or any external vendor develops applications. The entire process of raising a ticket, getting approval, development, testing, and development is tedious and time consuming. In the meantime, the concerned department might suffer or face loss, as they still had to use the old systems and applications. With PowerApps, you can develop and deploy apps right when it is needed. All the parts, features, and templates are ready. All you need to do is put them together and bingo!4 Integration with Office 365 and Microsoft FlowPowerApps is completely integrated with Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Flow, and Power BI. This makes it easy and convenient to send or receive data from SharePoint, Excel, PowerPoint, or any other application that you or your clients might be using. Microsoft Flow empowers your apps by updating them with the latest developments or data updates on the connected platforms.5 Cost-Effective SolutionFinally, PowerApps does not cost much. The subscription plans start at just $10 per month (for two apps and one portal). You can use the $40 plan for unlimited apps. Connect with your admin and software vendor today to get the best deal in PowerApps.How PowerApps are empowering the Healthcare industryThe life sciences and healthcare industry are always trying to deliver better and more efficient healthcare services. In this pursuit, it is often difficult to meet the patients, doctors, and other stakeholders' demands. Thanks to Microsoft PowerApps, today, this industry can deliver quick and robust solutions.1 Seamless Data IntegrationPractitioners can provide better services when they can access medical records from different sources. PowerApps allows doctors and medical staff to access data from different sources like Excel, PDF, SharePoint, Drive, Outlook, or Dropbox. Hence, one can access all the data, right on the go, irrespective of the location.2 Ensure complete compliance with the regulationsWith the new GDPR law into action, it has become even more challenging for this sector to comply with all the regulations. Microsoft PowerApps is a completely secure and connected platform that keeps all data safe and secured. It brings a huge sigh of relief for the healthcare sector and allows them to adhere to the GDPR principles effectively.3 Automate time consuming ProcessesImagine the plight of the medical representatives or field agents. They have to visit doctors, understand the markets, record different transactions, and finally make a sale. Their entire journey can be made smoother and effective with the help of apps and forms developed using PowerApps. You don't need any specialist to build the app. A field agent himself can build a convenient app and close deals quickly.There are several success stories of individual practitioners, healthcare managers, or field agents who have realized the immense potential of PowerApps. Here’s how a Pharma Sales Manager with the Hawkary Pharmaceuticals (based out of Iraq) used PowerApps to automate reporting, streamlined processes and digitized most of the processes.[i]Healthcare practitioners and providers worldwide are trying to leverage technology to automate redundant processes, use digital solutions for better service, and find ways to make lives easier for them. In this context, Microsoft PowerApps integrated with Office 365, Azure, and Flow comes as a welcome relief. It has allowed healthcare providers and people in the life sciences industry to unify operations with patient engagement.If you are looking to build professional quality apps that connect with your database and have a responsive design, look no further than Microsoft PowerApps![i] https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/hawkary-pharmaceuticals-digitizes-daily-sales-visit-reporting-using-powerapps/

Microsoft adds RPA to its list of services with Power Automate - i2e Consulting

Microsoft is heavily invested in empowering the average business users and is pushing for anyone can develop. In this context, Power Platform, first introduced in 2018 shows tremendous promise especially with the newly revamped Power Automate (previously Microsoft Flow) and Power Agents. The latest edition of Microsoft Ignite declared that the company will be a provider for RPA. This feature is now in public preview is surely path-breaking. Read on to find out why.James Phillips, corporate vice president of business applications at Microsoft writes,“One of the biggest challenges organizations face is scaling and automating business processes—from digitizing pen and paper processes to automating complex processes that span legacy and modern applications. Robotic process automation has rapidly become a key technology to address many of these scenarios but generally requires a patchwork of automation services that need integration and management before the real work can get done.”For those not aware, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the technology that enables us to configure computer software, or a ‘robot’ to emulate and integrate the actions of a human interacting within digital systems to execute a business process. For RPA to work as pointed out by James Phillips, we need automation services and connectors to other services. This is where Power Automation plays a crucial role and stands out among the existing RPA.The newly added RPA capability is called UI flows. It is a simple point and click, low code experience that can record and playback human interactions with software systems and turn them into automated workflows for repetitive mundane tasks. UI flows combined with the capabilities of Power Automate connectors provide an end-to-end automation platform. Power Automate has roughly 275+ connectors to widely used apps and services that support API automation. In the past, the only way to connect API to a legacy system is to ask your developer team to do it for you. But now, with Power Automate Microsoft is expanding horizons for things that can be automated.To further elaborate on this and make things simple Microsoft offers an example of an insurance claims processing company.For example, let’s say you work for an insurance claims processing company, where clients fill out digital forms, paper forms, or communicate through email. The claim is processed on modern cloud services while staff also maintain cumbersome paper records and legacy applications. With Power Automate, this entire process can be automated. Digitized data from scanned paper forms are processed with AI that recognizes forms, and old legacy systems can be automated with RPA—one platform that brings both worlds together seamlessly.The evolution of Microsoft Flows into power automate to align more with the Power platform along with the RPA feature was expected if not this soon. This together with the Power Virtual agent and new security updates for Power BI only makes the platform stronger.Power Platform is the combined strength of four major services namely Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate and Power Virtual Agent. Microsoft claims that with power platform you can analyze data, build solutions, automate processes, and create virtual agents. These no-code/low code services are sure of keeping productivity soaring together with the ROI.Resources: https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/dynamics365/bdm/2019/11/04/announcing-rpa-enhanced-security-no-code-virtual-agents-and-more-for-microsoft-power-platform/