September 26, 2024

This blog shares the key takeaways from the Power Platform Community Conference 2024, showcasing how Microsoft Power Platform is positioned to help shape the future of business.

The annual Power Platform Community Conference in Las Vegas, NV has been nothing short of insightful and invigorating. The conference highlights a shift towards a more dynamic partnership engagement between users and organizations to ultimately adapt and evolve to solve customer needs. By leveraging this engagement between users, citizen developers, professional developers, and executives, and by tapping into the full Microsoft ecosystem, organizations can access, automate, and streamline data and processes frictionlessly.

Here are 5 key takeaways from Power Platform Community Conference 2024

1. By the Numbers: The Rise of Microsoft Power Platform

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, automation and AI are revolutionizing how businesses operate, and Microsoft Power Platform is at the forefront of this transformation. This is evident in the significant growth in both the platform’s adoption and functionality. Microsoft Power Platform continuously improves to empower organizations to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and innovate faster. Here’s a look at the Power Platform’s growth by the numbers:

  • 97% of Fortune 500 companies rely on Power Platform to drive innovation and productivity.
  • 45 million active users engage with Power Platform every month, a testament to its growing relevance.
  • 46% average growth is projected in 2024 for Partner Practices related to Power Platform, a significant jump from 30% last year.

2. Faster Market Launches: Voice Prompts with CoPilot Studio

One of the most exciting developments within the Power Platform is Copilot Studio, which has captivated businesses and developers alike. However, it’s no secret that prompt engineering can be quite challenging and often frustrating where crafting concise, effective prompts often requires precision and time constraints. And although it’s in its early stages, the capability to build Power Platform apps and websites using voice prompts is incredible and promising. This is evident in the platform’s growing use, which paves the way towards quicker market launches for new components and applications.

In addition to Copilot Studio, there's a major push towards modernizing customer service and automation, integrating SAP with Application Surround, and replacing other tools with Microsoft-first automation solutions. These powerful tools, combined with seamless automation, offer frictionless control over data and processes.

3. Democratizing Enterprise Software For All

Microsoft Copilot is the epicenter of the overlap between analytics (Microsoft Fabric), collaboration (M365), and execution (Power Platform). This combination delivers a world-class enterprise-level solution at a highly competitive cost. As a result, this democratizes enterprise software, allowing businesses of all sizes to compete on a more level playing field, regardless of economic investment.

4. Intelligent Applications: Reliable, Secure and Efficient

One of the most intriguing trends within the Power Platform is the use of intelligent applications workload based on the Power Platform well-architected workload. This framework emphasizes reliability, security, operational excellence, performance efficiency, and experience optimization. These pillars ensure that the applications built within this ecosystem not only perform optimally but also evolve to meet future demands.

Some fascinating developments in this area include:

  • Agents in Copilot Studio, which enhance automation and user interaction.
  • Tabular knowledge sources for Copilot agents, enabling more sophisticated data handling and responses.
  • Fabric AI skills, which provide advanced AI-driven insights and analytics.
  • RPA (Robotic Process Automation), which uses Copilot to build desktop flows to further enhance automation across organizations.

Additionally, using Copilot with Bootstrap 5.2 enables developers to generate functioning and styled Power Pages with minimal effort, requiring only a few screenshots and HTML suggestions.

5. Driving action with Real-Time Intelligence through Power Platform and Microsoft Fabric

One of the most powerful features of the Microsoft ecosystem is its ability to drive real-time intelligence and actionable insights. The integration of Dynamics and Dataverse data directly into Microsoft Fabric—with no need for ETL processes or data copying—means that businesses can visualize and act on real-time data signals from both apps and devices instantly. This capability allows organizations to monitor, detect, and respond to changing conditions with unparalleled speed and efficiency.

Looking Ahead: What’s Next for Power Platform?

From intelligent applications and real-time intelligence to seamless automation and AI-powered solutions, as Microsoft Power Platform continues to evolve, the possibilities seem limitless. With the integration of the full Microsoft ecosystem alongside a partnership engagement between users and organizations, businesses can expect faster innovation, greater efficiency, and a competitive edge in an increasingly digital world.

The combination of Power Platform’s robust capabilities, along with the seamless integration of AI and automation, is driving a new era of business innovation—one where even the smallest companies can leverage world-class enterprise solutions and compete at the highest level.