Podcasts about powerapps

Welcome to the CanadianSME Small Business Podcast, hosted by Maheen! In today's episode, we explore the power of custom software, the potential of Microsoft's Power Platform, and AI in driving business innovation. We're joined by Dan Carmichael, President of Whitecap Canada, a premier provider of custom and platform software solutions. With over 27 years of experience in the tech industry, Dan shares his expertise in leveraging custom solutions for competitive advantage and operational efficiency.Dan discusses the unique advantages of custom software in a SaaS-dominated world, how businesses can use Microsoft Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, and AI to drive innovation, and lessons learned from over two decades of building successful tech solutions. He also shares a powerful example of Whitecap's impactful work with the Canadian Cancer Society.Key Highlights:Custom Software in a SaaS World: Why custom solutions are still a valuable investment for businesses.Leveraging Microsoft's Power Platform & AI: How businesses can use Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate to innovate and enhance operations.Lessons from 25+ Years in Tech: Insights and experiences from over two decades of delivering successful technology projects.Impactful Project with the Canadian Cancer Society: How Whitecap's tech solutions made a difference for the organization.Microsoft Solutions Partner Achievement: What Whitecap's recent recognition means for their clients and the company's future.Special Thanks to Our Partners:RBC: https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/dms/business/accounts/beyond-banking/index.htmlUPS: https://solutions.ups.com/ca-beunstoppable.html?WT.mc_id=BUSMEWAIHG Hotels and Resorts: https://businessedge.ihg.com/s/registration?language=en_US&CanSMEGoogle: https://www.google.ca/For more expert insights, visit www.canadiansme.ca and subscribe to the CanadianSME Small Business Magazine. Stay innovative, stay informed, and thrive in the digital age!Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as direct financial or business advice. Always consult with a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation.

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM FULL SHOW NOTES https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/677Pavan Mani Deep Yaragani, a first-time Microsoft MVP from Singapore, shares his journey from blogging about Power Platform technologies to earning MVP recognition in 2024. His story reveals how finding your specialty and consistently creating high-quality technical content can lead to community recognition and MVP status.TAKEAWAYS• Started career at HCL Technologies as a Dynamics 365 professional directly after college• Currently works as assistant lead engineer and manager in healthcare, focusing on model-driven Power Apps and Power BI• Earned Microsoft's "Top 10 Bloggers" recognition for several consecutive months• Blogs primarily about new Power Platform features, testing them in trial and preview accounts• Recently organized an online AI boot camp in Singapore with 30-35 participants• Recommends finding a niche skill where you can contribute consistently for 1-2 years• Was nominated for MVP by Golokan Mishtan from Singapore• Credits the 90-day mentoring challenge as boosting his MVP journeyOTHER RESOURCES:

Dive into Microsoft Power Apps and hear from our team about how they can transform your daily operations. Learn about the different types, their pros and cons, and how they smoothly integrate with Dynamics 365 Business Central and CRM, along with many other business systems. Plus, hear stories of the real-life implementations we've delivered and how they are already making a difference in field service, production, dispatch and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM FULL SHOW NOTES https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/671Prashant Chaudhary shares his journey from automation engineering to Microsoft MVP, highlighting how a passion for programming and community support shaped his successful career in Power Platform.TAKEAWAYS• Working at EY as a technical lead with expertise in Power Apps, Power Automate, and Dataverse• First awarded Microsoft MVP status in 2024• Started in automation engineering before transitioning to IT through a programming aptitude test• Specializes in Power Automate after about 5-6 years working with Power Platform• Successfully implemented desktop automation projects for financial data processing• Career influenced by a startup owner who taught him to think beyond a single domain• Joined EY through networking connections made by helping others in the community• Planning to expand community involvement through speaking engagements in 2025• Values networking as a critical component of career growthOTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP 90 Day Mentoring Challenge - https://www.90daymc.com/  This year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world. Accelerate your Microsoft career with the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge We've helped 1,300+ people across 70+ countries establish successful careers in the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 ecosystem.Benefit from expert guidance, a supportive community, and a clear career roadmap. A lot can change in 90 days, get started today!Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Microsoft's Power Plattform bietet mit Power Apps einen integrierten Service, um Applikationen zu erstellen. Markus Franz ist Senior Developer und Super User im Microsoft Community Form und gibt uns als Experte für diesen Bereich einen Einblick in seine tägliche Arbeit und Beispiele, mit denen er bereits zu tun hatte. Themen in In dieser Folge: Grundlagen zu Copilot Studio, Power Apps, Power Pages, Power Automate Canvas App vs. Model-Driven Apps Azure AI Builder Low Code vs. Pro Code Beispiel 1: Negative E-Mails erkennen und delegieren Beispiel 2: AI-basierte Reisekostenabrechnung LinkedIn-Profil von Markus Franz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-franz-435759278/ LinkedIn-Profil von Daniel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drohregger/

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVMFULL SHOW NOTES https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/670 Join us for a captivating conversation with Rahan Arif, the dynamic CEO and founder of Lowcodera, who pulls back the curtain on his inspiring journey through the tech world. From the early days of building websites in university to navigating the impactful realms of Microsoft technologies and SharePoint, Rahan shares how these experiences paved his path to entrepreneurship. He also reveals how he balances this high-stakes career with the joys of family, food, and travel, and how these personal passions keep him grounded. Learn from his insights on the increasing costs of travel due to inflation and his memorable family trips to Europe and Dubai. TAKEAWAYS• Rahan's background in website development and early IT experiences • Transitioning from SharePoint to a focus on Power Platform • Identifying gaps in the functionality and appearance of Power Apps • Launching Low Code Era to address these challenges with PCF components • Introduction of the generative AI app-building platform for faster development • The concept of "App in an Hour" and collaborative prototyping • Revolutionizing how businesses approach and envision app solutions • The future potential of low-code integrations and democratizing development This year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world. DynamicsMinds is a world-class event in Slovenia that brings together Microsoft product managers, industry leaders, and dedicated users to explore the latest in Microsoft Dynamics 365, the Power Platform, and Copilot.Early bird tickets are on sale now and listeners of the Microsoft Innovation Podcast get 10% off with the code MIPVIP144bff https://www.dynamicsminds.com/register/?voucher=MIPVIP144bff Accelerate your Microsoft career with the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge We've helped 1,300+ people across 70+ countries establish successful careers in the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 ecosystem.Benefit from expert guidance, a supportive community, and a clear career roadmap. A lot can change in 90 days, get started today!Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Jukka Niiranen is a former Microsoft MVP and a current Power Platform expert, offering his services through his own firm and sharing his views regularly on social media and in his newsletter. On this episode, Jukka joins us to talk about how his career has evolved, his current work, his technology outlook, and a few hints at his upcoming licensing session at DynamicsMinds 2025 (where MSDW is a media partner).  Jukka's career has evolved in the last decade from a consulting role with a Microsoft partner to founding a services firm to now opening his own consultancy. He also recently made the decision to end his 11-year streak as a Microsoft MVP and we discuss that experience. And Jukka shares some context on how the evolution of Microsoft Business Applications has shaped his advice to clients regarding AI, Power Platform, D365 apps, and more.  Show Notes: 1:00 - Jukka's professional history,  including his newest venture and the transition from CRM to Power Platform and low code advisory Clients in the low-code world are not exactly the same as CRM decision makers 4:30 - The emergence of Microsoft's low-code vision with the components that became Power Platform 7:30 - The ongoing separation in the Power Apps community between CRM-based and dev-based 15:15 - What Jukka has learned from looking at Microsoft's Ideas sites 17:15 - Experience after retiring his MVP status 26:30 - How Jukka's views in writing and advisory work overlap 28:00 - Jukka's presentation on Power Platform licensing at DynamicsMinds 2025 34:30 - What kind of AI conversations is Jukka having with customers today 43:45 - Security and governance issues as it relates to AI in enterprise software 49:00 - About Jukka's newsletter, Perspectives Plus Where to find Jukka: Newsletter: https://perspectives.plus/ Company: https://niiranenadvisory.com/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jukkaniiranen/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jukkan.bsky.social Mastodon: https://mstdn.social/@jukkan

Are you ready for deep thoughts on deep learning with Laura Rogers and Noorez Khamis? Laura is an MVP and founder of IW Mentor, who brings a wealth of knowledge in SharePoint and Microsoft 365. Rez is also an MVP and CTO at Creospark with an extensive background on the depths of SharePoint and Microsoft 365. Together, they bring us insights of in-person events, based on their own workshop experiences and the benefits they see, and receive, during hands-on learning and the importance of networking at conferences. It's a great conversation about tech, learning, and sharing what you learn.   Read this episode's corresponding blog post.   02:03 Interview with Laura Rogers and Noorez Khamis 38:17 Upcoming Events   Laura Rogers (IW Mentor) | LinkedIn | Twitter  Noorez Khamis (Creospark)| LinkedIn | Twitter  SharePoint | @SharePoint & @MSSharePoint.Bsky.social| SharePoint Community blog | Feedback  Mark Kashman |@mkashman [co-host]   Microsoft Learn - The home for Microsoft documentation for end users, developers, and IT professionals. Microsoft Tech Community Home Stay on top of Microsoft 365 changes   Upcoming events: Ability Summit | March 18, 2025 (Online)  MVP Summit 2025 | March 24-27.2025 (Redmond, WA & online)  Microsoft Fabric Community Conference | March 31 – April 2 (Las Vegas, NV)  Microsoft's 50th Anniversary | April 4, 2025 (Worldwide)  Comms vNext | April 15-16, 2025 (Denver, CO)  Microsoft 365 Community Conference | May 5-8, 2025 (Vegas) Microsoft Build | May 19-22, 2025 (Seattle, WA | Online) SharePoint Intranet Festival (SWOOP Analytics) | May 21, 2025 (Online) European Collaboration Summit | May 26-28, 2025 (Düsseldorf, Germany)  European Power Platform Conference | June 16-19 (Vienna, Austria)  TechCon 365 - Seattle | June 23 – 27, 2025 (Seattle, WA)  TechCon 365 - Atlanta | August 11-15, 2025 (Atlanta, GA)    + always review and share the CommunityDays.org website Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at aka.ms/microsoft/podcasts. Follow The Intrazone at aka.ms/TheIntrazone.

In Episode 119 of the XrmToolCast, Daryl and Scott delve into the Power Apps Test Engine with Grant Archibald, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, highlighting the strategic importance of automated testing in enhancing application reliability and efficiency. Some of the highlights: Grant's Unit Testing Elevator Pitch The Boulder Testing Analogy Power Apps Test Studio vs Power Apps Test Engine PowerFx playground directly in the browser Web Assembly When will it be available? Grant's Info: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantarchibald/ X: https://x.com/garchibald Links: Mastering Automated Testing in Power Platform: From Unit Tests to CI/CD Integration - YouTube Test Studio - Power Apps | Microsoft Learn Power Apps Test Engine :: PowerApps Test Engine Learning Playground :: PowerApps Test Engine Playwright vs Power Apps Test Engine :: PowerApps Test Engine Test Engine and Power Fx :: PowerApps Test Engine Ring Deployment Model :: PowerApps Test Engine Getting Started Business Roles :: PowerApps Test Engine Getting Started Architects :: PowerApps Test Engine Getting Started Technical Users :: PowerApps Test Engine Introducing the plan designer in Power Apps (preview) - Microsoft Power Platform Blog WebAssembly WebAssembly | MDN Grant-Archibald-MS/dotnetwasm Got questions? Have your own tool you'd like to share? Have a suggestion for a future episode, or like a shout-out? Contact Daryl and Scott at cast@xrmtoolbox.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and @XrmToolCast for updates on future episodes. Do you want to see us too? Subscribe to our YouTube channel to view the last episodes. Don't forget to rate and leave a review for this show at Podchaser. Your hosts: Daryl LaBar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daryllabar | @ddlabar  Scott Durow: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdurow | @ScottDurow Editor: Linn Zaw Win: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linnzawwin  | @LinnZawWin Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

NewsPower Platform Low-Code Plugins: A Step Forward or Sideways?, Thomas SandsørGenerate process maps for multi flow automations (2025 Release Wave 1)

NewsWhat is your biggest challenge with Power Apps graphics? by Tolu Victor6 additional modern controls in Canvas! by Claudio RomanoPower FX Functions = Low Code Plugns by Matthew DevaneyFunctions in Microsoft DataverseMegan V. Walker post "Finally"SharePoint vs. Dataverse by Sean AstrakhanCopilot API's for PCF and client API developers by Hemant GaurPrivate Preview Signup for Agent APIs in Power AppsPowerful Devs Conference 2025 - Watch it back!Powerful Devs Hack Together10 Lessons to Get Started Building AI AgentsBuilding Microsoft AI Agents: Which Tool Should You Use?So do you want to become an MVP? by Agnius BartninkasSimplify Microsoft Power Platform deployments by using pipelinesEventsCanadian Power Platform SummitMarch 21-22PPBOOST15 -> 15% off general admission + workshops ColorCloudApril 24-25, 2025Ulrikke's Workshop: "Power Pages: From creation to go-live!"Session with Andy Wingate: "Business Central + Power Pages = TRUE"DynamicsConMay 13th - 16th, 2025Nick's session on "Crash course in Power Platform Pipelines"Session with Angeliki Patsiavou "The Ultimate Power Slam: Dynamics 365 vs Power Pages Portals"DynamicsMindsMay 26-28, 2025Nick's session on Burnout, PowerliftinBe sure to subscribe so you don't miss a single episode of Power Platform BOOST!Thank you for buying us a coffee: buymeacoffee.comPodcast home page: https://powerplatformboost.comEmail: hello@powerplatformboost.comFollow us!Twitter: https://twitter.com/powerplatboost Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerplatformboost/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/powerplatboost/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090444536122 Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@powerplatboost

 From MSUnlock new possibilities by customizing Copilot chat in your apps with Copilot Studio (Preview) by  Hemant GaurWork with existing tables in data workspace by Travis Shu From communityBattleship game in #PowerApps by Hardit BhatiaUse Power Pages instead of Model-Driven Apps for your

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/651 Sunil Kumar shares his journey as a lead architect in the Microsoft Power Platform space, discussing the unique tech landscape in the UAE, challenges with advisory roles, and the growing embrace of low-code solutions. The conversation delves into Sunil's career transformation with Microsoft's Power Platform, from SharePoint to Power Apps and Power Automate, highlighting key projects like a COVID tracking app. He also explores Power Platform integrations, licensing complexities, and innovative solutions using ServiceNow and DocuSign. Packed with insights for tech enthusiasts and professionals alike, this episode explores efficiency, innovation, and the evolving tech landscape.TAKEAWAYS• Exploring the opportunity landscape in the UAE tech sector • Understanding community dynamics within the Power Platform in the UAE • The growing importance of AI investment in the region • Sunil's transition from SharePoint to Power Platform solutions • The significance of integration with third-party applications • Providing clarity on licensing within Power Platform use cases • Emphasizing security versus costs in solution planningThis year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world. DynamicsMinds is a world-class event in Slovenia that brings together Microsoft product managers, industry leaders, and dedicated users to explore the latest in Microsoft Dynamics 365, the Power Platform, and Copilot.Early bird tickets are on sale now and listeners of the Microsoft Innovation Podcast get 10% off with the code MIPVIP144bff https://www.dynamicsminds.com/register/?voucher=MIPVIP144bff Accelerate your Microsoft career with the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge We've helped 1,300+ people across 70+ countries establish successful careers in the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 ecosystem.Benefit from expert guidance, a supportive community, and a clear career roadmap. A lot can change in 90 days, get started today!Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTEShttps://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/644In this episode, we dive into the exhilarating leap from MVP status to freelancing, as Angelo Gulisano unveils the freedom and creativity that self-employment affords. We offer listeners a roadmap for successfully marketing oneself as a freelancer, emphasizing the power of community engagement through conferences, blogging, and leveraging tools like the Creator Kit and Figma for Power Apps. Whether you're an aspiring freelancer or a seasoned tech professional, Angelo's insights promise a blend of inspiration and practical strategies to thrive in the ever-evolving tech landscape.  • Introduction to Angelo and his life in Italy • Journey in the IT field leading to MVP status • Transitioning from corporate life to freelancing • Overcoming fears associated with leaving job security  • Strategies for finding clients and self-promotion • Discussion on the Creator Kit and its benefits • Insights into public speaking and its impact on professional growth • Preparation techniques for effective presentations • The Power Platform community in Italy is supportive and collaborative • Angelo emphasizes the importance of soft skills in marketing oneself • Angelo uses the Creator Kit for application development • Networking through conferences helps in finding clients • Angelo's journey reflects a blend of personal passion and professional expertise.In 2024, we celebrated seven years of the Microsoft Business Applications podcast. Now, we step into 2025 with a fresh new name. Welcome to the Microsoft Innovation podcast! Our new name reflects a broader vision, exploring the intersection of people, business, technology, and AI. 90 Day Mentoring ChallengeMicrosoft Business Applications Career Mentor for the Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Justin WelshJustin Welsh's LinkedIn Operating System—the guide to finding your voice on LinkedIn.Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Happiest of holidays, and welcome to 2025! December 2024 brought some great new offerings: Microsoft Syntex pay-as-you-go: Simple document processing model, Viva Connections: Power Apps card, Viva Pulse now included in Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Search for Bing retirement, Outlook.cloud.microsoft, Add external content links to Viva Learning, Microsoft 365 data residency: New Zealand, the big, upcoming SharePoint Event + AMA (Jan.29.2025 - 9 AM PST), and more. Plus, a little year in review: The top five features of 2024, a quick list of apps we said goodbye to, and a few 2025 predictions.   Read this episode's corresponding blog post.   02:11 Employee engagement SPONSOR | Upcoming SharePoint event 09:36 Top 5 SharePoint features shipped in 2024 20:40 Related technology 26:29 January 2025 teasers 32:22 AI and agents insights from Jeff Teper   SharePoint | Facebook | @SharePoint | SharePoint Community Blog | Feedback  Mark Kashman |@mkashman [co-host] Microsoft Docs - The home for Microsoft documentation for end users, developers, and IT professionals. Microsoft Tech Community Home Stay on top of Office 365 changes   Upcoming events ON DEMAND Microsoft Ignite 2024 | Incl. SharePoint "event guide"  ESPC | Dec 2-5, 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden (incl. Jeff Teper's ESPC24 keynote on demand) UPCOMING "SharePoint: From Concept to Creation to Impact + Live AMA" webinar with Jeff Teper | Jan. 29, 2025, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM PST M365 Miami 2025 | Feb.6-7.2025 MVP Summit 2025 | March 24-27.2025 (Redmond, WA & online) Microsoft 365 Community Conference | May 5-8, 2025 (Vegas) SharePoint Intranet Festival (SWOOP Analytics) | May 21, 2025 (Online) European Collabroation Summit | May 26-28, 2025 (Düsseldorf, Germany) + always review and share the CommunityDays.org website   Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at aka.ms/microsoft/podcasts. Follow The Intrazone at aka.ms/TheIntrazone.

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/638 Experience the inspiring journey of C R Bhargavi, a senior software engineer at Ford Motor Company, who blends her technological expertise with her rich cultural heritage. Sparked by her father's legacy as a software project manager, Bhargavi walks us through her path into the tech world, focusing her talents on the Power Platform to revolutionize business processes. As she shares her story, listeners are invited to explore how her early exposure to technology set the foundation for her career and how her Indian roots and artistic passions in fashion design and Bharatanatyam dance shape her personal and professional life.Join us in this episode as we explore the intricacies of balancing a career with personal passions through Bhargavi's experiences. Discover her role at Ford, where she applies her Power Apps skills to tackle business challenges, reflecting the company's commitment to Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. Hear firsthand how community networking and familial guidance molded her journey, and find inspiration in her story of integrating technology with the arts. This conversation sheds light on the multifaceted nature of a career in tech, celebrating the fusion of cultural influences and professional accomplishments.In 2024, we celebrated seven years of the Microsoft Business Applications podcast. Now, we step into 2025 with a fresh new name. Welcome to the Microsoft Innovation podcast! Our new name reflects a broader vision, exploring the intersection of people, business, technology, and AI. Justin WelshJustin Welsh's LinkedIn Operating System—the guide to finding your voice on LinkedIn.Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

NewsChristmas Song: Hey, that's a great sing a long!

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/637  Discover the inspiring journey of Cat Schneider, a senior software engineer at Hitachi Solutions America, as she shares her remarkable career transformation from working in the public sector to becoming a passionate advocate for Power Platform tools. Through her engaging story, you'll learn how a mentoring relationship at the Florida Department of Transportation ignited her interest in Power BI, leading to the creation of a community with over 300 active users. Cat's enthusiasm for integrating these tools not only revolutionized her organization but also positioned her as a sought-after speaker at conferences and opened doors to multiple job offers, including one from Microsoft. This episode is filled with insights into how passion and community can drive innovation and success in both personal and professional realms.We also tackle the significant topic of accessibility, particularly in the public sector, with a focus on making digital content and laws available to all. Cat sheds light on the challenges posed by Florida's sunshine laws and shares her experience forming a user group dedicated to UX, UI, and accessibility. Highlighting the fun yet exhausting world of conferences, she brings a sense of humor with tales of dressing up as a dinosaur, while also sharing her pet projects involving Power Apps and electronics with Arduino and Raspberry Pi. This episode promises to leave you inspired and motivated to explore the transformative potential of technology in creating inclusive and innovative solutions.In 2024, we celebrated seven years of the Microsoft Business Applications podcast. Now, we step into 2025 with a fresh new name. Welcome to the Microsoft Innovation podcast! Our new name reflects a broader vision, exploring the intersection of people, business, technology, and AI. 90 Day Mentoring ChallengeMicrosoft Business Applications Career Mentor for the Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Justin WelshJustin Welsh's LinkedIn Operating System—the guide to finding your voice on LinkedIn.Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Guest post by José Carlos Pereira, Director of Noesis' Low Code Solutions business unit. The software development world already went through several evolutions since it all started with Ada Lovelace or John Backus and it is now undergoing one more shift, where low-code platforms are not just emerging alternatives, but they're shaping up to enhance or even replace traditional coding. This transformation is accelerating at such a rapid pace that it's no longer a question of if low-code will dominate, but when. According to Gartner, by 2025, 70% of all new applications will be developed using (by any means) low-code platforms. As enterprises confront tighter budgets, talent shortages, and the need for faster digital transformation, the low-code revolution is not just a possibility, it's inevitable. Revolution Over Evolution Traditional coding once drove technological innovation, but platforms like OutSystems, Appian, and Microsoft Power Platform are redefining that landscape. These low-code platforms enable businesses to tackle complex challenges with unprecedented speed and efficiency. Ryan Cunningham, Vice President of Power Apps at Microsoft, highlights this shift, stating that "Power Platform is dramatically accelerating the pace of digital transformation by making it feasible to address the thousands of processes inside organizations that have traditionally been overlooked by custom software." This shows how low-code is not merely supplementing traditional development but revolutionising areas that were previously considered too complex. Low-code doesn't just supplement traditional development; it's transforming how businesses can innovate. Complex, large-scale projects that once took several months to build can now be delivered in weeks, making low-code the driving force behind today's rapid technological evolution. AI + Low Code: The Ultimate Combination The future of low-code is being supercharged by the integration of AI, transforming how applications are developed and deployed. Tiago Azevedo, CIO of OutSystems predicts that "By 2028, 75% of enterprise software engineers will use AI coding assistants." illustrating the rapid shift in development practices. The combination of low-code and generative AI is expected to reduce repetitive tasks, alleviate developer burnout, and enable teams to experiment freely, all while maintaining privacy and security . This powerful blend allows businesses to build and deploy applications at unprecedented speed and with greater flexibility. AI's ability to automate coding tasks enhances the efficiency of low-code platforms, making them even more accessible for non-experienced developers while helping seasoned developers to produce even more and to focus on strategic aspects and high-value projects that can bring even more added value to the businesses and customers. Together, AI and low-code are reshaping the landscape of software development, driving faster innovation and productivity. Democratisation of Software Development Low-code platforms are revolutionising software development by enabling non-developers like business analysts, to help building applications without needing previous coding expertise. This shift empowers those closest to business challenges to directly contribute to solutions. As Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, highlighted, Power Platform has become "the leading business process automation and productivity suite for domain experts", allowing innovation across industries. Platforms like OutSystems and Appian also make app development accessible, providing intuitive visual tools and built-in safeguards to ensure quality. This democratisation fosters faster innovation, reduces the dependency only on IT teams, and encourages collaboration between technical and non-technical staff. Rethinking Legacy Systems Legacy systems have long been a significant obstacle for businesses attempting digital transformation. These older infrastructures, often custom-built over decades...

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/630  Ever wondered how technology can revolutionize both education and business? Join us as we explore this transformative journey with Rafsan Huseynov, a senior IT program manager and enterprise architect from Washington DC, who has just earned his first MVP award in 2024. Rafsan, a passionate advocate for community empowerment, shares his inspiring story—from his beginnings at the United Nations to his academic pursuits in Italy. We dive into his love for culinary adventures across Europe and discuss how these experiences shape his approach to continuous learning and professional growth.Rafsan guides us through the fascinating world of the Power Platform and its pivotal role in modernizing educational curriculums worldwide. Discover how tools like Power BI and Power Apps are not just streamlining processes but also empowering students from all walks of life, including fields like nursing, to innovate and prepare for the evolving job market. Learn about the challenges and triumphs of transitioning from traditional ERP systems to agile solutions and get Rafsan's insights on balancing technical skills with business acumen. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or an industry professional, this episode offers valuable takeaways on mastering solution architecture and harnessing the potential of AI within the Power Platform.OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  In 2024, we celebrated seven years of the Microsoft Business Applications podcast. Now, we step into 2025 with a fresh new name. Welcome to the Microsoft Innovation podcast! Our new name reflects a broader vision, exploring the intersection of people, business, technology, and AI. 90 Day Mentoring ChallengeMicrosoft Business Applications Career Mentor for the Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Justin WelshJustin Welsh's LinkedIn Operating System—the guide to finding your voice on LinkedIn.Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Former Moser intern turned Moser Consultant Alex Payne joins us this week to discuss the updates included in the latest release of Snowflake, a cloud-based data warehousing service that allows organizations to store, manage, and analyze large amounts of data.Alex  works in Data Engineering, specializing in Data Migrations, Power Apps, Streamlit Development, and Snowflake Data Management. He is also a leader of the AI-Tig, where he presents monthly on cutting-edge AI technology. Outside of work, he enjoys playing and watching sports, as well as working out.

It is Ignite week and there is so much happening! Leon Welicki, VP & CPO of Microsoft Power Apps joins the show to talk about all the amazing announcements for Power Apps. Learn about what's new and how get your hands on all the cool features! Want to watch Leon's session at Ignite, check it out here:  https://ignite.microsoft.com/en-US/sessions/BRK172?source=sessions

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/620  Emma-Claire Shaw, a dynamic low-code product manager and consultant at Defra in the UK, brings her vibrant personality to our latest discussion. With a bustling family life, including two young daughters and a dog, Emma balances her work with a passion for social activities such as music festivals and fitness through early morning gym sessions and trail running. Her intriguing relationship with food reveals a chocoholic side matched with a deep interest in nutrition and a primarily plant-based diet. We unravel her insights into the latest gut health trends, where she shares her experiences with nutrition and I reveal my experiments with Celtic salt for weight management.Our conversation takes a fascinating twist into the world of Microsoft Power Platform, as Emma shares her journey of implementing transformative low-code solutions in government operations. Her experiences highlight the impact of Power Apps in streamlining processes such as fleet vehicle logs and port inspections at Defra, showcasing the potential for increased efficiency in the public sector. We also reflect on the significant role of Microsoft 365 and the evolution of tech adoption in government, sharing compelling stories from around the world, including innovative uses of similar technology in container inspections in Australia.As we round off our episode, we dive into the digital transformation efforts of environmental agencies in the UK, focusing on initiatives like the Environment Agency's efficient fishing rod license verification via Power App. Emma discusses the ongoing challenges with offline data access in remote areas and shares strategies that have been successfully deployed elsewhere, such as in Western Australia. We also delve into Natural England's modernization of its licensing schemes, marking a shift from paper-based forms to a centralized digital platform, reflecting a broader move towards operational efficiency and innovation in government processes. Join us for this captivating narrative that weaves together technology, lifestyle, and wellness.90 Day Mentoring Challenge 10% off code use MBAP at checkout https://ako.nz365guy.comSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/617  Discover how Jakub Marciniak, a game designer turned Microsoft Power Platform expert, revolutionizes business solutions with a blend of technology and creativity. From his roots in Germany to becoming a principal consultant at Odysseus Digital in the U.S., Jakub's journey is filled with personal anecdotes and professional insights that promise to inspire. Learn about his passion for running with his pitbull-labrador mix and how his early web design experiences with Macromedia Flash sparked his love for tech innovation, ultimately leading him to influence organizations through digital fluency and strategic innovation.In our conversation, we unravel the secrets of transforming organizational processes, emphasizing the critical role of aligning business strategies with execution for enhanced efficiency and innovation. Jakub shares invaluable insights on strategic portfolio management, discussing how digital tools like Power Apps and Dynamics can streamline project governance and empower organizations to adapt in today's digital landscape. Whether you're looking to harness the power of technology to drive business efficiency or seeking inspiration from Jakub's unique career path, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge to help you thrive in a rapidly changing world. OTHER RESOURCESLifting Excel Solutions to the Power Platformhttps://odysseusdigital.com/insights/lifting-spreadsheet-apps-to-the-power-platformThe Cost-Value Matrix https://odysseusdigital.com/insights/cost-value-matrix90 Day Mentoring Challenge 10% off code use MBAP at checkout https://ako.nz365guy.comSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/616Curious about the transformation from traditional development to low-code/no-code solutions? Join us as we sit down with Drew Poggemann, a Microsoft MVP and Director of Solution Architecture at Heartland Business Systems (HBS). Drew brings his expertise from Appleton, Wisconsin, to share his captivating journey from applied mathematics and computer science to mastering the Power Platform. Discover how his love for food, family, and outdoor sports intertwines with his professional life, and how a pivotal influence from MVP colleague Aiden Cascala set him on a new path. Listen as Drew reveals the strategic moves in pre-sales and solution design at HBS, emphasizing the power of Dataverse and Power Apps to elevate businesses from basic to premium licensing.In this episode, we also dive into Drew's career highlights, including his impressive contributions to the Dynamics CRM and Dataverse forums that earned him the MVP title in April 2022. From early days tackling COBOL and JCL at Schneider National to leading major ERP implementations, Drew's story is a testament to the importance of mentorship and embracing new challenges. We also explore the rapid advancements in AI and Microsoft's innovative approach to integrating AI-driven co-pilots across their suite of products. Join us to gain insights into the evolving tech landscape and the future of business solutions.OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/613  Carike Botha, a vibrant software development consultant from South Africa, joins us to share her fascinating journey within the Power Apps community. From her unexpected pivot from marine biology to technology, Carike's story is filled with inspiration, cultural richness, and technological innovation. Discover how the Power Platform Bootcamp has sparked a new wave of enthusiasm in South Africa, and be captivated by the influential roles played by figures like Chris Huntingford in the broader tech realm. As Carike opens up about her passions for religious discussions and her love for South African and Korean cuisine, she paints a lively picture of the multicultural evolution happening both in her homeland and abroad.We also explore her transition from a SharePoint administrator to a Power Platform specialist, highlighting her knack for creating custom solutions across various sectors. You'll learn about the essential tools she uses daily, including ChatGPT, and the prominence of Microsoft's brand in the South African market. The episode takes a thoughtful turn as we discuss the importance of skills development, certifications, and security in tech, especially concerning business deals with financial institutions. With a light-hearted closure, Carike shares her travel experiences, dreams, and the cultural nuances that come with international travel, leaving you inspired to explore both technology and the world.OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP 90 Day Mentoring Challenge 10% off code use MBAP at checkout https://ako.nz365guy.comSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

For this episode, I spoke with Norm Young (@stormin_30), a Microsoft MVP, and Power Platform Solutions Architect at AvePoint, on key announcements from the recent Power Platform Community Conference in Las Vegas, including Copilot Agents and Power Apps Plan Designer. You can find more information on my guest on my blog at https://buckleyplanet.com/2024/10/collabtalk-podcast-episode-146-with-norm-young/

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/599  Ever wondered how a technologist with decades of experience balances a vibrant personal life and a transformative career? Our latest episode features Mark Slosberg, the mastermind behind Hanging Valley Enterprises. With a rich history in the tech world and 42 years of marriage, Mark shares his love for cooking in a kitchen tailored for two type-A chefs, his passion for smoking meats and fish, and his joy in hosting family pizza nights. Outside the kitchen, Mark and his wife are committed hikers and gardeners, transforming their property near Seattle into a low-maintenance haven filled with native plant species.Mark's professional journey is equally compelling. He recalls advocating for SQL Server 2008 at Chevron and spearheading the Microsoft practice at PwC, which significantly integrated Power BI and early PowerApps adoption. His story doesn't end there; after leaving PwC, Mark took on groundbreaking projects using PowerApps and Azure AI, including a successful application for a major seed distributor. His insights reveal how these tools have revolutionized business processes and data management, providing a unique perspective on the evolution of technology in consulting.In a detailed case study, Mark illustrates the power of custom solutions in business technology. He recounts developing a seed distribution app for an agriculture firm struggling with an outdated JD Edwards system. By prototyping with Power Apps and Power BI, Mark's team enhanced data access and streamlined sales operations. Furthermore, he shares a transformative experience with a billion-dollar firm, where leveraging SQL Server and standardizing data views turned around an underperforming Cognos implementation. Tune in to learn how integrating Power Apps with JD Edwards using APIs can revolutionize backend operations and ensure long-term system efficiency.Resources Mentioned First solution in the Microsoft AppSource online solution catalog - https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us/product/dynamics-365/hangingvalleyenterprisesllc1645487787841.salesenable  90 Day Mentoring Challenge 10% off code use MBAP at checkout https://ako.nz365guy.comSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Microsoft Power Apps allows makers to rapidly build and deploy applications to help organizations modernize their business processes. But how do makers and admins ensure that their applications run efficiently and provide a great experience? We have Austin Laugesen, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft join us to discuss the ways that the Power Platform Product team is building features to make the low code approach the right approach for your organization with Power Apps. 

Host Anthony O'Donnell sits down with Jean Olive, CIO of John Hancock, to discuss the company's impressive journey towards digital transformation and its focus on enhancing customer experience. Jean shares her engineering background and diverse industry experience, discussing John Hancock's mission to promote long, healthy lives through innovative initiatives like vitality behavioral insurance. The discussion covers the significant role of AI and data-driven strategies in revolutionizing underwriting, sales applications, and overall customer satisfaction.  In this episode, listen to how John Hancock is embedding AI into its applications, establishing a data lake to improve data governance, and moving towards cloud-based solutions. Jean emphasizes the importance of nurturing internal talent, creating a culture of continuous learning, and aligning the company's mission with employee and policyholder well-being.  Listen for insights on John Hancock's commitment to industry-shaping innovations, engaging talent, and modernizing infrastructure amidst a rapidly evolving technological landscape. Key Takeaways: Leveraging AI tools like GitHub and Power Apps, along with strong data governance and a data lake, enhances underwriting processes and customer satisfaction. Implementing a "build borrow buy" strategy and creating a culture of continual learning are critical for developing and retaining top talent in an evolving technological environment. Focusing on digital transformation, moving applications to the cloud, and closing mainframe data centers streamline operations and improve the customer experience.   Jump into the Conversation: [00:01:07] Introduction of Jean Olive and her role at John Hancock [00:06:47] Jean's experiences and how that has benefitted her in her role [00:09:12] What John Hancock is working on inventing now [00:12:08] How Jean and John Hancock are working on a seamless customer experience [00:15:48] How John Hancock is thinking about product development [00:16:56] Where AI fits in John Hancock's digital vision [00:21:14] Challenges related to preparing the data for AI [00:23:17] How the company is keeping people and culture first while innovating [00:28:36] How John Hancock is living up to their mission [00:30:07] Closing   Resources: Connect with Jean Olive: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeantolive/ Check out John Hancock: https://www.johnhancock.com/index.html   If you are starting your digital transformation journey, check out these e-books:  How To Kick Off a PAS Modernization Project, the Right Way: Insights From a Veteran Project Manager https://hubs.li/Q02rP_6z0 Critical Resourcing Decisions that Ensure the Success of Your PAS Modernization Project https://hubs.li/Q02rP_D10 The Reality Behind SaaS Policy Admin Vendor Claims. A Roadmap to Success https://hubs.li/Q02rP_Jf0

Microsoft Build provided a slew of news announcements for product and feature improvements. Some of the coolest features announced were in Microsoft Power Apps Studio. Luckily, we got the man with the plan, Clay Wesener, Partner Group Product Manager, at Microsoft to tell us all about what the features are, why organizations should care, and how to utilize them to the fullest! Listen in while Clay breaks it down for the hosts!

MSDW is a media sponsor of Power Platform Community Conference 2024. Get $100 off your registration with the code MSDW100.   Microsoft MVP Lisa Crosbie has spent plenty of time and effort understanding Microsoft's rapidly expanding set of Copilot offerings for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. While she has documented many of those discoveries and insights on her popular YouTube channel, she has also been developing new in-person presentations and workshops for the upcoming event season.   Lisa joins us in the Biz Apps Classroom on this episode to preview the AI-centric session and full-day workshop she will be presenting at the upcoming Power Platform Community Conference 2024.   Lisa has historically focused a lot of her presentations on model-driven Power Apps, but for #PPCC24 she wanted to do something different, she explains. A lot of questions from the community are about the broad concept of Copilot within Microsoft solutions. Her workshop aims to look at the Copilot experiences across the various business apps and how different people can use them in their roles. Topics will include prompting skills, hands-on demos, interactive questions, and more. She wants people to come away understanding the range of possibilities and the skills they will need to use those. Resources: See all Biz Apps Classrooms episodes here: https://msdynamicsworld.com/biz-apps-classroom Support the podcast and get a discount on an annual plan for 365.training by visiting  https://365l.ink/MSDW. Keep up with community content at https://mydigest.365.training/

News Power FX Cheat Sheet by Fredrik EngsethAuthor a note before saving the form by Nishant RanaImplementing GC Web theme by Alex ShlegaLinkedInFix to Power Apps Studio bug by Matthew DevaneyPower Apps bug fix

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/583 What does it take to become an MVP in the dynamic world of Power Platform development? Join us as we host Mantas Umbrasas, Lithuania's first BizApps MVP, who illuminates his path to this prestigious title. From his early explorations in SharePoint configurations to his inspirational journey with Microsoft's Power Apps and Power Automate, Mantas shares the pivotal moments and community support that propelled him forward. He also offers a personal glimpse into his passions, from savouring the finest Indian cuisine to his excitement over Lithuania's recent Michelin reviews. Mantas paints a vivid picture of Lithuania's serene landscapes, making it a compelling travel destination for nature enthusiasts.In this episode, we also dive into the heart of the MVP journey, addressing common misconceptions and highlighting the dedication needed to achieve this honour. Mantas recounts encouraging community events and discusses his significant contribution to a government project during the pandemic with a Power App prototype for online voting. As your host, Mark Smith, I express my gratitude for your continued support and invite you to engage further by supporting the show. Tune in for a compelling blend of professional insights and personal narratives that promise to inspire and inform.OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP 90 Day Mentoring Challenge 10% off code use MBAP at checkout https://ako.nz365guy.com  Support the Show.If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Working in an ever-evolving industry means staying up to date with the latest product updates. Something incredibly important when it comes to supporting our customers. Which is why we sent several members of our CRM & Power Platform team to the European Power Platform Conference in Brussels, to hear from leading experts in the field and bring back even more knowledge and information ready to further support our customers.In this episode of Tecman Talks Dynamics Jason is joined by Jon, Ellie and Zak to reflect on their key takeaways from the conference. Covering everything from streamlining Power Automate workflows, exploring design possibilities in Power Apps, as well as the questions we put to Power Pages specialists, how Microsoft Copilot fits into the Power Platform, and much more. Listen today and see what key takeaways your business could use. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Power Apps YAML Code Generator (matthewdevaney.com) by Matthew DevaneyWhy your Power Platform Setup Needs a Repo - DEV Community by David WyattDelight your end users with the new file upload experience - Microsoft Power Platform Blog by Ankita VishwakarmaEnable Azure storage for Power Pages | Microsoft LearnCopilot Studio Newsletter #06 | LinkedIn on LinkedInaka.ms/PowerCATCopilotStudioKitCopilot Studio Deep Dive call - July 10th 2024 (recording)I know what you did with Copilot for Sales last night (substack.com) by Bülent AltinsoyDynamics 365 Community Call (CRM Edition)aka.ms/D365CommunityCall-Invite (.ics file direct download link)Power Roles with Ivan Ficko - XrmToolCastAnnouncing a new Learn module: Use service principal authentication in custom connectors | Power Platform Developer Blog (microsoft.com) by Daniel Laskewitz5 little known features in Power Apps (charlessexton.com) by Charles SextonCreating Snake Game In Power Apps - DEV Community by David WyattMonthly PP UX/UI A11ys UG Call - on August 11th Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a single episode of Power Platform BOOST!Thank you for buying us a coffee: buymeacoffee.comPodcast home page: https://powerplatformboost.comEmail: hello@powerplatformboost.comFollow us!Twitter: https://twitter.com/powerplatboost Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerplatformboost/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/powerplatboost/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090444536122 Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@powerplatboost

Dive into the world of manufacturing where data meets decision-making with Madison Brooks, an expert from P3 Adaptive who brings her chemical engineering and industry experience to the forefront. This episode zeroes in on why the manufacturing sector is the ideal ground for leveraging Power BI and Power Apps, tools that transform raw data into actionable insights and streamlined processes. Madison discusses the integration challenges and triumphs, illustrating how these technologies drive efficiency and innovation in manufacturing operations. Throughout the discussion, Madison provides practical examples from her extensive background, demonstrating how Power BI and Power Apps optimize everything from production lines to inventory management. She highlights specific case studies where these tools have enabled manufacturers to pivot quickly, reduce waste, and better understand their operational dynamics through enhanced data visualization and application development. For professionals in the manufacturing industry or those exploring how to enhance operational efficiencies with technology, this episode offers invaluable insights. Madison breaks down complex tech solutions into understandable and implementable strategies that can profoundly impact business outcomes in Manufacturing Data Analytics. Listen now and discover how you can transform your manufacturing operations. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast for ongoing episodes where we simplify the complex, through down-to-earth conversations about data, tech, and the real business impact.

Today we are coming at you a day early for a timely bonus episode with Rob Collie diving deep into the digital disruption that shook the world: The Great CrowdStrike Hiccup of 2024. Picture this: a day when the antivirus behemoth stumbled, and the digital realm felt the shockwaves, akin to a #VALUE! error in your perfectly tuned DAX formula—but on a colossal, global scale. Before you start placing the blame on IT, let's take a step back to see the broader view. This incident with CrowdStrike, while jarring, underscores the exceptional resilience typically woven into our digital fabric. Consider it the outlier in your data set that highlights how well everything else aligns. Every day, countless professionals from coders to IT support keep our digital infrastructure running as smoothly as a finely tuned Power Query. The key lesson from this event? Our digital networks are sturdier than they appear, much like a robust pivot table equipped with slicers. Despite the hiccup, the swift response from tech teams worldwide to rectify the issue was nothing short of remarkable. It's a nod to the everyday heroes in tech who ensure that our systems run without a hitch. So, the next time you see that meme mocking "the other side," remember, we're all part of the same intricate data model of life. And, don't worry, we are still on track for a full-length release tomorrow. Be sure to tune in then when we welcome special guest Madison Brooks to share some behind-the-scenes insight on Power BI, Power Apps, and the manufacturing industry!

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/572What if you could effortlessly manage your development infrastructure while ensuring robust security and compliance? Join us as we sit down with Raphael Pothin, a Lead Power Platform Reliability Engineer at Manulife, who is revolutionizing governance processes and streamlining administrative tasks with the Power Platform. Raphael shares his passion for DevOps and dives into the game-changing potential of the Terraform provider for Power Platform, bringing infrastructure as code to new heights.Discover how Microsoft's Power Platform can transform your development workflow, freeing you from the complexities of maintaining infrastructure. Raphael walks us through the advantages of using Dataverse for data management and integrating backend solutions with Azure services. We discuss the often-debated topic of control versus efficiency, highlighting how Power Platform stands up to enterprise demands while allowing developers to maintain ALM rigor and source control.Finally, we explore the rich resources available for developers making the transition to Power Platform. Raphael emphasizes the value of Microsoft Learn and community engagement, and reveals how Microsoft Fabric integrates seamlessly with Dynamics 365 for advanced data processing. Hear firsthand how Manulife leverages the Power Platform on a global scale, navigating data sovereignty challenges in the financial sector. Plus, gain insights into boosting productivity through Power Automate and Power Apps, as Raphael shares personal strategies for overcoming performance challenges. Tune in for an episode packed with actionable insights and expert advice!90 Day Mentoring Challenge 10% off code use MBAP at checkout https://ako.nz365guy.comSupport the Show.If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

See the release plan here: Microsoft Power Platform: 2024 release wave 2 plan(EA= Early Access, PP = Public Preview, GA = General Availability)Power AppsSelect records faster with look-up control EA Jul 24, GA Oct 24View and act on your data more efficiently with new grid features EA Jul 24, GA Oct 24Use the Power Platform Environment Settings app PP Aug 24, GA Oct 24 Power PagesGenerate and explain Power Fx formulas using Copilot PP Oct 24Use Power Fx in web template components PP Oct 24Set up Microsoft Entra External ID with wizard PP Dec 24Experience enhanced file upload for Power Pages sites GA Dec 24Use AI moderator, search and thread summarization in the Community template PP Nov 24, GA Feb-Mar 25 Power AutomatePower Automate + Excel GA Dec 24Run a cloud flow for more than 30 days per invocation PP Oct 24Use generative AI to achieve a process in AI flows PP Aug 24, GA Feb 25 Generate flow description using AI GA Dec 24Scale faster with Power Automate Process Mining thin client app (p. 56) PP Sept 24, GA Nov 24Automation Center notes PP May 21st 24, GA Dec 24 Microsoft Copilot StudioGet responses based on uploaded images PP Nov 24Add suggested prompts to custom copilots PP Oct 24, GA May 25Use IVR with Omnichannel for Customer Service GA Oct 24 AI Builder Add unstructured data knowledge to GPT prompts PP Nov 24Try out AI Builder with the Power Apps developer plan PP Sept 24, GA Oct 24 Author power cards with GPT prompts PP Mar 25 DataverseMonitor and protect data with Microsoft Purview PP Nov 17 2023, GA Oct 24Manage security posture in Power Platform admin center PP Jul 24, GA Nov 24Permit or deny guest access to an environment PP Sept 24, GA Dec 24Standardize security role and system application docs PP Sept 24, GA Jan 25Build faster with enhancements to the catalog in Power Platform PP May 20th 24, GA Oct 24Unified experience for Power Platform and finance and operations apps PP Sept 24, GA Dec 24 LinksHighlight Video for 2023 Release Wave 2Microsoft Release plannerRelease plans for Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Cloud for IndustryBe sure to subscribe so you don't miss a single episode of Power Platform BOOST!Thank you for buying us a coffee: buymeacoffee.comPodcast home page: https://powerplatformboost.comEmail: hello@powerplatformboost.comFollow us!Twitter: https://twitter.com/powerplatboost Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerplatformboost/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/powerplatboost/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090444536122 Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@powerplatboost

Derik Bormann is president and director of learning at Myrium Technology Solutions, a founding principal and instructor at 365.training, and a Microsoft MVP.   Over the last few years, Derik has been doing a lot of work training and onboarding hundreds of new Microsoft technical specialists who needed the PL-100 and PL-200 skills as well as D365 Customer Service, Field Service, Sales, and Customer Insights. He explained why that particular training had to be tailored to the needs of Microsoft employees as opposed to other styles like classroom training.   But while he has been training others to get their certs some of Derik's own certifications have lapsed. He tells us about his work to prepare to re-certify on PL-200 and PL-600. PL-200 is one of the hardest certifications to get, Julie and Derik say, due to its broad range of knowledge across Power Apps, Power BI, and other services.   We also discuss some of the other Power Platform certifications that people can choose from, how Derik recommends people prepare to pass a cert, how quickly the Microsoft exams change over time, and the benefits of Applied Skills, which Derik says are challenging but offer a good way to prepare by testing understanding in real world scenarios.   Links & Resources:  Derik on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derikbormann/ See all Biz Apps Classrooms episodes here:   https://msdynamicsworld.com/biz-apps-classroom Support the podcast and get a discount on an annual plan for 365.training by visiting    https://365l.ink/MSDW. Keep up with community content at   https://mydigest.365.training/

Send me a Text Message hereFULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/560  When Enea Licaj, the Power Platform prodigy and culinary wizard from Cologne, graces us with his story, the air buzzes with inspiration. This is the tale of a tech enthusiast who marinated his professional expertise in user adoption and training to become a YouTube sensation. Let Enea take you on a journey through his vibrant hometown, giving you a taste of family life, historic wonders, and how all of these flavours blended into his passion for technology. His anecdotes aren't just about how Power Platform spices up business solutions; they're about the zest of creating content that resonates with people worldwide and the dash of satisfaction from stirring a global community of learners and creators.Paying close attention to the trends in Germany, we uncover the mounting appetite for the Power Platform, as Enea peels back the layers on its impact on local businesses. We're not just talking about any tech wave here; this is a revolution, with tools like Power Automate, Power Apps, and Power BI transforming the way solutions simmer on the digital stove. Enea, with his finger on the pulse of innovation, shares his insights on Copilot's integration into Power BI and the rich, new flavours it brings to data interaction. As he recounts the decision to serve his content in English, we get a generous slice of his career highlights, including a project that proved design isn't just about aesthetics—it's a critical ingredient in solution development. Tune in for an episode that's packed with stories as compelling as they are informative, just like a well-crafted dish that leaves you craving more.AgileXRM AgileXRm - The integrated BPM for Microsoft Power PlatformSupport the Show.If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

How can you use PowerApps to extend the functionality of other apps? Richard talks to Christina Wheeler about her efforts to teach folks to use PowerApps to add the functionality they need to Dynamics 365 and elsewhere! Christina talks about her move to Microsoft, shifting from SharePoint to PowerApps, but still essentially doing the same thing - finding customer solutions. The conversation ranges over the power of the Dataverse to provide access to all sorts of data and the emerging role of the Microsoft Copilot Studio to build custom copilots for your organization. LinksDataverseConnect to Dynamics 365 from Power AppsXrmToolboxModel-Driven Apps in Power AppsCanvas Apps in Power AppsMicrosoft Power FxMicrosoft Copilot StudioMicrosoft Bot FrameworkAI CopilotPower Up ProgramPower Platform ConferenceRecorded April 26, 2024

Everyone talks about digital transformation, but it seems like no one really explains what it means... until now. In today's episode, Rob and Justin dive deep to cut through the buzzwords and lay out the reality. They're tackling why digital transformation isn't about making huge, instant changes but rather about the smart, subtle tweaks in areas that usually get ignored but badly need a digital lift. They dive into how leveraging tools like the Power Platform can spark significant improvements, showing that it's the small changes that can really boost efficiency and smooth out your workflow. Ever found yourself wondering how to translate all the chatter about digital evolution into actionable steps? That's exactly what Rob and Justin are unpacking. They're guiding you through how minor, yet clever adjustments can transform your processes. It's all about enhancing the routine, one step at a time. And, as always, if you enjoyed the episode, be sure to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform to help new listeners find us. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Rob Collie (00:00): Hello, friends. In today's episode, Justin and I demystify what is meant by the phrase digital transformation. Phrases like that are one of my least favorite things. Why do I say that? Well, these are phrases that get used a lot. They cast a big shadow. You encounter them almost anywhere you go. That's fine by itself. But in the case of digital transformation, that massive shadow is multiplied by no one understanding what it actually means.  (00:30): Now earlier in my career, I used to be really intimidated by things like this. Everyone seems to know what this means because they're using it all the time. I don't know what it means, so should I just pretend and play along like everyone else? But at some point, many years ago, I had this moment where I realized that the Emperor has no clothes. It almost never has clothes. Now when I encounter phrases like this, instead of being like paralyzed or intimidated, I instead start working in my own definition and this process takes time. I've been picking apart and stewing on the definition of digital transformation now for probably the better part of a year plus. Somewhere along the way in that process, I realized that we at P3 are doing quite a bit of digital transformation work, I just hadn't realized it yet because I didn't have a good enough definition.  (01:18): Lately, I've been noticing that my definition for digital transformation has reached a steady state. It's not changing over time anymore, which tends to be my signal that I've arrived at a definition that works. Now seemed like a good time to sit down and compare notes with Justin, who's been following his own parallel process of arriving at a definition. I'm very pleased with where we landed. A practical and specific definition that can be reduced to practice with an almost paint-by-numbers type of approach.  (01:47): If you asked someone for a definition of something like digital transformation, and by the time they're done giving you their definition, you can't practically boil that down to what it means for you, that's not a problem with you, that's a problem with the definition. A lot of times, people's definitions for terms like this are almost like deliberately vague, as a means of projecting power, as a means of actually controlling you. You'll get a lot of definitions that are engineered to sound smart, engineered to sound authoritative, but not engineered to provide anything resembling clarity. Because if you sound smart, and you sound authoritative but you leave your audience hungry, you create a feeling of dependency. Folks, I just think that's yucky. That's just gross.  (02:35): To show you what I mean, I just ran the Google search, "What does digital transformation mean?" The very top hit, enterprisersproject.com, defines digital transformation as "the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business resulting in fundamental changes to help businesses operate in how they deliver value to customers." Did that clear it up? Nope. Boiling that one down, it sounds a lot like you should use computers and use them to make changes. But it sounds smart, sounds authoritative.  (03:06): Here's the second result from our old favorite, McKinsey. McKinsey defines digital transformation as "the process of developing organizational and technology based capabilities that allow a company to continuously improve its customer experience and lower its unit costs, and over time sustain a competitive advantage." All right, so that one sounds like McKinsey is almost starting with that original definition and adding additional value to it. They're saying use computers to improve, and to make money, and to compete. If you have $1 million to spend, you can get advice like that.  (03:43): All right, with those two definitions, we don't even need an episode. We can just skip it? Because everyone knows exactly what they're talking about. These are the top two hits on Google, folks. Useless. Part of the reason these definitions are useless, again, is because they're designed to be useless. But I also think though, that a lot of times you hear definitions like this is because the people writing them actually cannot boil them down. By the time you come up with a truly useful definition, or a framework, or a guide for understanding a topic like this, it almost by its definition, it's not going to sound nearly as sexy, nearly as smart. It's going to sound relatively simple, mundane. But those are the valuable definitions, the ones that we can actually apply, that make a difference in how we actually view our own business. (04:29): That's what we set out to do in this episode. I think we succeeded, came up with a very practical, applicable definition that you'll never find on McKinsey's website. Let's get into it.  Speaker 2 (04:42): Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?  Speaker 4 (04:46): This is the Raw Data by P3 Adaptive Podcast, with your host, Rob Collie, and your cohost, Justin Mannhardt. Find out what the experts at P3 Adaptive can do for your business. Just go to p3adaptive.com. Raw Data by P3 Adaptive is data with the human element.  Rob Collie (05:12): Justin, one of the things that we really like to do, I really like to do, I think you do as well, is to take a phrase or topic, and demystify it. Especially phrases that you hear repeated over, and over, and over again, and everyone has to pretend that they understand what they mean. But even when they do, they often have very different pictures in their heads.  (05:33): One that I think is due for a treatment, and we've hinted at it once before on this podcast but not with any depth, is digital transformation. What does it mean?  Justin Mannhardt (05:45): What does it mean, what does it not mean, all parts in between.  Rob Collie (05:50): Starting with the places where I hear it. I often hear it in the context of this is something that's already done. The big talking head analysts at places like Gartner- Justin Mannhardt (06:00): Yeah.  Rob Collie (06:00): Will talk about it like it's in the rearview mirror. "The shift to digital, the pivot to digital has forced the following things," so has forced, it's a past tense thing. Which further underlines the idea that well, if it's already happened, clearly everyone knows what it means. They don't stop to define it, they're just tossing that aside as a means of getting to the next point. I find that to be one of the most troubling habits of the talking heads.  (06:28): The first few times I encountered this phrase, I didn't really know what it meant. I imagined that it meant switching to ecommerce from brick-and-mortar. Justin Mannhardt (06:37): Yeah.  Rob Collie (06:37): I didn't even realize that that was the impression I had, it was just this vague feeling in the back of my head.  Justin Mannhardt (06:42): The word digital, I'm just thinking about this now because a lot of times, you'll look at one of these diagrams, it's like, "Your digital transformation wheel includes all these things." You'll see something like, "Move to the cloud." I'm like, "Okay, were the servers with the software, was that software analog or something?"  Rob Collie (06:59): Yeah, we've been digital for a long time, right? Justin Mannhardt (07:01): Yeah.  Rob Collie (07:01): Most broadly defined, you could say that the digital transformation really got going with the adoption of the PC.  Justin Mannhardt (07:09): Right.  Rob Collie (07:10): That was when digital transformation started. In the sense that it started in the 1980s, maybe it is something worth talking about somewhat in the rearview mirror, but that's not what they mean. They don't mean the adoption of the PC. Justin Mannhardt (07:23): No. But it's interesting, when you think about the timeline of technology evolution. People say, "Oh, you described it as past tense." Digital transformation has occurred in en masse in market. Now today, it's like AI is here, en masse in market. But the pace at which new things are coming out, what's really happening is just the long tail is longer back to where companies were at in this journey. It's not like the entire industrial complex has been collectively moving to the modern current state across the board. There's companies that are still running SQL 2000, that's their production world still. This isn't something that's happened.  Rob Collie (08:09): I think that the big talking head analysts often tend to really only talk about the most elite sub-strata of even their own clients. When they talk about this as something that's completely done, even most of Gartner's paying clients, I would suspect, aren't anywhere close to done. But we still haven't really started talking about what it actually means.  (08:32): Let's say it is not the switch from paper and pencil systems to electronic line-of-business systems. Not only do we have the PC, and that's been long since mainstreamed, the notion of line-of-business software, server based software, whether cloud or otherwise, line-of-business software is also I think incredibly well entrenched. We're done with having key business systems running in a manual format. That's long since rearview. That also isn't what they mean by digital transformation. (09:07): Of course, both of those are digital and they were huge transformations, but that's not the digital transformation we're talking about. It's anything that's happened after that.  Justin Mannhardt (09:15): Yeah.  Rob Collie (09:16): It's a lot harder to pin down the things that happened after that.  Justin Mannhardt (09:20): In general, I agree with you because the big blocks, software, the availability of the cloud, not having intensive paper process in most companies, that's largely been accomplished. To different levels, of course. Then, what's left? What's the definition? What are we trying to do?  Rob Collie (09:41): Well, if you think of the line-of-business application and the PC, the PC interfaces with all the line-of-business apps. I would say that, and even this is not 100% true, but I would say that the conversion to digital systems is complete, or complete-ish. Justin Mannhardt (09:59): Okay.  Rob Collie (09:59): When you look at your business as individual silos. Justin Mannhardt (10:03): Say more. You've got a digital environment for finance, digital environment for sales, is that what you mean?  Rob Collie (10:09): Yeah. Core workflows have largely been digital for a while. All the workflows that take place between systems, or the workflows that take place adjacent to a system, those are the things that we're talking about when we talk about digital transformation, going after those workflows.  (10:30): Everything we've been doing in the world of business software since at least the 1980s has been digital transformation.  Justin Mannhardt (10:38): Yeah.  Rob Collie (10:39): But our digital transformation, we're really talking about at least the third chapter. It's not chapter one or two. It's like the next frontier, identifying and going after a new class of workflows that would benefit from essentially software support.  Justin Mannhardt (10:56): Right.  Rob Collie (10:56): Okay. Now because almost by definition, just by subtraction ... We're saying, "Look, we've got the PC, we've got the line-of-business systems that handle the core workflows within a silo. What's left?" Well, it's almost like a perfect mathematical proof. What's left is the stuff between and outside. (11:14): Given that everyone's mix of line-of-business systems is, I like to say, best of breed, meaning random. It's whatever we decided at the time. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Legacy.  Justin Mannhardt (11:25): Yeah.  Rob Collie (11:26): You're never going to have anything off-the-shelf that helps you solve the workflows. The middleware problem between your systems is always going to be a custom solution.  (11:38): We should give examples of these. When I said outside or adjacent to, there's even workflows that they're not really between systems, they're just the offline portion of working with the system. I'm thinking about a budgeting process, for instance. The world's first budgeting systems were mostly there to record your budget that you enter into it. As those budgeting systems have gotten better, they've included more and more of the human workflow that goes into creating, and evaluating, and kicking the tires before it's finalized. Those offline human workflows, getting more and more structured about them, can make a huge difference. Justin Mannhardt (12:19): Not just structured, Rob, more tightly integrated with the adjacent system itself. I like that adjacency, because if you have a financial system where your budget or your forecast lives, there's a martialing of activity, analysis, input. Then you say, "Okay, we need to get it look like this," and then we put it in the thing. What happens in that processes, you get all sorts of scattered iterations of ideas and it gets loose. But if you could have all that iteration tight, the final submission is already handled or much easier.  Rob Collie (12:51): Yeah. Sticking with the budgeting example for a moment, it still echoes one of the themes I mentioned for the between systems, the between silos case. Which is that one-size-fits-all systems, off-the-shelf systems, they really struggle to address all the nuances of your particular business. It's very, very difficult. The more, and more, and more you try to get the offline processes, the human processes brought into the digital workflow, the more an off-the-shelf software package is going to struggle. It's getting further and further away from the safety of the core of the task.  (13:28): This is why the Power Platform approach to budgeting and planning is often, in fact almost always, a more effective, in terms of cost-effective, time effective, results effective. The core libraries for doing all of the things that you need to do are basically already there and it's inherently designed to be customizable.  Justin Mannhardt (13:48): And very nimble. Even the big players in FP&A software, they're not that great, in our opinion, at the end of the day. But the price points just exclude anybody that's not a very sizeable, formidable company. You're not looking to spend that kind of money if you're even a few hundred million a year type operation. You're just not going to sign up to that agreement. You are left with a middleware type of a problem, that you're either solving with spreadsheets, pen and paper, or something else. Our platform can slide right in there.  Rob Collie (14:26): Of course, there is a huge advantage to performing a "digital transformation" on a process like that because the human, offline, pen and paper, sending random emails, getting answers, tracking them, it's incredibly tedious, it's incredibly error-prone. Just super, super slow. It's not like you can perform many iterations. You're not even really going to be able to pull off one iteration and you call it good. But you're just going to miss so much. The budget could have been so much better. If you've got a bad budget, of course you're going to pay for that later.  (14:58): That's the adjacent case. Let's talk about the between a little bit as well. What's an example of a workflow that would span across different line-of-business systems but require a human being essentially, or humans, to essentially carry the buckets of water between those different pipes?  Justin Mannhardt (15:18): We'll make up a company today, Rob, we'll start a new company and it's going to be called I Manufacture Things, Inc. Hey. At I Manufacture Things, Inc., I've got a sales team.  Rob Collie (15:28): Do we make things other than ink?  Justin Mannhardt (15:30): No, that's incorporated.  Rob Collie (15:32): Oh, okay.  Justin Mannhardt (15:32): We just make things.  Rob Collie (15:34): Can't help it. Can we be We Manufacture Things Ink, Inc.?  Justin Mannhardt (15:38): Sure.  Rob Collie (15:39): All right. But anyway, we manufacture things.  Justin Mannhardt (15:41): There you go. We've got a sales team and they're using a CRM system, such as Salesforce, or HubSpot, or whatever. They're out there, they're doing quotes, they're tracking opportunities, and eventually someone says, "Yeah, I'd love to buy a palette of ink," or whatever. Our company, we're not using the CRM to deal with the production and fulfillment of that order. Okay, so now there's this process where my order form, let's not use any paper in this example, it's still digital but it lands as a PDF form in someone's email inbox that says, "Hey, Customer Service Rep, here's an order." Oh, okay. Now I'm keying said order into our production system that says, "Go manufacture this thing." Now we need to ship the thing out somewhere, and now we're in our logistics system.  (16:33): There's all these little hops between systems. Which technology has become more open, and sure there's things like APIs and code based ways to integrate them, but that's not in range for a lot of companies. That's an example of where you could stitch in these little Power Platform type solutions to just, "Hey, let's map the relevant fields and information from the CRM into the order management system." If there's some blanks that need to get filled in, that's okay. Maybe I'm just starting from a queue of new orders right in the system, and I'm maybe adding three or four pieces to that puzzle instead of all of it. Rob Collie (17:12): Okay. I want to make a global note here. Note that we're talking about this broad topic, digital transformation. We're already way down into very detailed, specific use cases. In my opinion, that's what digital transformation is, it's a collection of all of these individual use cases where things can get faster, more efficient, more accurate. It is the sum of many small things. Each one of them might have tremendous impact. This is the way.  (17:46): In this particular example, I've been describing the Power Platform as the world's best middleware for a while now. Even Power BI is middleware. It's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful capability is that it can simultaneously ingest data from multiple different line-of-business silos that have never once talked to each other. The only place that they meet is in a Power BI semantic model.  Justin Mannhardt (18:10): Yeah.  Rob Collie (18:10): And they play a symphony together that Power BI makes them play. They still have never seen each other, but Power BI is what bridges the gap. Now, Power BI is read-only by itself, it doesn't make changes to any systems. (18:25): In this particular case, it sounds like Power App's and Power Automate's music. Let's just get really tangible here. I know that it's a very specific, but it's a fictional example. But lots of people have almost exactly this problem. Justin Mannhardt (18:39): Yeah.  Rob Collie (18:39): Just talk me through what a solution to that particular problem might look like if we implemented it in the Power Platform. How much work, how much elapsed time do you think it would take? Let's dig into this one a little bit.  Justin Mannhardt (18:51): If what I want to do is, when we receive an order or close a deal in our CRM, I want that to move some data to another system, let's just say that's assumed. Power Automate can solve this need. Obviously there's a lot of detail, you can look some things up online, or you can email robandjustin@p3adaptive.com and we can trade some ideas here. But there are tons of out-of-the-box connectors, and in those connectors they have what's called a trigger. I could say, "When this happens in Salesforce," for example, "I want to start building a flow." I can say, "Okay, I want these fields, and I want to write them from Salesforce to this destination." Maybe that destination's a database, maybe that destination is another system that Power Automate supports that you can write to.  (19:37): It could be just this simple mapping exercise. When this happens over here, grab this data, and create a new record over here in this system. Rob Collie (19:46): Okay. A trigger in this case would look something like, "When a record in Salesforce is marked as a win," we've signed a deal, someone wants to buy a palette of whatever. Then automatically, it wakes up, looks at the record in question that the data associated with the sales win in Salesforce, grabs certain fields out of the Salesforce record, certain pieces of information. Let's keep it simple for a moment, and just pushes them into a simple SQL database or something, that could be stood up in minutes. We don't have to spend a lot of time. Or maybe, we just drop it into OneLake.  Justin Mannhardt (20:23): Lots of options there. I think this is a nice little simple example, because when you talk about Power BI, that's a very tangible apparatus. These are the things you set up, and you never really go ... You monitor it of course, but you never really go engage with it. You put the glue in place, and it's magic and it's cool. That's a simple version. (20:44): But sometimes, the data coming from its source is incomplete relative to what it's destination requires to take the next action. In this type of scenario you could either say, "Well okay, once it gets over there, we're just in that system, maybe we're adding to it." But this is where you might insert a Power App into the process. Win a deal in Salesforce that triggers, grab these fields. Let's go ahead and write it over to Dataverse, this is a back end of a Power App, for example. Or a database, or SharePoint, who knows. It depends on what makes sense.  (21:18): Now we've got a Power App that maybe has a little work cue that says, "Hey, Rob, you've got new orders." You're either approving them, or you're annotating them with additional information. You're doing the human process, like you were describing before, maybe ensuring some hygiene, completeness, whatever. Then you do something in Power App that says, "Okay, go ahead and kick this down the line from here."  Rob Collie (21:40): Yeah. Here's an example. In the CRM system where the sale is being executed, there's probably an address for this customer that is associated with that account, especially if we've done business with them before. But this customer might have many different physical locations. A palette of stuff showing up at the wrong physical location would be a real problem. Justin Mannhardt (22:06): Yeah.  Rob Collie (22:08): Even just a sanity check Power App that hits the sales rep back, shows up in their inbox or something, shows up in Teams, somehow there's a cue for them to process these things, where they need to just glance at the order and validate that the shipping address is the right one.  Justin Mannhardt (22:28): Yeah. Rob Collie (22:28): Even if that's all it is, that's the only additional piece of information is yes, no, that's the right address. Justin Mannhardt (22:34): Yeah. Or sometimes there's a material that is sold is related to a bill of materials to produce. Maybe there's some choices that need to get made in the manufacturing process, such as what specific raw materials are we going to use for this order? Which machine are we going to produce it on this week? Maybe you're just adding the execution instructions.  Rob Collie (22:59): This is interesting because you could stop yourself at this moment and go, "Wait a second. Shouldn't those questions be encoded and implemented into the CRM?" The answer is of course, they could be. But your CRM might not be a nimble place to make those sorts of changes. Justin Mannhardt (23:20): That's right. Rob Collie (23:22): It's also a dangerous thing to be customizing. Justin Mannhardt (23:24): Yes. Rob Collie (23:25): There's a lot of validation and testing that's required. There's a reason why modifying and writing custom code into one's CRM doesn't happen all that frequently. Whereas this process you're describing is relatively safe, by comparison. It doesn't rock the boat. It's between. Forcing these sorts of modifications and customizations into the individual silo line-of-business applications, if that were so feasible, that would already be happening.  Justin Mannhardt (23:55): I've worked for companies like this, I've engaged with companies in my consulting career like this, where they have done that. They said, "We've got the talent in-house, so we're going to customize this thing." Then you get into a conversation of, "We'd like to upgrade to the newer version." They realized, "Oh, we can't."  Rob Collie (24:18): Yeah. "It'll break out customizations," yes.  Justin Mannhardt (24:20): Or sometimes, the programming language that the customizations are done in is not the same programming language in the newer version. While it's possible, if you have the resources, the time, and the money, it becomes a heavier lift. It begs the question, why?  Rob Collie (24:36): I was describing the heavy lift being that the original line-of-business system might be resistant to change, resistant to the customizations that you want to implement. You're describing it as also, even if you do perform those customizations, the next major software upgrade is going to be a problem. That rings true for me. I remember the object model in Office- Justin Mannhardt (24:59): Oh, yeah.  Rob Collie (25:00): All the VBA solutions that were out there, being incredibly paralyzing in terms of the things we could do with the product, because if you broke people's macros, they wouldn't upgrade to the new version of Office. Justin Mannhardt (25:09): Yeah, been there. Yeah.  Rob Collie (25:12): I promise you that, at Microsoft, we took that problem and approached it with a level of discipline that it was probably 10 times greater than the average line-of-business software vendor. Because most line-of-business software vendors see themselves as platform vendors. They want to be considered like that, but they don't want to pay the price of it. So that's good. (25:30): But then, the other thing is is if you built it into the line-of-business system, then inherently you're saying, "Okay, whatever that extra logic is, then it's up to that line-of-business system to then push those records across the wire." The new information has to go from the CRM to the other system. That kind of customization, both ends of the process are going to be very non-cooperative with this. This is another reason why doing this in a lightweight, nimble, intermediate layer provides a shock absorber to the system. Justin Mannhardt (26:08): I like that analogy.  Rob Collie (26:09): It's pretty easy for Power Automate, all it's doing is pushing a handful of doing to something and that other something is going to take care of all the validation, all of the retry. Validation with human beings, but also the logging in to the other system and all of that. Coding all of that into your CRM is almost a non-starter. This is why the between workflows have remained so non-digitized. Justin Mannhardt (26:42): Yeah. There's also a lot of tedium should be in play here, too. You have a written process, you look at your SOP documents and you say, "Oh, when this happens, Jan sends an email to Rob." Okay, well we could probably just get the Power Automate to send the email to Rob, if that what needs to happen.  (26:59): An example of this is something I built for myself at P3. When a potential new customer reaches out to us, and they want to meet with us and just chat, I wanted a process that reminded myself to go check out who that company is, understand who I'm going to talk. I just had a trigger that said, "When a meeting gets scheduled from this arena, just create a task for me to remember to do this before the meeting." Even little things like that, that are just personally useful, have been really beneficial as well. (27:33): It's much easier to say well yeah, dashboards, charts, graphs, cool. Or even fabric, even though that needs some demystifying still. This middleware, it's invisible, there's so many options. There's 100,000 little improvements you could make with it.  Rob Collie (27:48): The world has spent a long time coming around to why dashboards could be valuable.  Justin Mannhardt (27:55): They still are.  Rob Collie (27:56): Yes. When you say the word dashboards and you show that work product, even in the abstract to someone, the communication of what the value is benefiting from all of that history of the world waking up to the value of dashboards. Honestly, it wasn't that clear 15 years ago. It wasn't clear to people, most people anyway, why they needed them, why they were better than just running the reports out of each line-of-business system. But because it's such an inherently visible work product, it is a lot easier, I'm going to use the word, it's a lot easier to visualize what the impact will be, what it does for you. Whereas these other workflows, until you know that they're improvable, this is why digital transformation is so hard to understand because it is really talking about spaces where it's hard to visualize software helping because it's never been able to help.  (28:53): Let's go back to this example where the sale happens in the CRM system. Some information just automatically gets dropped in a data store, off to the side for the moment. There's potentially some Power App clarification. There are human inputs that are required here and you still want a human being to provide those. Justin Mannhardt (29:16): I want to point out here too, it's easy to get into a situation where that data store is simply being read by a report, even a Power BI report. But if the human's going to say, "Yes, no," or add to it, the Power App is just a way better piece to put there.  Rob Collie (29:32): Yeah. Let's have this example be like an example that we would look at and smile, be proud of. The Power App is involved. Then when the human interaction is done, they press okay or approve in the Power App. Take me to the next step.  Justin Mannhardt (29:49): Well ideally, we are pushing data and information into the next system or workflow.  Rob Collie (29:57): This is a two silo problem. We have the CRM system and then we have the manufacturing, work order and shipment system, the fulfillment system. Justin Mannhardt (30:06): The WMS.  Rob Collie (30:08): Is that what that is?  Justin Mannhardt (30:08): Yeah.  Rob Collie (30:09): Okay. We've already covered the first silo. We've gotten the human interaction. Now it's time to send it on to the second silo. How does that work?  Justin Mannhardt (30:20): This just comes down to what the point of integration is in the second silo. We could be inserting records into a SQL database, we could be making a post request to an API endpoint. In Power Automate, most of these things are WISIWIG in nature. There is an open code interface if you need to get to that and want to do that, need it. But usually, it's just mapping. You find your destination and it says, "Oh, here's the fields to map to." You say, "Okay," you just drag and drop. It just depends on what your destination system is, but you're just creating a target in your workflow, and the data goes.  Rob Collie (30:55): The way I like to look at this is that, even though each line-of-business silo system, they're never really built to talk to each other. Justin Mannhardt (31:04): Right, they need a translator.  Rob Collie (31:05): Yeah. The translator and the shock absorber. But at the same time, it's not hard to get the information you want out of one system, and it's not hard to write the information you need into another. But when you try to wire them directly through to each other- Justin Mannhardt (31:23): Yeah.  Rob Collie (31:23): That is actually really difficult. You need this referee in the middle, that's able to change gears, like the ambassador between the two systems. When you think about a translator system, an ambassador system, a shock absorber, whatever you want to call it, whatever metaphor you want, you can also imagine an incredibly expensive, elaborate piece of custom software that's being written to do that. That's not what we're talking about. Justin Mannhardt (31:47): No. Rob Collie (31:48): Let's recap. Trigger fires in CRM system, some data gets slurped out related to that sale, dropped in an intermediate location that then powers a Power App. Power App is able to read that information, it knows who to reach back to to get the clarification, the approval, et cetera. It might be multiple people that need to provide some input. Justin Mannhardt (32:09): It could be a whole workflow that lives right there. Rob Collie (32:12): But eventually at the end of that workflow, in this case we'll just assume it's one step, one human being, the sales rep just needs to sign off, then the Power App's job is done. That's the human interaction part. Now we're back to Power Automate, correct?  Justin Mannhardt (32:24): That's right.  Rob Collie (32:25): Power Automate will notice there's another trigger that the Power App is done with its part, the approval button was pressed. Justin Mannhardt (32:31): Clicked, yeah.  Rob Collie (32:33): Then it turns around, and it knows, because again we wire it up ... It sounds like we might be lucky, it's just drag and drop, one time development. But if it's not, it's probably not that much code, to go inject the new work order into the WMS system?  Justin Mannhardt (32:52): Yeah, it's the WMS, warehouse management system. Rob Collie (32:53): Let's call that the end of the story for this one integration. Let's say things go incredibly well in this project. We don't really encounter any hiccups. Best case scenario, how long on the calendar would it take for us to wire something like this up?  Justin Mannhardt (33:12): Yeah, best case scenario this is something that gets done inside of a week. Rob Collie (33:15): That's the difference.  Justin Mannhardt (33:16): Yeah.  Rob Collie (33:18): All right. Worst case scenario, both of these systems are more stubborn than usual, the connectors aren't built into the system, and they still have some relatively rudimentary ways of data access, but it's nothing WISIWIG off-the-shelf. We just get unlucky with these two stubborn line-of-business systems. How bad can that be?  Justin Mannhardt (33:37): Well, instead of being inside of a week, maybe it's weeks, like two or three. The only reason that gets extended would be okay, instead of pure WISIWIG drag and drop, maybe we are having to do some light handling of adjacent array. But there's tools for that. You can say, "Parse this into fields so I can now drag and drop it." Maybe instead of our Power Automate workflow having three, four steps, maybe there's 10. Some of those steps have a little bit more involvement. Maybe there's some time because we got to troubleshoot a little bit more and make sure we've got it all right. But I think the overall point here is these are relatively light touch on the calendar.  Rob Collie (34:18): I had a job in college that I've never brought up on this show. Justin Mannhardt (34:23): Ooh.  Rob Collie (34:23): I was obsessed about this workflow for nearly a whole decade afterwards. Where I was working for a construction company, and there's this thing in the construction industry that I'm sure is still a thing, and it's called the submittals process. Where it turns out, when you're going to build a building, there's an ingredients list for a building. You were talking about different material options for manufacturing. So we're going to make a brick exterior. Okay, what kind of brick? There are many different colors, kinds, textures, levels of quality. Literally, the owner of the building, the person paying to have the building built, that owner and their architect, and sometimes their structural engineers, are going to want to hold a physical brick in their hand. Justin Mannhardt (35:05): Right. Rob Collie (35:06): This is the brick that you are going to use. They want to inspect it with their eyes, whatever, they want to feel ... Maybe even run tests on it.  Justin Mannhardt (35:14): Smack it with a hammer. Rob Collie (35:16): Right. Then, when you build the building, you better use that brick because they're holding onto the brick, the sample, the reference brick. You think about the number of ingredients that goes into building a building, and the building in question that I was working on helping out with this process was the new chemistry building at Vanderbilt University. It was not just a regular building, it had all kinds of specialized hardware, and exhaust, and crazy stuff that wouldn't be in a normal building.  (35:44): There's this long list of materials that need to have submittals produced for them, samples. The requests all go to a million different vendors. You have to ask the subcontractor, the plumbing contractor, what pipe they plan to use. You find out what pipe they plan to use and then you say, "Okay, where do I get a sample of that pipe?" Sometimes you have to send the request for the sample to the pipe manufacturer, or something the subcontracting, the plumber, people will do it for you. Ah! It's awful. (36:14): I was brought in to just be the human shock absorber in this process. I was constantly taking information from one format, copying and pasting it, if I was lucky. Usually, re-hand entering into another one. I have to do this multiple times. I have to do this on the outgoing request, and then the incoming materials coming back. Ugh, and then the shipping labels and everything. It was just they brought me in because they had their assistant project manager for the construction company, the general contractor, on this site. All of this was having to go through him. It turns out, he had another job which was called build the building.  Justin Mannhardt (36:54): Just a minor, little job.  Rob Collie (36:56): Yeah. The job of push the samples around was a fine thing to subcontract to a college student. I swear, I did 40 hours a week on that for a whole summer, and then part-time for the next two years. That's all I did.  Justin Mannhardt (37:13): Make note, students. If you take an internship and you end up like Rob, learn how to do Power Automate stuff and use that for your internship.  Rob Collie (37:22): By the way, we already had Lotus Notes with a tremendous amount of customized Lotus Note template for this process.  Justin Mannhardt (37:30): Yeah.  Rob Collie (37:30): But all that really was was just another line-of-business system that didn't talk to anything. It spit out paper is what it did, it spit out printed slips that announced, "This is your brick."  Justin Mannhardt (37:42): Congratulations.  Rob Collie (37:44): That would be a really, really challenging digital transformation process today, because not only is it cross system, it's also cross companies. But I'm sure that, if we looked at that process today, we would find things that could be optimized.  Justin Mannhardt (37:56): Oh, yeah. Your example reminded me of a really important opportunity in the construction industry or lots of trades. You're talking about people that are out in the field, on job sites, on location, they're not sitting in offices at workstations. All of these things we're talking about, especially these Power App interfaces, can be optimized for mobile. Instead of, "Oh, I'm going to write this down so when I get back to my home office," I can put something on the smartphone. Even if you're not picking from a list of material SKUs or whatever, you can say, "Hey, Rob needs a brick."  (38:36): Now this goes back to your central office, and it's into a work queue, and another screen in the Power App, then they can go navigate the vendors and all that sort of stuff, too. That's a great example of where you can just put a little spice on it.  Rob Collie (38:50): I said that was the only thing I did in that job, that's not true. I had other jobs. One of them was the plumbing contractor was deemed to be running well behind schedule, they were not installing pipe fast enough, pipe and duct work. They assigned me, the construction company assigned me the job of going out there, walking through the building and seeing how much had been installed, linear feet of various materials, and writing it down. I was terrible at this. It's not a good fit for me at any age, but at age 20, I was just constantly under-reporting how much work they'd actually done and getting them in trouble.  Justin Mannhardt (39:32): This does not sound like a good use of Rob.  Rob Collie (39:34): Eventually, everyone bought me the little thing that wheels along on the ground and counts distance. What I would do is I'd be looking overhead at these copper pipes that were hanging from the ceiling, and I'd just stand beneath one end of them and walk across the building, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. But then, what would I do? I would write it down. I'd write down a number. What floor am I on? What side of the building am I on? Which pipes am I looking at? "Oh yeah, 150 linear feet." By the way, have I already counted those pipes? Did I count those pipes last week? I don't know.  Justin Mannhardt (40:11): There's errors in the world that have Rob Collie's fingerprints on them. There's a building somewhere that's had some pretty serious issues over the years and it's Rob's fault.  Rob Collie (40:21): The plumbing contractor had a pretty good sense of humor about it. They knew I was a youngster. Anyway, really just another example of something that could be digitally transformed today and it doesn't have to be difficult.  (40:33): This is not something that's a global, let's go digitally transform the whole company all at once. You can pick and choose some high value examples. And decide if that's a sufficient win for you, you might be encouraged to do it elsewhere. There's no thou shalt do all of these things, there's nothing like that. You get to choose where your cost benefit curve lies. But just even knowing that this is possible I think and what it entails.  Demystifying ... The process we just walked through, with today's technology, is not difficult. We're talking, as you said, within a week to several weeks on the worst case end. You do realize a bunch of benefits from that.  Justin Mannhardt (41:16): Yeah. I love how well the Power Platform, and this idea of it being middleware, just leans right into an idea that's been around for a long time in companies, which is continuous improvement. You can look at a problem, like the ones we've been describing, and you can go down the path and you say, "Okay, is there a piece of software that would solve or improve this problem?" You could look into something like that. Or you could say, "Actually, we have these other tools that we've been learning how to use and integrate into our organization, and we'll just take a week, or three weeks and make it better." If you decide to replace a silo down the road, like, "Hey, we're going to do a CRM take out," you've not saddled yourself up with this huge level of tech debt. Rob Collie (42:05): Yeah, that's huge.  Justin Mannhardt (42:06): Because a lot of these decisions have so much pressure because you're like, "If we don't get this right, then we'll have all this." It's actually okay to be like, "Yeah, we're going to throw this away and build a different one." I think that's an important aspect of these things. You can empower a team of people who are just interested in making things better and it's not this huge sunk cost or investment that you're never going to get back. You're going to get value from it, even if you're only going to leverage it, say for a year. It's like, "Hey, that week was worth it because it eliminated this many errors," or lost time, or whatever. Then we did something else. Rob Collie (42:44): This really hearkens back to something that I struggled to explain to people in my time at Microsoft. I had an intuition, and a lot of people had the same intuition, we weren't doing a great job of explaining it. What I'm going to talk about is the XML revolution. (43:01): XML, and JSON, and all these sorts of things, are just taken for granted today. There's nothing magic about them, it's completely commoditized and that's the way it should be. But those of us who saw this XML thing coming as a real game changer, I think we're really just keying in on exactly this thing we're talking about. The world had been obsessed with APIs up until that point. Every system had an API on it that was capable of doing verby things. Read/write, make changes. These APIs tended to be very heavy. Anyone that's ever written any macro code against Excel will know that the Excel API is incredibly complicated. I'm talking about the desktop VBA comm automation. Go play around with the range object for a couple of days.  (43:49): The idea that two systems with good APIs could then talk to each other was still this myth that I think most of the software world believed. Our belief was stubbornly that we just hadn't gotten the APIs right yet. The next standard in API was going to get it done. What XML did, all it was really doing was saying, "Look, there's going to be a data transmission format that is completely separate from any API, and it's super, super readable, and it's super, super simple." It's the beginning of this shock absorber mentality. Since then, we've discovered that it doesn't have to be XML. Justin Mannhardt (44:30): Oh, yeah. Rob Collie (44:31): But the XML thing did eventually lead us down the road of Hadoop, and DataLakes, and all of that. But yeah, this notion that you get the necessary data from system one, and there's this temporary ah, breath that you can take, and you can disconnect the process of slurp from system one and inject new into the other system. You can ever so slightly disconnect those two so they're not talking directly to each other. When you do that, you gain just massive, massive, massive benefits. (45:03): Yeah, it's kind of neat to connect that now. Again, I used to talk to people all the time like, "No, XML is magic. It's going to blah, blah, blah." People would go, like my old boss did, again would be like, "I don't get it. Why is it magic?" I'd be like, "Well, it just is, man. You don't understand." He beat that out of me. It was one of the greatest that anyone's ever given me. By the time I was done with him, I could explain why XML was valuable but not at the beginning. I certainly didn't envision where we've landed here.  (45:27): Okay, so I think this was pretty straightforward, right? If you want to identify what digital transformation means for your organization ... This actually really parallels the talk I gave on AI the other night here in Indy.  Justin Mannhardt (45:39): Oh, right. Yeah.  Rob Collie (45:40): Don't talk about it from the tech point of view. Justin Mannhardt (45:43): Yeah.  Rob Collie (45:43): Think about it from the workflow point of view. Where are the workflows in your company? What's really beautiful about digital transformation is that we can provide this extra guidance that, what are the workflows that happen between systems or adjacent to systems?  Justin Mannhardt (46:00): Yeah.  Rob Collie (46:00): It helps you focus on what we're talking about. It's not often you get a cheat code like that, so you can really zero in on something.  (46:08): I suspect that once you have that algorithm for looking, you're going to find lots of things. The Power Platform makes it- Justin Mannhardt (46:18): Ah, it transforms them in digital ways. Rob Collie (46:20): It puts that completely within range, completely within budget in a way that you wouldn't necessarily even expect. It's just kind of magic. It's the same level of magic that you'd get from Power BI, but in a read/write workflow sense.  Justin Mannhardt (46:33): Between and adjacent to, that's magic. That's a magic algorithm because I bet a lot of people, when you say digital transformation, they are thinking on or within the system, not between it. Rob Collie (46:45): Yeah. It's another one of these marketing terms that's almost deliberately meant to be mystical. Everyone's supposed to pretend that they know what it means, but then it's left for all of us out here in the real world, close to where the rubber meets the road, to actually do something real with it. (46:59): I wonder what percentage of the time people use the phrase digital transformation, if you scratch the surface, you'd find that they were completely bluffing?  Justin Mannhardt (47:07): Yeah. There's a category of thinking digital transformation, or even data analytics, where there's just all these abstract, conceptual statements or diagrams that mean very little. Let's just zoom into an actual problem, even if it's a little one, and fix it. Then, we'll go to the next one and fix that. We don't need big, fancy frameworks, teams, and steering committees to do any of that.  Rob Collie (47:35): I've got another example. Justin Mannhardt (47:36): Oh, yeah?  Rob Collie (47:37): It's one that we've implemented here at P3. We have these Power BI dashboards that measure the effectiveness of our advertising. It turns out that advertising in particular on Google AdWords is not a global thing. It's the sum of many micro trends, your overall performance. It's highly, highly, highly variable based on which keywords you're matching against, what kinds of searches you're matching against, and what kind of messaging you're presenting to the user of Google. The only way to improve, most of the time, is to improve in the details.  (48:11): All right. For a while, we had this workflow where we'd identify an intersection of ads that we were running and what we were matching up with, in terms of people's searches. We'd identify a cluster of those that, I'll just keep it simple for the moment, where we'd say, "Look, right now we're providing the same message to a bunch of searches that aren't really the same search and we need to break this out, and provide a more custom, tailored message to each of these individual searches." We'd mark something for granularization.  (48:43): But originally, what we would do is we were looking at this report, we'd write down essentially this intersection and say, "Go split that out."  Justin Mannhardt (48:51): What did we do?  Rob Collie (48:52): Immediately, we'd lose all track of what did we even decide to do? Because then someone had to go over to totally Google AdWords system and enter new ads, and break this thing out. Even knowing whether that had happened, producing the work list of things that needed to happen, was very difficult because we were in the context of a Power BI dashboard that didn't do any communication elsewhere. We couldn't track what our to-do list was. Except again, completely offline. We built a Power App and embedded it into some of these reports. You'd click on the thing you'd want to break out, the Power App would pick up that context, and then we'd just use a little drop-down and say, "What do we want to do to this?" We're going to mark this for granularization.  (49:39): That did produce us a to-do list, that then could also be re-imported back into the report, so that we could se that we had marked that one to explode it out. We didn't have to look at it again, and we also in the reporting, could see whether that splitting up had been done because you'd come back to the Power App and say, "Done." Even better, you'd enter the IDs of the new groups, so that you can say, "Hey, this one is now superseded by these."  (50:07): Now we never got to the point of directly writing back to Google AdWords to make the changes. That still happened offline. We certainly could have imagined a world in which a Power App, a much more elaborate process was built that, then separately from the dashboard, would prompt you to write the new ad copy and things like that. You get to choose where the 80/20 is in your process. For us, the 80/20 was recording the list and tracking the lineage while we're in the context of the report. That was a big deal.  Justin Mannhardt (50:39): There are over 1000 pre-built and certified connectors available for the Power Platform. Rob Collie (50:46): That's it? Just kidding. Justin Mannhardt (50:48): They're adding things all the time. We live in a SaaS world. All these things, they're real. Rob Collie (50:53): Yeah. That's a really critical point about Microsoft, is that they have realized that they are the middleware company.  Justin Mannhardt (50:59): Satya is all about it.  Rob Collie (51:00): Yes. In the Bill and Steve era, this was not Microsoft's game. They wanted to own everything.  Justin Mannhardt (51:06): Yeah.  Rob Collie (51:07): In Satya era, it's more like, "No, we want to work with everything."  Justin Mannhardt (51:11): It's great, I love it.  Rob Collie (51:12): Just recently, as I've gone down this path myself, reverse engineering in my own little way what this term means and coming to the conclusions that we have, I've realized that we are a digital transformation company. It's not the only thing that we do. Is read only Power BI middleware, is that digital transformation? Well, probably. By the strictest definition, probably yes, but not by the spirit of the law. The spirit of the definition means a read/write workflow. I'd mentioned in this last example, Power BI can be part of a read/write workflow. There's no reason to sideline it. In the other episodes, where we talked about improvement and action is the goal, how a Power App can be added to a Power BI report to help you take action on what the report is telling you. But just the broader Power Platform, Power Apps and Power Automate in particular. We do have a handful of clients where, most of the work we're doing is digital transformation work. Justin Mannhardt (52:08): Right, this type of work.  Rob Collie (52:09): The adjacent in between that we're talking about. Even though we're mostly thought of as a Power BI company, as we're doing our next round of website rebuild, we've 100% put a digital transformation page on our sitemap. It'll probably use some of this language we're talking about here. Digital transformation, what does it mean? It is both not that special of a term, there's no rocket science to it, and at the same time, there's a lot of value to be realized from it.  Justin Mannhardt (52:36): Totally. Here's a fun little call back to our origin story as individuals and as a company. We spend a lot of our time helping, for example, like the Excel analyst move over to Power BI and we're trying to solve these middleware gaps. That's why I think, for us, it's just been quite natural to provide these types of services and capabilities to customers as we've grown because it's the same type of person that's spirited to solve these types of issues, and the technology, and the openness of it brought everything in range. It's fun to reflect back on how broad we can show up to a customer beyond just dashboards.  Rob Collie (53:22): Yeah. It's a miracle and a testament to what Microsoft has pulled off. You can certainly imagine a world in which they could enable that uptempo, highly efficient, what we call faucets first methodology for dashboards. Justin Mannhardt (53:22): Yeah.  Rob Collie (53:38): And stopping there. To extend it to something like workflow and applications, and have implementation of these solutions feel very, very, very similar. Justin Mannhardt (53:50): Yeah.  Rob Collie (53:50): It's completely compatible with our ethos. It's almost like I didn't even notice when we made that transition into doing both. It sneaked up on me. That's a good sign. I feel a little silly that it took me a while to digest it, but I love that it happened organically without us having to go- Justin Mannhardt (54:10): Right. Rob Collie (54:11): Pick up another toolset from another vendor, or change our hiring profile dramatically, or anything like that.  Justin Mannhardt (54:18): Yeah. Now, we've got some of these cool projects where you've got maybe someone that their expertise is more on the Power BI side, working right alongside someone whose expertise is more on the Power Apps, Power Automate side. They're just moving in lockstep with the same customer, closing these middleware gaps, building the reporting, and the action lives around it. It's that whole thing working together that makes it all really cool. Rob Collie (54:41): I'm also developing an intuition that AI, maybe not the only application of AI, but I think a lot of the surface area of where we will find AI to be useful, plugs into this digital transformation thing, the adjacent in between. In particular, in sub workflows within the overall workflow.  Justin Mannhardt (55:03): Yes.  Rob Collie (55:03): Did your reaction fit that?  Justin Mannhardt (55:06): Yes, totally. Totally, totally, totally. Yeah.  Rob Collie (55:09): Then, we're good. I think it's easy, with dashboards, with BI, to imagine the global. Going from a non-dashboard company to a dashboard company, it's very easy to imagine that as a global thing and it's probably the right thing. Any place where you're flying without the information you need in a convenient, easy to digest format, let's go and get that. Even there, with the transformation to a data oriented organization, a data driven culture, you still pick places to start.  Justin Mannhardt (55:39): You got to start somewhere.  Rob Collie (55:40): This other thing, digital transformation is a little harder to imagine is a global thing, and that's fine. I think AI's the same way. You should not be thinking about AI as a global transformation for your business. Just like digital transformation, it is a go find particular places where you can score these wins.  Speaker 4 (56:00): Thanks for listening to the Raw Data by P3 Adaptive Podcast. Let the experts at P3 Adaptive help your business. Just go to p3adaptive.com. Have a data day. 

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/536  Have you ever wondered what goes into becoming a sensation in the tech content creation world while juggling a family of six? Join us as we sit down with Darren Neese from Super Power Labs, an Orlando-based MVP and YouTube phenomenon, who shares his incredible two-decade journey through IT and software development. Darren's got a knack for turning complex topics into captivating content, and in this heart-to-heart, he opens up about the thrills and spills of his day-to-day life, including his deep-seated love for pizza and Power Apps. Peer behind the curtain to discover the tools of his trade – from his trusted Yeti Blue microphone to his Nikon Z6 camera – and how he harnesses the power of live streaming to connect and educate his loyal followers.Transitioning from Darren's engaging anecdotes, I reflect on a professional pivot, discussing a challenging SharePoint project for a leading Australian bank that culminated in a switch to Dataverse. Contemplating the intricacies of SharePoint's governance and the results of an eye-opening poll on its usage, we speculate on the implications for Microsoft's bottom line. Moreover, I express my heartfelt gratitude for the prestigious Microsoft MVP award, an achievement I owe to the support of many in this incredible community. If these stories of innovation, decision-making, and achievement in the world of tech pique your interest, you're in for a treat. To extend your support, feel free to visit buymeacoffee.com/NZ365guy, and make sure to peruse the show notes for links to Darren's social media and additional resources.OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP AgileXRM AgileXRm - The integrated BPM for Microsoft Power Platform 90 Day Mentoring Challenge April 1st 2024https://ako.nz365guy.comUse the code PODCAST at checkout for a 10% discount Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/533 Strap in, as we take an exhilarating tour through the guts of the Microsoft Power Platform. We promise to demystify its strategic foundation and prove to you why it stands apart from building solutions and governance. You'll share laughs with us as we recall unique conference experiences like presenting without shoes and, believe it or not, PowerApps and Power Automate tattoos. As we venture further into this digital landscape, we hammer home the importance of erecting a sturdy strategic foundation to foster a thriving platform ecosystem. You'll see the value of workload prioritization, ecosystem mapping, and the critical role of executive vision in ensuring an organization's prosperity. And not just that, but we also touch on the necessity of a flexible budgeting model for technology. The CFOs, we're looking at you! We've got some insights that might make you rethink your approach.We also delve into the world of low code development, where we discuss the 'six P's': purpose, plan, platform, process, people, and portfolio. The conversation takes an exciting twist as we explore the concept of the low-code city and the application portfolio. We'll reveal how to manage unstructured data and the magic of Cognitive Search for indexing and analysis. As we conclude this intriguing journey, let's reflect on the power of starting conversations and the potential they have to enhance our lives. So, if you're ready for a knowledge-packed adventure, join us and let's learn together.AgileXRM AgileXRm - The integrated BPM for Microsoft Power Platform 90 Day Mentoring Challenge April 1st 2024https://ako.nz365guy.comUse the code PODCAST at checkout for a 10% discount Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

In Episode 116 of the XrmToolCast, Daryl and Scott dive into Power Apps Tools with guests Leonardo and Rudimar. They explore the community-driven "clipboard" packed with YAML snippets, SVG-to-FX converters, Power Fx functions, icons, and more—all aimed at boosting canvas app development. Some of the highlights: Capybaras Backstory of Power Apps Tools When your tools become your weekend projects Power of open source software Earliest show hzomework ever assigned Scott wants to be made into a Capybara Daryl discovers Electric vehicles Leonardo's Info: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardorrusso YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leo_Russo Rudimar's Info: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rudimar YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerrudy Links: Power Apps Tools: https://powerappstools.fly.dev Capybara: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara Got questions? Have your own tool you'd like to share? Have a suggestion for a future episode, or like a shout-out? Contact Daryl and Scott at cast@xrmtoolbox.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and @XrmToolCast for updates on future episodes. Do you want to see us too? Subscribe to our YouTube channel to view the last episodes. Don't forget to rate and leave a review for this show at Podchaser. Your hosts: Daryl LaBar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daryllabar | @ddlabar  Scott Durow: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdurow | @ScottDurow Editor: Linn Zaw Win: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linnzawwin  | @LinnZawWin Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/531 Step into the future of IT management and creative innovation with our esteemed guest from Singapore, Rene Modery, the Power Platform Technical Lead at WPP. Rene not only excels in his role within the world of Power Platform and Microsoft 365 but also brings a personal touch to our discussion, sharing the fascinating endeavor of crafting full-size Mandalorian armor using a 3D printer. His journey from Germany to Singapore unfolds, revealing the cultural shifts that have shaped his professional journey and the passions that run parallel to his career. As Rene delves into the balance between work and life, listeners will find inspiration in the seamless integration of his love for Star Wars into his technical expertise.Take a deep look behind the scenes of WPP, the world's foremost media and advertising powerhouse, and the complexities of managing a Power Platform Multitenant Environment across a global enterprise. As we unravel the intricacies of tenant consolidation, governance, and support strategies, you'll gain invaluable insights into the necessity of maintaining a delicate equilibrium between regular updates and streamlined administrative processes. Additionally, we shine a light on PowerDocu, a revolutionary tool that is changing the game for documenting Power Apps and Power Automate flows, making it a must-know for professionals seeking to elevate their technical documentation process. Join us for a compelling episode where the worlds of IT strategy and creative pursuits collide, offering lessons and stories that resonate with innovators and strategists alike.AgileXRM AgileXRm - The integrated BPM for Microsoft Power Platform 90 Day Mentoring Challenge 2024 https://ako.nz365guy.comSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/526 When Silvester Akakpo's father sparked his curiosity with the enigmatic world of computers, little did he know it would propel his son toward becoming Ghana's shining star in Microsoft Technologies. In a narrative as rich and diverse as the African continent itself, we follow Silvester's journey from familial influences in Togo and Germany to becoming an MVP—a tale spiced with his affection for continental cuisine and the universal language of football. As Silvester opens up about his initial dreams of piloting and how they gave way to a thriving IT career, listeners are treated to an intimate account of the potent blend of family, culture, and mentorship that fuels his drive and success.Embark on an exploratory voyage into the realm of Power Apps with our latest MVP, where canvas apps paint the picture of innovation and model-driven apps lay the foundation. Silvester debunks myths about the MVP accolade, revealing its true essence as a recognition of community leadership and expertise rather than just a title. He generously shares the playbook for fostering a vibrant Microsoft community in Ghana, offering a trove of wisdom for tech enthusiasts aiming to claim their own MVP status. Join us as we uncover the secrets of consistent community engagement and the altruistic sharing of knowledge that not only elevates others but cements one's mastery of technology.OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ AgileXRM AgileXRm - The integrated BPM for Microsoft Power PlatformSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/521 Imagine unlocking the secrets of low-code success with Casey Burke, Microsoft's principal product manager, as your guide. You're in for a treat as we unravel the intricacies of enterprise adoption and the transformative power of application lifecycle management in Power Apps. Casey doesn't just talk shop; he invites us into his world outside the office, complete with tales of mastering the grill and balancing life's passions with professional pursuits. Our conversation is a testament to the vibrant persona behind the tech that's sculpting the future of application delivery.We jet-set to New Zealand, too, where the trailblazing folks at Indigen inspire us with their adventures in Dynamics and business applications. Picture crossing borders with robots—it's just a day in the life of a Microsoft partner shaking up the tech scene. As we navigate the evolving landscape of software development, you'll gain insight into the crucial roles of service principal accounts and managed identities, and understand how administrative control intersects with the empowerment of citizen developers. Casey expertly stitches together personal anecdotes and his profound professional expertise, offering you a front-row seat to the revolution unfolding within the Power Platform.AgileXRM AgileXRm - The integrated BPM for Microsoft Power Platform 90 Day Mentoring Challenge 2024 https://ako.nz365guy.comSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening