Microsoft Power Platform's Low-Code Approach to Career Transformation
Perspectives
With the exponential growth of technology, apps, and software have become increasingly complex and time-consuming to develop. To deal with this issue, professionals started using Microsoft’s Power Apps and other low-code app development or no-code tools.
The increased popularity of Power Apps and similar no-code tools introduced many new career opportunities for app development to several professionals without the need for programming language specializations or IT degrees.
In this article, we’ll guide you through the basics of no-code and low-code app development and how to make the best out of Microsoft’s Power Apps and other Microsoft Power Platform services. We’ll also discuss the career paths you can take using Power Apps and other no-code and low-code app development tools.
Table of Contents
Microsoft Power Platform's Low-Code Approach to Career Transformation
The Rise of Low-Code/No-Code App Development
Microsoft Power Platform: A Low-Code Revolution
Career Opportunities in the Low-Code/No-Code Space
Learning Resources for Microsoft Power Platform
Conclusion
The Rise of Low-Code/No-Code App Development
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Many development career paths require intimate knowledge of one or many programming languages as well as an in-depth understanding of programming logic. However, by using low-code and no-code tools, you can skip most of the previously required technical knowledge and dive straight into developing.
Both low-code and no-code tools provide faster development cycles due to their streamlined tools and features, along with reduced production costs. Additionally, this new trend also improves teamwork and productivity by making it easier to integrate tools across apps and software.
What is Low-Code/No-Code App Development?
No-code and low-code app development streamline development processes by requiring little to no knowledge of programming languages. You can easily get started with only a basic understanding of programming logic by using no-code tools or a no-code website builder.
However, it’s worth noting that while no-code and low-code are often used interchangeably, they are not quite the same.
Low-code development uses customizable code blocks through a visual interface along with many pre-built components. It still requires minimal programming knowledge to make full use of its features and maximize development efficiency. But it’s faster and cheaper while still offering a lot of flexibility and customization.
No-code development is entirely visual, making it perfect for people with no programming knowledge or technical knowledge. The best no-code platforms and tools use a streamlined visual drag-and-drop system through an interface that only requires a basic understanding of programming logic to build an app. No-code tools are quite flexible and customizable, but not as much as low-code ones.
Benefits of Low-Code Platforms
Low-code app development practices heavily empower professionals outside the IT industry by allowing them to develop and program using only the basics, making them citizen developers. These practices also introduce many benefits to the development cycle of apps, like:
Faster Development: Streamlining programming through pre-built codes and visual components reduces development time and costs.
Adaptability: Customizable code blocks allow anyone to quickly and easily swap one block for a faster one with new additional features.
Increased Productivity: You can fully automate many tasks with little development time investment, speeding up many processes and systems.
Teamwork: Visual representation of functions allows you and your teams to efficiently communicate what they do or don’t need without much need for technical understanding of code.
Following the popularity of low-code app development, Microsoft decided to lead the industry by compiling many features and tools into a single platform through Power Apps.
The new Microsoft low-code platform was named Microsoft Power Platform, integrating many of their own existing tools and services like Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Azure, and even third-party apps.
Microsoft Power Platform: A Low-Code Revolution
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Microsoft Power Platform, released in 2018, introduced several new tools like Power Apps, a drag-and-drop app builder with integration capabilities across several Microsoft products like Microsoft Office 365 and Azure.
All tools from the Microsoft Power Platform work together and can integrate into one another to create entire systems and networks. It’s a flexible tool for businesses and companies of any size that allows you to scale production at any point with little time and resource investment.
Power Apps: Drag-and-Drop App Building
Power Apps is the core of the Microsoft Power Platform. It allows professionals with little IT and programming knowledge to improve their businesses by integrating and streamlining their teams and tools, automating tasks, and centralizing data and data services.
PowerApps development works through an interface with a drag-and-drop app builder tool. It allows developers to program their apps or software by dragging blocks of code or other pre-built features into each other to create Power Apps.
This simple drag-and-drop app maker from Microsoft is efficient, responsive, and easy to use, speeding up the development of low-complexity apps and integrations. It also works as an amazing drag-and-drop mobile app builder for the same reasons.
The Power Apps platform can be used to build drag-and-drop interface systems for sales, CRM, customer service, and even human resources. These systems can then be easily integrated into each other and connected through Azure to centralize their information, sharing the same data across all systems.
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Power Automate: Automating Processes
Microsoft’s Power Automate allows many daily tasks to be fully automated, saving time spent on small tasks and making them completely free of human error. Power Automate also has integrations to create and manage flows in Power Apps.
Power Automate works as a cloud-based service, managing workflow across many Microsoft services like Office 365 and other third-party services as well. It waits for a trigger, like notifications, and then implements an action based on how it was programmed to react.
For instance, new emails can be automated to reply after a delay, add calendar events, notify other teams and personnel, save attachments to OneDrive, and more. These functions and more can be used to benefit IT, accounting, customer service, HR, and many others.
Microsoft also leverages AI to facilitate the automation process and improve workflow across many systems through Copilot. With Copilot enabled, professionals can use natural language to communicate with the AI about problems and come up with solutions.
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Power BI: Data Visualization and Analytics
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Power BI is the best low-code app for data visualization and analytics. It works by gathering data from several cloud-based and local sources. Then, it compiles the data and presents you with data reports, graphs, and insights.
With Power BI, you can integrate multiple internal and external databases, including Microsoft Dataverse, to transform data into visual reports and insights for your company. The tool uses a customizable dashboard that allows you to gather all the data you need in one convenient app.
Microsoft provides Power BI’s services to both desktop and mobile devices, allowing professionals to keep track of relevant data from anywhere at any time. They also offer results based on your role, so you can filter out unnecessary data and only get reports on the analytics relevant to your job.
Power Virtual Agents: Intelligent Chatbots
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Microsoft’s former Power Virtual Agents AI service merged into Microsoft Copilot Studio to centralize their own AI-powered features and services.
Like other low-code app development tools from Microsoft, Copilot Studio uses an intuitive visual interface that allows professionals to build and create chatbots that take full advantage of generative AI technology.
With it, you can provide 24/7 customer service using natural language to answer frequently asked questions or solve common issues faster and more efficiently. The Copilot Studio AI can also help automate tasks and provide insights on analytics using Power Automate and Power BI integrations.
Free App Development Tools
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Even though most of Microsoft’s services require a paid license, they also offer free app development software and resources within the Microsft Power Platform.
Microsoft has a Developer Plan, an app-building software free of charge focused on using the Power Apps tool to build and create solutions for your company without the need to code anything.
You can also use a free trial license for the Microsoft Power Platform by following their guide. With it, you get limited access to several features and systems, including Microsoft Dataverse.
Microsoft offers more than just free app development software, though. They built a Power Platform community to incentivize people to ask questions and help each other through a point system.
Power Platform templates offer a compilation of pre-built template solutions to speed up your low-code app development journey. They have several customizable templates for apps, workflows, and reports with varying layouts depending on your needs.
More often than not, you can find an existing solution for your business through free templates and customize it to your needs using Microsoft Power Platform no-code tools.
Career Opportunities in the Low-Code/No-Code Space
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Specializing in no-code and low-code app development has its advantages, career paths, and opportunities. Let’s look at the Microsoft Power Platform developer jobs and salaries you can find today.
Job Roles in the Power Platform Ecosystem
The current IT job market has a shortage of developers. But you don’t have to be an expert or even know several programming languages to get started. Low-code and no-code have their share of the Power Platform developer jobs, and we’re here to share some of the best with you:
● Power Platform Developer: Build and maintain the various Microsoft Power Platform tools and services, optimizing existing features and creating new ones.
● Power Apps Developer: Create and develop solutions for businesses using Power Apps, Microsoft Dataverse, and configuring integrations with other systems.
● Citizen Developer: Use low-code and no-code tools to develop, optimize, and automate business solutions without extensive IT knowledge.
● Power Platform Architect: Focus on designing and implementing Power Platform solutions while ensuring the infrastructure supports scalability, performance improvements, and data security.
● Power Platform Consultant: Share knowledge and expertise to guide, train, and manage other professionals in implementing Microsoft Power Platform solutions in optimal ways.
● UI/UX Designer: Design and improve Microsoft’s low-code app development tools interface by building new prototypes based on user research and usability tests.
Earning Potential and Career Growth
The Microsoft Power Platform has a sizeable earning potential with many career growth opportunities. Let’s take a look at some Power Platform developer salary ranges:
● Power Platform Developer Salary Range: $127k/yr to $216K/yr from Glassdoor.
● Power Apps Developer Salary Range: $103k/yr to $158K/yr from Glassdoor.
● Citizen Developer Salary Range: $103k/yr to $162K/yr from Glassdoor.
● Power Platform Architect Salary Range: $195k/yr to $320k/yr from Glassdoor.
● Power Platform Consultant Salary Range: $159kyr to $290kyr from Glassdoor.
● UI/UX Designer Salary Range: $97kyr to $165K/yr from Glassdoor.
So if you’re asking yourself, “Is Power Platform a good career choice?” then the answer is definitely yes. With the right combination of skills and Microsoft certifications, you can grow your career and steadily increase your salary.
Demand for Low-Code Skills and Rapid Application Development
The rapid growth of the IT industry requires that businesses keep up with the fast pace of expansion. However, there aren’t enough qualified developers on the market to meet the current demand.
Low-code and no-code developers bridge the skill gap by providing developer services that fulfill business needs without requiring several years of coding knowledge, experience, or advanced IT degrees.
With limited IT knowledge and experience, you can make Power Apps into a viable and profitable career path with several job opportunities at your disposal due to the high demand and low supply of professionals.
Check out available job opportunities right now and start your low-code/no-code career today.
Learning Resources for Microsoft Power Platform
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Microsoft offers several learning resources to help train and guide professionals to succeed in their career paths.
Microsoft Power Platform Certifications
There are several certifications to help you get qualified to work on Microsoft Power Platform tools. Note that most are intermediate-level and some are even advanced, so be prepared before you consider taking these courses:
● Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals
● Microsoft Power Platform Developer
● Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect
● Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant
● Automating Administration with PowerShell
Online Courses and Training Programs
Learning Paths from Microsoft offers a customized experience to make learning their products easier and more intuitive. Let’s take a look at some beginner ones for each of their tools:
Microsoft Power Platform
● PL-900: Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals
Microsoft Power Apps
● Create a canvas app in Power Apps
Microsoft Power Automate
● Automate a business process using Power Automate
Microsoft Power BI
● Create and use analytics reports with Power BI
Microsoft Copilot Studio
● Get started with Copilot for Microsoft Power Platform
Open-Source and Free Resources
The internet has a vast library of open-source, no-code app builder tools and websites, both paid and free. We chose the best free tools for you to start developing right now.
● Budibase offers an open-source, free plan to use their drag-and-drop tool to build and create without using any codes.
● Bubble has an AI-powered no-code development platform free of charge. They integrate AI into the building process to streamline development, along with several templates to speed it up even more.
● Softr allows integration with several databases and spreadsheets to build custom no-code apps for your company. And you can get started right now completely for free.
You can also check out curated lists of resources to fit your needs on GitHub:
● Low-code/No-code Resource List
● Low-code-only Resource List
● Microsoft Power Platform Resource List
Conclusion
While venturing into the IT industry might look daunting at first, the low-code and no-code resources and tools offer a simple entry-level alternative to welcome anyone into the development world. And you can get started right now with any of the free tools or learning resources available.
It’s your turn to use everything we just showed you to join the ever-growing job market for developers and start your career. Explore new job opportunities for Power Platform today!
