Welcome to Power Platform
Microsoft Power Platform puts app-building, process automation, and website creation in the hands of everyday business users.
What is Microsoft Power Platform?
Think of Power Platform as a craft kit for business apps.
You know how you can build almost anything with LEGO bricks? Power Platform gives you pre-made building blocks — drag-and-drop screens, ready-made connectors to your data, and automation that runs on its own.
You do not need to be a programmer. If you can use Excel, you can build apps, automate repetitive tasks, and even create websites. Microsoft calls this low-code — you describe what you want, snap pieces together, and it works.
The three core services
Power Platform has three services you must know cold for the exam:
| Service | What It Does | Who Uses It |
|---|---|---|
| Power Apps | Build custom business apps with drag-and-drop | Business analysts, team leads, IT |
| Power Automate | Automate repetitive tasks and approvals | Anyone tired of manual steps |
| Power Pages | Create external-facing websites with forms and data | Teams that need public or partner portals |
All three share the same connectors, data layer (Dataverse), and security model. Build once, connect everywhere.
Meet the characters
Throughout this course, you will follow four people as they adopt Power Platform:
| Character | Who They Are | Power Platform Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 🎨 Priya Sharma | Marketing manager at Spark & Co (45 staff) | Canvas apps, connectors |
| 🏥 Carlos Reyes | HR coordinator at Greenleaf Health (200 staff) | Power Automate, approvals |
| 🔧 Aisha Patel | IT admin at Coastal Logistics (800 staff) | Dataverse, governance |
| 🏢 Tom Chen | Operations director at Summit Realty (120 staff) | Model-driven apps, Power Pages |
These scenarios anchor abstract concepts to real situations — exactly how the exam tests you.
Power Apps: build apps without writing code
Power Apps lets anyone build custom business apps that run on phones, tablets, and browsers.
There are two main types:
Canvas apps — You start with a blank screen and drag controls onto it, like designing a slide. You pick your data source, wire up the controls, and publish. Priya at Spark & Co built a campaign tracker in a single afternoon using a canvas app connected to SharePoint.
Model-driven apps — You start with your data model in Dataverse. The app generates screens automatically based on your tables, relationships, and business rules. Tom at Summit Realty uses a model-driven app for property management — he defined the tables, and the app built itself.
Canvas vs model-driven — when to pick which
Canvas apps are best when you want full control over the layout and user experience. Great for mobile-first apps, simple task apps, and front-line worker tools.
Model-driven apps are best when you have complex data with relationships, business rules, and role-based access. Great for case management, CRM-style apps, and anything with many related tables.
The exam loves asking you to pick the right app type for a given scenario.
Power Automate: stop doing things manually
Power Automate builds workflows that run on their own. Carlos at Greenleaf Health used to manually route leave requests to three different managers via email. Now a flow handles it — the request arrives, gets routed to the right manager, and Carlos gets notified when it is approved.
Three types of flows:
| Flow Type | Trigger | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud flow | An event (email arrives, item created, scheduled time) | Send a Teams message when a SharePoint list item changes |
| Desktop flow | User clicks “Run” or a cloud flow calls it | Automate data entry in a legacy desktop app (RPA) |
| Business process flow | Guides users through stages | Lead qualification pipeline: Qualify, Develop, Propose, Close |
Exam tip: Desktop flows and RPA
Desktop flows use Robotic Process Automation (RPA) — they record mouse clicks and keystrokes to automate legacy apps that do not have APIs. The exam may describe a scenario where data must be entered into an old system with no connector. The answer is a desktop flow.
Power Pages: websites for the outside world
Power Pages creates external-facing websites — portals for customers, partners, or the public. Tom at Summit Realty publishes a property listings site where buyers browse homes, submit enquiries, and schedule viewings — all powered by Dataverse data.
Key points for the exam:
- Power Pages sites can read and write Dataverse data
- You control who sees what with table permissions and web roles
- Sites support forms, lists, search, and authentication
- Copilot helps you generate entire page layouts from a description
The shared foundation
All three services sit on top of a shared foundation:
- Dataverse — the purpose-built data layer (tables, columns, relationships, security)
- Connectors — pre-built links to 1,000+ services (SharePoint, Outlook, SQL, Salesforce, and more)
- Copilot — AI assistance that builds apps, writes flows, and generates pages from natural language
- Power FX — the Excel-like formula language used across Power Platform
We cover each of these in the next modules.
How the pieces connect
Here is the big picture: Priya builds an app in Power Apps. That app stores data in Dataverse. When a new record is created, Power Automate sends an approval to Carlos. Once approved, the data appears on a Power Pages site that Tom manages. Aisha oversees the whole thing from the Admin Centre — setting up environments, data loss prevention policies, and user permissions.
Everything talks to everything through connectors and Dataverse. That is the real power of the platform.
🎬 Video walkthrough
🎬 Video coming soon
Welcome to Power Platform — PL-900 Domain 1
Welcome to Power Platform — PL-900 Domain 1
~10 minFlashcards
Knowledge Check
Priya needs to build a mobile app that lets her marketing team log campaign expenses on the go. She wants full control over the screen layout. Which type of app should she build?
Carlos needs to automate data entry into a legacy payroll system that has no API. Which Power Automate flow type should he use?
Which of the following are core services of Microsoft Power Platform? (Select TWO)
Next up: We will look at connectors and Dataverse — the data foundation that makes everything work together.