Is Powerapps for Office 365 the best solution? Organizations looking to build business process automation solutions on Microsoft Office 365 have to consider whether to use Power Apps or find a Power Apps alternative.
Our view here at Crow Canyon, after many years of working with Office 365, is that the preferred route is to go with a Power Apps alternative. Why? Let’s explore that question in this blog.
First, we often get feedback that Power Apps is hard to use, that it is difficult to get sufficient support, that the costs are low at first but quickly spiral upward, and that performance is lacking.
This feedback is from people who tried Power Apps due to Microsoft’s push to use its Power Platform (Power Apps is part of the Power Platform) but became dissatisfied once they started using it.
These frustrated users come to us looking for an alternative to Power Apps. They find their answer with our NITRO Studio.
Why? Because NITRO Studio is:
- Easy to use
- Fully supported
- Affordable with known costs
Also, Power Apps is just one component of the Power Platform. There is also Power Automate, Power BI, Virtual Agents, and Power Portals, all of which have their own pricing and training concerns. Building a solution requires cobbling together some or all of these other components, which adds more complexity and cost.
NITRO Studio, by contrast, is a comprehensive, full solution for business process automation. It includes forms, workflows, reports, bots, portals, and much more. It is a complete tool at a known price that delivers what is needed for creating applications on Microsoft Office 365 and Teams.
In addition, NITRO Studio runs in the GCC and the GCC High clouds. It is also available for SharePoint 2013, 2016, and 2019 (Power Platform does not run in SharePoint on-premises).
Let’s look at the users’ feedback in more detail:
Power Apps is hard to use
The saying is that “you don’t have to be a developer, but it sure helps!” Yes, with some effort, you can find your way around Power Apps. But it is not as simple as using a program like Word. It is more like building macros in Word or formulas in Excel with a touch of VBA thrown in. You have to study it and have something of a knack for that kind of “low code” programming. In addition, Power Automate and the other tools in Power Platform have their own learning curves, requiring further study and effort.
By contrast, NITRO Studio provides friendly, intuitive interfaces for building forms, workflows, reports, portals, and other elements of a true business process automation solution.
Support is insufficient
Microsoft is obviously a huge company with a massive user base. It cannot deliver the kind of personal, engaged support that a smaller company like Crow Canyon Software can. We work directly with our customers to resolve issues quickly. We incorporate feedback and continue to enhance NITRO Studio according to what our customers need. We provide the kind of responsiveness and engagement that can only be found in a smaller firm like ours.
Costs spiral upward
Office 365 comes with a “seeded” version of Power Apps at no extra cost. However, there are limits to what can be done with that version, such as no connector to SQL and only having canvas apps. Microsoft recommends subscribing, for additional costs, to the standalone version of Power Apps, which is priced per user and per app.
An app built in Power Apps may seem low priced at first, but once it goes into general usage, the costs can skyrocket. And the other tools in Power Platform have their own escalating costs, adding substantially to the on-going price of the solution. NITRO Studio, on the other hand, has a set price per Office 365 Tenant, which allows organizations to control their budgets and accurately predict lifecycle costs.
Our recent webinar, “Perspectives on Power Apps & NITRO Studio”, gives more in-depth insights into the Power Platform cost issues as well as other concerns.
Conclusion – better to find a Power Apps alternative
In future blogs, we will explore this question in more detail, covering such topics as the lack of Application Lifecycle Management with Power Apps, the concerns about App Sprawl, the impact on IT, and the need for governance so that the organization’s resources are used effectively and efficiently.
The goal is to find the right tool to accelerate business process automation in Office 365 and Teams. With the right tool, these platforms can be turned into important drivers of digital transformation and improved operations.
Microsoft offers the Power Platform, but it is important to consider if another solution, such as our NITRO Studio, better fits your needs. We, along with our many customers, certainly think it does!
Contact us for more information and a demo of NITRO Studio. #PowerappsForOffice365
