Microsoft Power Platform, Build Apps, Automate Workflows, Analyze Data, Extend with AI
Tag: Microsoft
Microsoft Power Platform Summary, Technical Evolution by Year & Career Involvement
Microsoft Power Platform is an enterprise-grade, low-code platform that allows organizations to build applications, automate workflows, analyze data, and create AI-powered virtual agents. It natively connects to Microsoft 365, Azure, and Dynamics 365, serving as a core pillar of modern digital transformation.
Core Pillars
- Power Apps: A low-code development environment for building custom, cross-platform business applications (Canvas or Model-driven) without writing traditional code.
- Power Automate: An automation service enabling the creation of workflows, API-based integrations, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for legacy systems.
- Power BI: A business analytics service that provides interactive visualizations and business intelligence capabilities with an interface simple enough for end users to create their own reports and dashboards.
- Power Pages: A secure, enterprise-grade low-code software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for designing, configuring, and publishing external-facing websites.
- Microsoft Copilot: AI-assisted generative capabilities natively built across the platform, allowing users to build apps, write flows, or generate reports using natural language.
Foundational Technologies
- Dataverse: A secure, cloud-based data storage and management layer featuring a standardized common data model, allowing disparate Microsoft tools to seamlessly share information.
- Connectors: Over 1,000 pre-built wrappers that facilitate communication between the Power Platform and external services (like Salesforce, SQL databases, or REST APIs).
- Power Fx: A low-code, strongly-typed functional programming language based on Excel formulas that serves as the logic layer across the platform.
Technical Evolution by Year
The Power Platform did not launch overnight; it evolved through the gradual introduction of several standalone tools before Microsoft formally unified them under one umbrella.
2013–2015: The Origins of Data Analysis & Logic
- 2013: Power BI is initially released as an add-in for Microsoft Excel, allowing users to build pivot tables and light analytics.
- 2015: Power BI transitions into a standalone cloud service. Concurrently, Power Apps enters public preview, introducing the low-code app paradigm.
2016–2017: Workflow Automation
- 2016: Microsoft Flow (the predecessor to Power Automate) is launched to handle cloud-based workflow automation.
- 2017: Common Data Service (now Dataverse) is introduced to provide a standardized, secure data layer.
2018–2019: The “Power Platform” Unification
- 2018: Microsoft officially unifies Power BI, Power Apps, and Microsoft Flow under the official name “Microsoft Power Platform”, introducing the formal concept of a connected, low-code business ecosystem.
- 2019: The Common Data Service gets deeper integration across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365, accelerating citizen development across large enterprises.
2020: AI and Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
- 2020: Microsoft launches AI Builder, allowing users to integrate pre-trained AI models (like form processing and object detection) directly into their apps and workflows.
- 2020: Softomotive is acquired, bringing RPA (desktop flows) into Power Automate.
2021–2022: New Additions and Expanded Web Presence
- 2021: The Common Data Service is officially rebranded as Microsoft Dataverse.
- 2021: Power Fx is introduced as the standard, open-source low-code language.
- 2022: Power Apps Portals is rebranded and expanded into Power Pages, creating a dedicated, robust tool for building external-facing websites.
2023–2024: The Generative AI Wave
- 2023: Microsoft embeds generative AI across the suite through Copilot. Users begin building data tables, applications, and automation flows entirely through conversational prompts.
- 2024: Power Platform deepens its integration with Microsoft Fabric and brings further enterprise-grade management, data governance, and AI agent orchestration features directly into Dataverse.
2025–2026: Agentic Computing and Modern Controls
- 2025: Power Platform evolves beyond standard applications and automations into “agentic computing.” Makers can build autonomous, AI-driven data agents directly within Dataverse using the Python SDK.
- 2026: Power Apps rolls out massive updates to its interface, deploying responsive layouts and modern controls as default settings. Advanced lifecycle management and process-mining features cement the platform’s role in modern fusion development.
My Recent MS Power Platform Involvement :
UK Gov : Cloud Migration (Hybrid) – In 2020, working as a Senior Project Manager on a client sponsored Agile proof-of-concept (POC) project to move 3 Client elected Apps (with MS Access, Oracle and SQL 2008 DBs), to the Cloud (Microsoft Azure and Dynamics365 Power Platform). The migration to the cloud was based on 3 primary app patterns namely; re-host, re-platform and re-factor. This project spanned approximately 3 months and started in early February 2020 with a budget of £375k.
The project was a pre-cursor and effort indicator for the larger piece of migration work to move 130 client estate apps to the cloud. This is a very complex app estate with many touch points and different technology stacks.
As the Capgemini Senior PM, responsible for the project planning, control, organisation, stakeholder communication, aligning with current GDPR directives and status reporting against delivery of Capgemini services to the client. As the PM, also the first escalation point for the project team and the client.
Microsoft Excel Project Backlog template & Work in Progress WIP
A Microsoft Excel project backlog template is a prioritized, centralized list of all pending work—features, user stories, bug fixes, and tasks—that need to be completed, often used in Agile, Scrum, or Kanban frameworks to manage team workload and project scope.
Key Columns for an Effective Backlog Template
To create a detailed backlog, the following columns are essential for tracking, prioritizing, and assigning work items:
- ID / Task Number: A unique identifier for each item (e.g., P-001, P-002) for easy referencing.
- Item Name / Title: A concise title describing the task or requirement.
- User Story / Description: A detailed description of the work, often in the format: “As a [type of user], I want to [action], so that [value]”.
- Type: Categorizes the work (e.g., Feature, Bug, Improvement, Technical Debt).
- Priority: Defines the order of execution, typically Rank (1, 2, 3), High/Medium/Low, or MoSCoW (Must-have, Should-have, Could-have, Won’t-have).
- Status: Indicates the current stage of the item (e.g., Backlog, To-Do, In Progress, Testing, Done).
- Assignee / Owner: The team member responsible for completing the item.
- Story Points / Effort Estimate: An estimated size of the task (e.g., using Fibonacci sequence: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8…).
- Acceptance Criteria: Specific conditions that must be met for the item to be marked as “Done”.
- Target Sprint / Release: The planned iteration or release version in which the task is scheduled.
Example Structure for MS Excel Project Backlog
This structure can be implemented in a simple Microsoft Excel sheet, enabling filtering and sorting by priority or assignee.
Detailed Overview of Functional Features
- Drop-down Menus (Data Validation): Use these for “Status,” “Priority,” and “Type” columns to maintain data consistency.
- Conditional Formatting: Automatically color-code rows based on status (e.g., “Done” turns green) or priority (e.g., “High” turns red) to visually identify bottlenecks.
- Formulas: Implement formulas to calculate total story points or project completion percentage.
- Filtering: Use filtering on column headers to immediately view specific categories or an assignee’s workload.
Related Agile Templates in MS Excel
- Sprint Backlog: Contains only items selected from the main Product Backlog for the current 2-4 week sprint.
- Kanban Board View: Organizes the backlog into vertical columns representing stages of workflow (Backlog, In Progress, Done).
- Burndown Chart: Uses data from the backlog to plot remaining work hours over the course of a sprint.
……….
Project Work in Progress or WIP
A Work in Progress (WIP) template in Microsoft Excel serves two primary purposes depending on your industry: operational task tracking for project management or financial reporting for construction and contracting.
1. Essential Columns for Operational WIP (Project Management)
This format focuses on day-to-day task execution and risk management.
- Task / Activity: Clear description of the work being done (e.g., “Design Phase Sign-off”).
- Owner / Assigned To: Name of the person or team responsible for the task.
- Due Date: The critical deadline for task completion.
- Status: Current state of the task, typically using a dropdown menu for “Not Started,” “In Progress,” “Blocked,” or “Complete”.
- % Complete: A numerical value (0–100%) providing granular visibility into progress.
- Priority: Categorisation of importance (High, Medium, Low) to help teams focus on critical items.
- Notes / Blockers: Documentation of risks, dependencies, or reasons for delay.
2. Essential Columns for Financial WIP (Construction/Contracting)
This format bridges financial data with project completion to calculate earned revenue and billing accuracy.
Advanced Template Features
- Status Dashboard: A summary section at the top of the sheet displaying overall project health, risks, and budget status.
- Data Validation: Using dropdown lists for the “Status” and “Budget” columns to ensure consistent data entry.
- Conditional Formatting: Using color-coded indicators (Red, Yellow, Green) for at-risk tasks or budget overruns.
- Freeze Panes: Locking the header rows so they remain visible while scrolling through long task lists.
Microsoft Excel Project Backlog template & Work in Progress WIP
……….
Summary of ‘Project Backlog’ columns in Excel
- ID / Task Number
- Item Name / Title
- User Story / Description
- Type
- Priority
- Status
- Assignee / Owner
- Story Points / Effort Estimate
- Acceptance Criteria
- Target Sprint / Release
……….
Summary of (Project Management) ‘Operational’ Work in Progress (WIP) columns in Excel
- Task Activity
- Owner / Assigned To
- Due Date
- Status
- % Complete
- Priority
- Notes / Blockers
……….
Summary of (Construction / Contracting) ‘Financial’ Work in Progress (WIP) columns in Excel
- Contract Data
- Cost Tracking
- Forecasting
- Progress
- Revenue
- Billing
- Variance
……….
End> Microsoft Excel Project Backlog template & Work in Progress WIP
Microsoft Power Platform Development Timeline Overview
Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of low-code tools designed to help organizations analyze data, build custom solutions, automate processes, and create AI-powered agents. It enables both professional developers and “citizen developers” (business users) to rapidly build end-to-end business applications that integrate with the broader Microsoft Cloud ecosystem.
Core Product Areas
The platform consists of five primary applications:
- Power BI: A business analytics tool for data visualization and interactive reporting.
- Power Apps: A low-code development environment for building custom web and mobile business applications.
- Power Automate: A service for workflow automation and robotic process automation (RPA).
- Power Pages: A platform for creating and hosting secure, external-facing business websites.
- Copilot Studio: A graphical tool for building and customizing AI-powered agents and chatbots.
Underlying Capabilities
The platform’s strength lies in its shared infrastructure:
- Microsoft Dataverse: A secure, cloud-scale data store that provides a common data model for all Power Platform apps.
- Connectors: Over 1,000 prebuilt integrations that allow apps to communicate with external data sources like SAP, Salesforce, and Google Analytics.
- AI Builder: A capability that allows users to add AI models (e.g., sentiment analysis or object detection) to their apps and flows without writing code.
- Power Fx: A low-code, strongly-typed programming language used for expressing logic across the platform.
The Microsoft Power Platform has evolved from individual components like Power BI and Power Apps into a unified suite, now heavily integrated with Copilot and AI.
Origins & Early Growth (2013–2018)
- 2013: Power BI is first released as an Excel add-in before becoming a standalone service in 2015.
- 2015: Power Apps enters public preview as a low-code tool for building business applications.
- 2016: Microsoft Flow (now Power Automate) is launched to provide workflow automation across apps and services.
- 2018: The term “Microsoft Power Platform” is officially introduced to unify Power BI, Power Apps, and Flow.
Expansion & Rebranding (2019–2022)
- 2019: Power Virtual Agents is added to the suite for creating no-code chatbots. Microsoft Flow is rebranded as Power Automate.
- 2020: Launch of Power BI Premium per user and the Dataverse (formerly Common Data Service) rebranding.
- 2021: Power Fx, an open-source formula language based on Excel, is introduced as the standard language across the platform.
- 2022: Power Pages is launched as the fifth standalone product for building secure, low-code business websites.
The AI & Copilot Era (2023–Present)
- 2023: Integration of Copilot across all Power Platform products, allowing users to build apps, flows, and reports using natural language.
- 2024: Introduction of Timeline Highlights in Power Apps to provide AI-generated summaries of record activities.
- 2025: Microsoft announces the retirement of the Power Apps per app plan (January) and ends support for contact tracking in the Dynamics 365 App for Outlook (October).
- 2026: The 2026 Release Wave 1 begins (April–September), focusing on deeper Role-based Copilot offerings and enhanced security agents.
The Microsoft Power Platform originated from Microsoft’s effort to democratise data and app development by evolving its existing business tools into a unified low-code ecosystem.
Origins and Evolution (2003–2015)
The platform’s roots trace back to early business solutions that were eventually merged into the modern suite:
- Dynamics CRM 1.0 (2003): The foundation for what became the Microsoft Dataverse (formerly Common Data Service), providing a secure relational database.
- Project Siena (2013): A “garage project” at Microsoft aimed at building web apps without professional coding tools. This project eventually became Power Apps.
- Power BI Launch (2015): Originally “Project Crescent” for SQL Server, Power BI was the first of the modern “Power” services to be delivered, entering preview in January 2015.
Expansion and Formalisation (2016–2019)
Microsoft transitioned from individual tools to an integrated platform:
- Power Apps and Flow (2016): Power Apps and Microsoft Flow (later renamed Power Automate) became generally available in November 2016.
- Common Data Service (2016): Introduced to provide a shared data platform across Dynamics 365 and the new “Power” tools.
- Official Branding (2018–2019): The term “Microsoft Power Platform” was officially established as an umbrella brand for the suite of tools. In 2019, Microsoft Flow was rebranded to Power Automate to align with the platform’s naming convention.
Modern Era and AI Integration (2020–Present)
The platform has shifted toward “AI-first” development and expanded its core pillars:
- New Components: Power Virtual Agents (now Copilot Studio) and Power Pages (for external websites) were added to the core lineup.
- Acquisitions: Microsoft acquired Softomotive (2020) and Minit (2022) to bolster Power Automate with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and process mining capabilities.
- Generative AI: Recent updates have focused on integrating Copilots across all products, allowing users to build apps and automations using natural language.
Microsoft Power Platform Development Timeline Overview
Centiun Microsoft Business Applications and AI Specialists
Website: https://centiun.com
Centiun Overview
Centiun is a British IT services consulting company and Microsoft Partner, helping enterprise public and private sector organisations achieve digital transformation excellence through the Microsoft cloud.
We specialise in Microsft Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Micrisoft 365, delivering expert consultancy, solution architecture, implementation, and managed services that enable organisations to modernise operations, improve service delivery, and unlock greater value from their technology investment.
From CRM transformation and business process automation to secure collaboration, data-driven decision making, and AI enabled innovation, Centiun supports customers to build smarter, faster and more resilient ways of working.
Our approach combines deep Microsoft expertise with a practical focus on outcomes – designing and delivering solutions that are scalable, compliant, and tailored to the needs of complex organisations.
Whether you’re starting your digital journey or optimising an existing platform, Centiun is your trusted Microsoft for long-term transformation and support.
Website: https://centiun.com
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/centiun/
Email: info@centiun.com
Is Microsoft MS Project Desktop (offline) app being retired?
No, Microsoft Project desktop is not being retired. It remains the “gold standard” for complex project scheduling and will continue to be supported and available for purchase.
To purchase example MSP MPP Microsoft Project plan templates, click here.
Confusion often arises because Microsoft has announced the retirement of several related cloud-based and web-based services. Here is the current status of the Microsoft Project ecosystem:
Products Being Retired
- Project Online: This service will officially retire on September 30, 2026. After this date, Project Online environments and data will no longer be accessible.
- Project for the Web: Retired as a standalone brand and was fully merged into the new Microsoft Planner in 2024/2025.
- Project/Roadmap Apps in Teams: These were retired in August 2025 and replaced by the unified Planner experience.
Products Staying Active
- Project Desktop (Project Professional/Standard): Not impacted by the cloud service retirements. You can still use it to manage
.mppfiles locally or connect it to alternative backend systems like Project Server SE. - Project Server Subscription Edition (SE): This on-premises/self-hosted version will remain supported through at least 2031. It is the recommended migration path for organizations that want to keep the “Project Web App” (PWA) interface without using the retired Project Online cloud service.
- Microsoft Planner: Now serves as the primary cloud-based project management tool, absorbing the features of Project for the Web.
Key Dates for Project Online Users:
- October 1, 2025: End of sale for new Project Online subscriptions.
- April 2, 2026: SharePoint 2013 workflows (which many Project Online users rely on) will be retired.
- September 30, 2026: Full shutdown of Project Online.
Plan on a Page POaP example templates (30+) in Microsoft PowerPoint PPT available at website link in banner…
Plan on a Page POaP example templates 30+ in Microsoft PowerPoint PPT available at website link in banner…
PROject Templates 