Keynote: The Future is Low-Code: Navigating the Power Platform in 2024

Did you miss the Low Code No Code Microsoft Power Platform Conference 2024? Check out my keynote on-demand!

Low code solutions are changing the way we create applications and are empowering everyone from business users to pro developers to create apps and automations faster! In this keynote, Microsoft MVP Vlad Catrinescu will cover some of the key numbers of the Microsoft Power Platform in 2024, talk about the impact of Copilot on how we create apps, because let’s be honest, it’s not a Microsoft event if we do not mention Copilot , and finally show you some real life examples of why it’s so important for everyone to learn the Power Platform (and not just rely on AI to build everything for us!)

Resources:

Video Summary

• Massive Demand for Apps: By 2028, the world will need 1 billion new applications. Traditional app development methods won’t suffice to meet this demand, highlighting the need for faster, more efficient approaches like low-code platforms.
• Changing Development Process: The old way of developing apps, involving lengthy processes and multiple handoffs, is being replaced. Now, business users can create apps directly using low-code platforms, reducing the need for extensive developer involvement.
• Power Platform’s Versatility: Microsoft Power Platform stands out because it covers a wide range of needs from no-code to pro-code, integrating various tools like Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and more, all under one roof.
• Copilot’s Role: Copilot is a significant investment by Microsoft, designed to assist in creating and enhancing apps, flows, and reports. While it’s a powerful tool, it still requires users to have a foundational understanding of the Power Platform to use it effectively.
• Skilling Opportunities: Microsoft offers free applied skills certifications for various aspects of the Power Platform, encouraging users to validate their expertise and stay competitive in the evolving tech landscape.

For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!

Video Transcript

Is the future really low code? Let me talk to you about the low code opportunity. I’ll start with a very interesting number from an IDC study in April 2024, which states that the world will need 1 billion new applications by 2028. Wow, that’s a huge number, and that’s in less than four years. Honestly, I think that is very doable. However, we cannot achieve that number if we create apps the same way that we have always done it. The expectation of the user of what an app should be, the user experience, the intelligence of it, and most importantly, how fast an app goes from an idea to becoming a reality—all of that has changed. Where taking four months to create an app was just the norm before, and if the user interface wasn’t that great, it was okay; it was V1. But the user expectation has changed.

If we look at the way that it was all done before, and honestly still is in many organizations, of course, it all starts from an idea or a business need where we say we need an app for a specific reason. This will then kick off a lengthy process where, first of all, the business users will tell a business analyst what they want the app to do. Then the business analyst documents their requirements they understood from those meetings and gives it to the devs. Then the devs start working on the app. We then wait a couple of months, and we have an app that might or might not be what the users wanted. Before, the app was fully coded from scratch in a framework that might become technical debt after a while, and any update that we do to that app will require a team of developers to create a ton more code to make any updates to the app. That is the process that we have followed for decades to create any application.

I stole this slide from one of my good friends at MVP, Gkonos Shifi, and I’m sure many of you have already seen this formula: E = MC². But I’m sure that many of you don’t know what it means. It means that error is more code squared. The more code you have, the more chances for errors that you have. Even if your developer tells you that, “Hey, it works on my machine,” or actually, wait, we’re in the Power Platform in the cloud now, so we need to change that a bit: “It works in my dev environment.” That is the Power Platform dev excuse. But the more code you have in an application, the more complicated it is, and the more chances you have for errors in that application.

But back to our process. What if we change the process again? We need the app, so the same trigger, but the business user can now create it directly without any code and by using a simple interface that allows them to create a nice user interface, integrate with many data sources, and then start using the app right away. Only reach out to a developer if they need to. By default, don’t go to the dev; that should not be your default option. Only go to the dev, only bring it to the next level if you absolutely need to. But most of the apps today can be done by the business user without any developer involved. I just want to make it clear, I come from an IT professional background, so developer jokes are mandatory. But if you’re a developer, let me say it right away, we will always need developers. Forget all the people saying that AI will replace developers. Dev will always be needed, and to be honest, low code will make your job better.

Let me explain it to you. When everybody moved to the cloud about 10 years ago, all the headlines were, “We won’t need IT professionals anymore. We moved to the cloud, we won’t need them to manage servers, the IT pro job is dead, we’re in the cloud now,” and all of that. You wouldn’t believe the number of times that I heard that as an IT pro. But guess what? I’m still here and luckily busier than ever. Now, did my job change? Absolutely. Instead of working on very basic stuff like patching servers, I can now put more time into automating processes, working closer with security and governance, and my job as an IT pro got a lot more fun.

So, I’m not saying that the job is not going to change, but developers will always be needed. Believe me, developers are already embracing low code. According to the Forrester Total Economic Impact study of Power Apps in 2024, 89% of developers have spent at least some of their development time in the past 12 months on a low code platform. It turns out that it paid off. At least for developers using Power Apps, Forrester’s findings indicate that professional developers, so pro dev, cut their application development time by 50% using Power Apps Premium. For an organization with 200 developers, the efficiency gain is like adding 100 extra developers to meet demands, which is purely amazing.

But really, other than the last slide, we never really mentioned any Microsoft tool. Everything I talked to you about could be achieved in theory with any low code platform. So, why should you focus, why should you learn the Microsoft Power Platform? First, let’s take a look at some industry reports. While I know that not everybody is a fan of them, I will use the Gartner Magic Quadrant. But give me a minute before you tune out, because I’m sure I’ll show you something different than what you’re expecting.

There are actually three reports I want to look at. The first one is the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Low Code Platforms, in which Microsoft finished as a leader only last month in October 2024. It’s not top in either completeness of vision or ability to execute, but it’s up there. We then have the Magic Quadrant for Analytics and Business Intelligence, where Power BI really is far away from the competition. They did amazing in that one. Finally, the Magic Quadrant for Process Mining, where Microsoft is a leader but not necessarily the top one again.

So, wait, I’m here telling you that Microsoft is the best in the world, but in two out of the three graphs, Microsoft is not the top leader. That might seem a bit weird, but what I want you to focus on for a second is look at the competitors. How many competitors do you see in all of the three Magic Quadrants? Do you see any of them that did better than Microsoft in more than one? So yes, it might not have won all three, however, Microsoft is the only one that is a leader in all three.

I think that’s why Microsoft is the best, because the Microsoft Power Platform is the world’s most complete platform for developer productivity, covering everything from no code to pro code, from Dataverse to store data, Power Automate to automate processes, Power Apps to create apps, Power BI for reports and dashboards, Power Pages to create public websites, and Copilot Studio for custom AI agents. There is no other platform out there with the versatility and the abilities that the Power Platform has for someone to innovate while still working with the same vendor.

We have some vendors that are very good and very specialized in one thing, but do you really want, as a dev, to work with four different vendors that might each introduce breaking changes, different connectors, one allows you to connect to something, one doesn’t? Because everything is under one roof with Microsoft, any investment that Microsoft makes in one of them, you will benefit for all your different tools.

There’s a new connector, you now have access to it in Power Automate, Power Apps, and in Copilot Studio. This makes it so much easier for everyone, whether they use it as a no code platform or as a pro code platform, to learn one single platform and be able to enhance productivity across all workloads. I’m sure that in the Power Platform community, you felt it as well. I took this screenshot from the Power Platform Conference keynote in 2023 and 2024, and the Power Platform grew by 45%, from 33 million monthly active users last year to 48 million monthly active users. Believe me, that’s just the start.

Let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture here. There are over 320 million monthly active users on Microsoft Teams, meaning that they have a Microsoft cloud license, maybe a Power Automate or a Power Apps basic license, and they have the opportunity to start using the Power Platform to become more productive. So, there’s a potential of up to 280 million people that have a Power Platform license and they cannot wait to start using it. The impact you can have as a Power Platform expert is huge because there are so many organizations out there just waiting to see what they can do with it. Let me share with you a few more numbers to show you how the Power Platform is flourishing.

There are currently 5.8 million monthly active users on the Power Platform community sites. If you’re not part of it, go join it right away. If we talk about app-specific, Microsoft has shared that over 25 million users benefit from solutions built with Power Apps, while 6 million developers are using Microsoft Power BI at over 375,000 organizations. The Power Platform also now has over 1,400 connectors that work across multiple apps. Even if it’s a newer offering, over 50,000 organizations use Copilot Studio already. By the way, if you ever want those numbers in a nicer format, at the end of the keynote, I’ll share a nice link with you where you can download an infographic of the numbers I shared, but in a way prettier format.

To finish this part of the keynote, I want to really focus on something. Every time I go on LinkedIn nowadays, I see more and more openings for Power Platform experts as companies are looking for both full-time internal employees and consulting teams to help them make the most out of the Power Platform. The opportunity is there, it’s up to you to take it and embrace the future of low code. But before we’re done with the keynote, there’s one more thing we need to talk about, and that is Copilot.

Wow, it’s now been about 15 minutes without focusing on Copilot, probably the most amount of time in a Microsoft-related keynote that we didn’t just talk about AI. But let’s be honest, it’s not a Microsoft event if we don’t talk a bit about Copilot. Before we dive deeper, I need to change something. Give me a second. Ah, there we go, now it’s better. Now I can talk about Copilot and cover it properly.

First thing I want to tell you is that you wouldn’t believe how many people I know that say Copilot is just the flavor of the month and it will eventually be not as important. But believe me when I say that Copilot is a huge investment by Microsoft and it’s here to stay. What I like to tell people is that we need to remain smart and not only rely on Copilot because as amazing as it is, it’s not perfect.

Our Power Platform skills will come essential in many cases. If you’re looking for some numbers, there are actually over 480,000 organizations that use Copilot in the Power Platform. If we look at Power Automate, 30% of flow authors are now using Copilot in the cloud flow designers. As you can see, Copilot is not yet used by 100% of organizations yet, but given that it hasn’t even been out for a year now, the progress and how fast the adoption started, those numbers will only grow.

Why do you want to use Copilot in the Power Platform? Copilot for Power Platform really has two main goals. First of all, make it easier for makers to create apps, flows, websites, and reports. Second, make it easier for makers to add artificial intelligence capabilities to their apps, flows, websites, and reports. With over 170 sessions coming up in the next 24 hours, I don’t want to go super deep into demoing all the functionalities, but I will answer the question: Do we still need skilled Power Platform professionals if we have Copilot? Let’s go find out with some examples.

Okay, so I jumped into the Power Automate maker portal, and of course, as soon as we go to the homepage, we have Copilot right here. So let me go ask it to start an approval when a new item gets added to a SharePoint list. Quite an easy thing to do for my Copilot. Let’s click on generate. Of course, Copilot will look at it and try to give me a flow based on what I said. Great, so I see when an item is created in SharePoint, start and wait for an approval, and then I have a condition. Awesome, this looks pretty good. Let’s click on next. Over here, it will make sure that I have a connection to all the different connectors in the flow. That is amazing. Let’s create the flow. Awesome.

Now I just want to make sure that the invalid parameters are good, so let me go here and select my Power Automate demo site just to make sure that we don’t have too many invalid parameters. What is this one? Huh, interesting. If you take a look over here, and this is the important thing, whenever you use Copilot, it will do exactly what you tell it to do. So you see here, for the approval type, it said approve and reject, but that’s not really a valid approval type. So if I remove it, you see, first of all, I need to say approval reject, everyone must approve, first respond, or sequential approval.

So I need to select the proper one, and this is where I say that it’s important to still have Power Platform skills. I’ll just put some random stuff in here just to make sure that I don’t have any errors, and then let’s see how we can continue working with Copilot. But so far, it did a great job, but it still had errors inside, so it’s important for me as a Power Platform professional to know what Copilot can do. But also, whenever it has, and I don’t want to say the word hallucinations just because, you know, in case AI and robots take over in 20 years, I want AI to remember me as one of the nice ones, so I don’t like to say that Copilot has hallucinations, but let’s say that Copilot can get creative sometimes when it looks for parameters. Let me ask it a different question here. I will ask it to find the manager of the person that created the item in SharePoint and assign the approval to them. Pretty easy stuff. You can see that Copilot updated this action, started waiting for an approval, and then added the get manager action. You know what? This looks pretty good. So let’s go into get manager. So it took the body author email. Let me see, is that the correct one? Let me go to created by email. What is the actual code in here? Actually, it looks like it took the good one. I didn’t double-check, but something to look into. Perfect, it added the mail of the manager. It did great on that one. So you see, it was pretty good at changing my flow with what I requested. That is awesome, but we’re still missing something. You see, I have the condition here, and then I have the true and false. So what I want to do is add an email to the person who created the SharePoint item with the outcome of the approval. So let’s see if it’s able to change the condition and then add some emails. Oh, interesting, it updated the get manager here, probably because I added a second one. Or no, let’s take it off. That was my bad. Don’t blame Copilot on that one. It also updated the condition if the outcome is equal to approve. That is good. Send an email here to the email approval outcome. Your approval request has been approved. Awesome. And then here, your approval request has been rejected. So you see, Copilot did some mistakes on that initial flow creation, but after that, it did an amazing job to keep going and updating my flow. So honestly, it did amazing. And of course, as a maker, I need to know what are the best ways I can use Copilot. So I can ask it, for example, describe what this flow does step by step, use a bullet point for each action. Let’s be honest, we all hate documentation, so having Copilot document this for us is just amazing. You see, it says, hey, this flow triggers when a new item gets created in a specified SharePoint site, retrieves the manager email of the item author. So it really documented the flow for me. But you need to still be careful, and you still need to learn how to talk to Copilot. So if I do a test here, document this flow for me, just ask it like that. Let’s see if it’s able to. You see, right now, it was not really able to do it. So when I said document this flow for me, it just told me how I can create my documentation myself, but that’s not what I wanted, Copilot. I wanted you to do the work and not me. So there is definitely a learning curve in learning what prompts work best with Copilot. So if ever you start using it and you don’t really get the results you want, don’t hesitate to try again. There are some prompts that work really well, some prompts that maybe should work but don’t really work, so definitely some experimenting to go there. And what we’ve seen in the demo and what I wanted to show you is that Copilot is awesome. It can help us with so many different things, but it’s not perfect. So even for a basic approval flow, it was not able to help me as a user without any Power Platform knowledge go in and create a very simple flow. And this is why we still need Power Platform professionals, and this is why it’s so important for you to learn how to use the Power Platform, learn the basics, learn how to do everything yourself, and then use Copilot to help you be more productive on certain things. But you cannot just use Copilot without knowing anything about the Power Platform. And talking about skilling, did you know that Microsoft offers four free Microsoft applied skills that you can take to prove your knowledge in the Power Platform? And I mean 100% free, take from home anytime you want, everything. And you have an applied skill for Power Automate, one for Power Apps Canvas Apps, one for Model-Driven Apps and Dataverse, and a brand new one on implementing AI models with the Microsoft Power Platform and the AI Builder. So really, whatever your Power Platform specialty is, I challenge you that after you listen to some of the amazing sessions at the conference today and for the next 24 hours, why not challenge yourself and go take a free Microsoft credential and prove not only to your customers and employers but also to yourself that you are a skilled Power Platform professional. And on this, I just want to say a huge thank you for listening to this keynote. If you scan the QR code in the slides, you’ll have access to the infographics I mentioned, and it would, of course, be a pleasure to connect with all of you on all the different social media networks.