In 2019, Microsoft created Power Apps Portals, and it remains one of the best features of Power Apps for three reasons:
- Power Apps Portals are an extension of Dynamics 365 Portals, which Microsoft previously offered as add-ons to customer engagement apps. These add-ons were inward-facing, so only the people in your organization could view your websites. Power Apps Portals, however, has outward-facing capabilities so you can share websites with people outside your organization. Customers, vendors, investors, you name it.
- Power Apps Portals are easy to use. External users can log in to your websites via Microsoft or LinkedIn or browse your sites anonymously. You set this all up through the Microsoft D365 custom self-service portal.
- Power Apps Portals are more cost-effective than Dynamics 365 Portals. Previously, you had to get a license for each of the customer engagement apps you used. Now, Microsoft issues licenses based on usage. (A “capacity-based license.”) So you only pay for the amount of data you store.
Since 2019, Microsoft has made Power Apps Portals even better with an incredible range of new features and customization options, including time-saving templates, improved search capabilities, and a better custom portal designer. In this new guide for 2021, learn the benefits of creating your own custom portals.
Contents
- What are Power Apps Portals?
- Benefits of Power Apps Portals
- Why You Need a Power Apps Partner
- Final Word
Get more from Power Apps Portals when you work with Dynamic Consultants Group. This Power Apps Portals consultant creates enterprise-level applications that reduce workloads, optimize workflows, and expedite automation in your organization. Get a free Dynamics 365 project assessment or schedule a Teams meeting to build your first custom portal now.
What is Power Apps Portals?
Power Apps Portals is a feature of Power Apps, part of the Power Platform, that lets organizations like yours create and share websites with external users. These users view your websites in one of three ways:
- Anonymously
- Via a LinkedIn or Microsoft (or Microsoft Azure Active Directory) account
- Via a login provider of your choice
Concerned about security? Don’t be. Power Apps Portals lets you incorporate various industry-standard protocols (WS-Fed, SAML2, OpenId Connect, etc.) into the login process.
Benefits of Power Apps Portals
Engage With External Users
Power Apps Portals is one of the easiest ways to share content with external users. Use portals to:
- Showcase products and services to customers.
- Share sales and financial data with shareholders and investors.
- Post content that informs and entertains your audience.
Build Websites With a Dedicated Custom Portal Designer
Power Apps Portals lets you build websites to share with external users. That means customizing your websites so they “face outward” and improve the user experience for people outside your organization. You can do all this with the dedicated custom portal designer:
- Basic theme options let you create new websites in minutes. Microsoft groups these theme options by color, making it easy to select a style that reflects your brand’s visual identity.
- Create new themes by scratch. Customize colors, text, graphics, and other website elements.
- Whether you create a portal from a theme or by scratch, there’s little coding involved, so you can develop custom portals with no development experience. Most features don’t require any code whatsoever. Just use the drag-and-drop feature to select elements.
Create Multiple Websites
With Power Apps Portals, it’s easy to create multiple outward-facing websites to fulfill different objectives. Here are some examples:
- Create a custom website that attracts investment from other companies. You can showcase a new product and share the content with a trusted group of investors.
- Create a custom website about an exclusive service and share it with your most valued customers. Only these customers will have access to your website.
- Create a custom website about a new product you intend to develop and share it with your suppliers. Use your website to negotiate deals with a trusted group of suppliers in your niche.
Customize Your Website With Microsoft Services
The great thing about Power Apps Portals is the incredible customization opportunities available to your organization. Integrating the platform with various Microsoft services lets you optimize portals and improve experiences for both internal and external users. Customization options include:
- Document management in SharePoint
- Power BI integration (access real-time data insights about portals and the external users that visit them)
- Enhance portals with model-driven charts
- Improve cloud integration with Iframe components
- Other integrations with Microsoft products and services
Still Engage With Internal Users!
People assume that Power Apps Portals is solely outward-facing, but this isn’t true. You can still create websites for internal users — all those people within your organization. Use portals to share:
- Critical business information with employees
- Sales data and other insights with managers
- Content that improves performance and productivity in your organization
Get a free Dynamics 365 project assessment and discover the benefits of working with a Power Apps Portals consultant like Dynamics Consultants Group.
Why You Need a Power Apps Partner
Although Power Apps Portals requires little code, working with a partner like Dynamic Consultants Group provides your organization with many benefits:
Integrate Data From All Your Systems
Dynamic Consultants Group helps you create complex integrations that move data from all your systems to your Microsoft D365 custom self-service portal so you can create enterprise-level websites without breaking a sweat. Less downtime. Less hassle. Just seamless integration from experienced Dynamics 365 experts.
Create Dynamic Websites That Wow Visitors
The enormous number of features on Power Apps Portals might intimidate some users. That’s where a consultant comes in. Dynamic Consultants Group has an incredible knowledge of the Power Platform and can select the features and integrations that provide your organization with the most value. The result? More dynamic websites that boost engagement and connectivity.
Full Dynamics 365 Consulting
Revolutionize your workflows with Dynamics 365 consulting and ongoing support from Dynamics Consultants Group. Not only will you get more value from Power Apps Portals, but you can supercharge your entire customer service, marketing, sales, and business intelligence workflows with other products in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Final Word
Incorporating Power Apps Portals into your organization improves experiences for employees, customers, suppliers, vendors, investors, and more. You can create dynamic enterprise-level websites with little code and integrate various Microsoft services into your portals for better engagement, connectivity, and performance. Working with a Power Apps Portals partner provides your organization with additional benefits.
Do you want to create enterprise-level applications that impress customers, clients, vendors, suppliers, investors, and more? Dynamic Consultants Group is the No.1 Power Apps Portals partner with a broad range of consulting and support services that power your team. Schedule a Teams meeting and build your first custom portal now!
