Power Platform advisory, uncensored

Microsoft low-code expertise since 2005. Delivered by Jukka Niiranen, a recognized thought leader in the Dynamics 365 and Power Platform community.

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Power Platform Advisory Explicit Insights

Making sense of Microsoft business apps is hard

It’s not too difficult to find answers on “how can I do X with Microsoft product Y” these days. The web is full of content that the search engines and AI bots will happily serve you in their responses.

What is much more challenging is knowing if you’re even asking the right questions to begin with. Does it actually make sense to try and do X with Y? Is it what Microsoft designed this tool for, or would Z be a better option? What cost impact will using Y have? How will you secure the data in your solution?

There’s never been more tools available from Microsoft’s cloud for solving your business problems. Tomorrow there will be even more – and some tools will be renamed or “reimagined”. Keeping up with these is a full-time job.

The rise of low-code means that a growing share of apps and automations inside Microsoft 365 tenants will be built by business users instead of professional developers. As they should be. But who’s looking after the environment where they build in & how they build?

Let me guide you

I have worked in the Microsoft ecosystem of Dynamics business apps and Power Platform low-code solutions for almost two decades now. I’ve written 300+ blog posts worth of analysis on how this technology has evolved over the years.

As a result, I have gained unique perspective on why things work the way they do. I have also developed a good hunch on what’s the future direction of related MS technologies.

Explaining where you are now, planning where you should go, and guiding the journey there. That is what I do best.

More about me

Areas of expertise

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01

Low-code governance

The key requirement for succeeding with Power Platform tools is taking ownership of the platform. Microsoft has developed comprehensive admin tools for setting up the necessary guardrails for safe & scalable development of apps and automations.

However, someone needs to know what those tools are & how to apply them in the real world. I have been down that road many times.

02

Microsoft licensing

This isn’t Azure where you are paying for compute resources used. It’s also not Microsoft 365 where most things are bundled into a single subscription per seat.

Everyone agrees: MS BizApps licensing is complex. It is also a logical challenge that I thoroughly enjoy tackling. You shouldn’t be scared of the Licensing Guides – let me help in deciphering them.

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03

Solution architecture

Low-code apps on the Microsoft stack can be simple one-click screens. Or, they can be massive enterprise Dynamics 365 systems.

All these solutions share the common platform. I have designed and implemented apps across this whole spectrum, from the early days of CRM to the modern days of Power Apps. I have also seen solutions built by many others, giving me perspective on what works where. (Yes, it always depends…)

04

AI and apps security

Did you know that the custom agents in Microsoft Copilot are built on top of the Power Platform? Now, instead of building apps, every user is simply generating AI agents!

Combining low-code with LLM opens up amazing opportunities – also for malicious actors. Understanding the new attack vectors and security implications is to me the most intriguing part of AI in the business context.

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Leverage my expertise

What does “explicit insights” actually mean?

I like to tell things the way they are. Both what works & what doesn’t. Because I’ve got nothing to hide.

I believe the most precious currency in this world is trust. Honesty and transparency are the best way to cultivate it.

There are always many sides to a story. In the space of technology marketing, we tend to be bombarded with message tailored for the benefit of the tech vendor.

I try not to take sides. It’s easier to keep it real when you don’t need to remember what is & isn’t allowed.

NEWSLEtteR

My Perspectives on Power Platform

I write a weekly newsletter covering Microsoft’s low-code and AI technologies. You’ll find the full archive on perspectives.plus. Below are a few examples of recent articles.

Browse all issues
  • A year of Perspectives
    Writing a weekly newsletter for one year has been a journey indeed. One thousand hours later, what have I learned about the tech world that I cover — and myself?
  • Headless business apps and generative UI
    Text-based chat won't be the only interface for AI. Combining the "GenUI" ability of LLMs with structured data from existing apps via MCP could become a winning formula.
  • Agent 365 makes sense & is not enough
    Microsoft is doubling down on its key strengths in the enterprise with the "control plane for AI agents". This is a better commercial story than M365 Copilot, yet it alone won't make agentic AI secure.
  • Trying to live with code
    With helpful AI assistants everywhere, we are running out of excuses to not write code. Here are my experiences on what removing this boundary means and what we should think about before letting AI write code for us.
  • App Builder: apps without the Power
    Power Apps promised a "no cliffs" experience for business apps development. Copilot agents promise to generate code with AI and… then what? How do we take it further?
  • You can always Export to Excel
    Are you concerned that users could grab data from your business app into a spreadsheet? Here's why you can't just flip a switch and disable that in Dynamics 365 or Power Apps.

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