Microsoft Power Platform & Power Apps
About MS Power Platform & Power Apps
We are all under increasing pressure to make processes more efficient and boost productivity, and one obvious way to achieve this is through automation. The suite of tools (especially Power Apps and Power Automate) available within the A5 M365 license allow staff to create and automate some of their business processes without needing technical skills and coding knowledge, which makes them a very attractive and accessible option.
Governance
As with any technology, there are some risks that must be taken into account and mitigated. In order to ensure that any automations using the Power Platform meet the governance, data security & privacy, digital accessibility, licensing and support requirements, the below service options have been created. Each come with their own benefits and limitations, dependant on the types of automation required, desired audience and business criticality.
Additionally, any app developed using the Power Platform needs to comply with in line with the public sector bodies accessibility regulations.
Power Platform Service Options
Personal & Teams Productivity environments
Personal Productivity environments within the Power Platform enables the creation of non-business critical activities, processes, flows and automations for personal use. The creator is responsible for the development, maintenance and support of the automation - with assistance from the Power Platforms Community of Practice. These can be created with no additional costs.
Teams Productivity environments enables the same functionality as Personal Productivity, but allows for a automation to be shared within a Microsoft Team and accessed by all the members of that Team. Responsibility for the automation should be distributed across the owners of the Team, preventing a single point of failure
Both Personal and Teams Productivity have the following limitations:
- Usage by an individual or Microsoft Teams group
- Supported by the creator(s)
- Used specifically to enable or enhance the individuals or teams productivity and not asa business-critical service or app
- No 鈥淧remium Connectors鈥 that allow integration outside of Office365 (paid integrations)
- No access to the Dataverse, aside from the Dataverse within Microsoft Teams
- No use of model-based apps (i.e. Canvas)
- Limited to 80,000 API Calls per day
If you intend to use the functionality within Power Platform to enable automation for personal use or use within a Microsoft Teams group, this can be accessed independently and without DTS involvement, with the limitations listed above.
Premium Productivity environments
Premium Productivity environments are managed and maintained by DTS. These environments are used to develop, test and publish business critical Power Platform automations that may include the use of paid connectors. Depending on your requirements, these can be self developed with assistance from the Community of Practice or Power Platforms Support, or can be fully managed on your behalf.
Contact the to discuss the use of the Premium Productivity if any of the following apply:
Data/Information
- The data being processed is sensitive or confidential
- If the information being sent or shared would cause significant impact to the University if done so incorrectly
Impact
- Failure or downtime would cause business impact
- Other services rely on the Power Platform automation
Management
- You or your team are not in a position to develop, manage and support a new or existing Power Platform automation
Students
- The automation will interact with students
Premium Productivity has three tiers, each providing different levels of support, development and associated costs. For information on the types of services, please refer to the Service Description document Power Platform Premium Productivity.
Power Platform Community of Practice
The Power Platform Community of Practice (CoP) aims to foster a collaborative environment for members to share knowledge, best practice, and innovations related to Microsoft Power Platform. Additionally, it provides an internal forum to ask questions of the community and to stimulate ideas.
Membership is intended to empower individuals across the University to leverage Power Platform tools effectively and securely, thereby enhancing productivity, driving efficiency, and promoting continuous learning and professional development.
To request access to the Power Platform Community of Practice, please contact the .
Further Resources
DTS are not able to offer any training in use of Power Platform, but you might want to check out some of the LinkedIn Learning courses for Power Automate to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this technology:
Additionally, you can find guidance from Microsoft on the use of the Power Platform below:
Page created by lm920207 on 12/03/25
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- Telephone (External): 0118 378 6262
- Email: dts@reading.ac.uk