Power Platform Solutions
Automate processes, remove manual tasks and create powerful business applications without lengthy development projects.
Manual processes survive because nobody has time to fix them properly.
Every organisation has them: the spreadsheet that gets emailed around for approval, the paper form that gets rekeyed into three different systems, the report someone builds by hand every Monday morning. Individually each one seems too small to justify a development project, so they persist for years, quietly consuming staff time and introducing errors that only surface when something important goes wrong.
Power Platform exists precisely to close this gap — building applications and automations quickly enough that fixing a manual process is worth the effort. But the same low barrier to entry that makes it powerful also makes it risky when left ungoverned. We regularly find manufacturing and professional services clients with dozens of Power Apps and flows built by well-meaning staff, none registered with IT, some touching sensitive data through personal connections nobody has reviewed.
A manufacturer running an ageing on-premise ERP is a common example: staff build Power Apps to work around the ERP's limitations for stock checks or job tracking, because the ERP itself is too costly or risky to change. Those apps often become genuinely business-critical within months, at which point their lack of proper support, backup or access control becomes a real operational risk rather than a convenience.
Data loss prevention is the part most commonly missed entirely. Without a policy in place, a flow can be built that reads from a core business system and writes the output somewhere ungoverned, such as a personal cloud storage account, entirely within the rules of the platform because nobody has told the platform otherwise.
- Manual processes persisting because no single one justifies a full project
- Shadow apps and flows built without IT's knowledge or oversight
- Business-critical processes running with no backup or support plan
- No data loss prevention policy governing which connectors can combine
We build the automation and put the governance around it from day one.
We start by mapping the process itself, not the tool — understanding the steps, the approvals, the systems it touches and where the current version breaks down. This usually surfaces quick wins that weren't part of the original request, because the same manual handoff often exists in more than one place.
For the build, we choose Dataverse, SharePoint or a direct connection to an existing system based on where the application needs to be in twelve months, not just what's cheapest to start with. This avoids the common trap of building on a simple data source that then needs a costly rebuild once the app succeeds and scales.
Governance is set up alongside the build: environment strategy, data loss prevention policies, and a clear approval route for staff who want to build their own apps and flows. This lets citizen development continue — it's genuinely valuable — while keeping IT aware of what exists and where sensitive data is flowing.
We also document what's built in plain language, so if the person who created a flow leaves, someone else can understand and maintain it. Power Platform solutions built without documentation are one of the most common causes of a business becoming quietly dependent on a system nobody can safely change.
- Process mapped before any app or flow is built, not after
- Data platform chosen for where the solution will be in a year, not just today
- Tenant-wide data loss prevention policy applied before rollout continues
- Plain-language documentation so solutions aren't tied to one person
Everything in the engagement, set out up front.
A Power Platform engagement covering discovery, build, governance and handover.
Process discovery and mapping
Working sessions with the team who runs the process today to understand what actually happens, not just what the manual says.
Power Apps development
Purpose-built forms, dashboards and mobile apps designed around how your staff actually work.
Power Automate workflow design
Automated approvals, notifications and system-to-system data movement that removes manual rekeying.
Dataverse and data architecture
The right data platform choice for the solution's scale, security requirements and future growth.
Governance and data loss prevention
Tenant-wide policies controlling which connectors and data sources can be combined.
Citizen development framework
A lightweight approval and support process so staff-built apps stay visible to IT without killing initiative.
What you receive.
- Process map of the current manual workflow
- Solution design document (app, flow and data architecture)
- Deployed Power App or automated workflow
- Data loss prevention policy configuration
- Environment strategy for development, test and production
- Citizen development governance framework
- Plain-language support and maintenance documentation
- Handover training session for the process owner
Built for organisations that need the work done properly.
Departments running manual approval processes
Teams still routing expenses, holiday requests or purchase approvals by email or paper form.
Businesses working around a legacy ERP
Organisations whose core system is too costly to replace but too limited to meet current operational needs.
Organisations with shadow IT concerns
Businesses that suspect staff have already built apps and flows IT doesn't know about.
Teams wanting fast results without a full development project
Departments needing a working solution in weeks, not a six-month bespoke build.
What changes once the work is done.
What changes once processes are automated and governed properly.
Hours returned to the team each week
Manual data entry and chasing approvals is replaced with a workflow that runs itself.
Fewer errors from manual rekeying
Data moves directly between systems instead of being retyped by hand at each step.
Visibility over what's actually running
IT knows which apps and flows exist, what data they touch, and who owns them.
Reduced data leakage risk
Data loss prevention policies stop sensitive information moving to ungoverned destinations.
A supportable solution, not a personal project
Documentation and governance mean the app survives staff turnover.
A faster, cheaper alternative to bespoke development
Many processes are solved in weeks at a fraction of a full software development project's cost.
Why govern Power Platform rather than just build on it.
The productivity case for Power Platform is straightforward and well proven; the part organisations underestimate is the governance work needed to use it safely at scale. As a Microsoft security partner, we treat Power Platform as part of the same security conversation as identity, email and device management, not a separate low-code hobby project running alongside them.
This matters more, not less, as adoption grows. A single flow built by one enthusiastic member of staff is a minor risk; fifty flows across a business, built over several years with no oversight, is a genuine data governance problem that surfaces at the worst time — during a compliance audit, a cyber insurance renewal, or a data breach investigation.
We support businesses across Chesterfield, Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and London with both the initial build and the ongoing governance, because the two need to be planned together from the start rather than bolted on once a problem appears.
This work sits naturally alongside our Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 engagements, since the data these applications automate often lives in the same tenant, and getting the governance layer right once benefits every Power Platform solution built afterwards, not just the first one.
Questions we are asked most often.
What's the difference between Power Apps and Power Automate?
Power Apps builds the interface someone interacts with — a form, a dashboard, a mobile app for site staff. Power Automate builds the workflow behind the scenes, such as routing an approval or moving data between systems. Most useful business applications combine both: an app to capture information and a flow to act on it.
Do we need Dataverse or can we just use SharePoint lists?
SharePoint lists work fine for simple, low-volume use cases, but they struggle once you need proper relationships between data, row-level security or higher volumes of records. Dataverse costs more in licensing but avoids a rebuild later. We help you choose based on where the application is likely to end up, not just where it starts.
What is citizen development and why does it need governing?
Citizen development is when staff outside the IT department build their own apps and flows using Power Platform's low-code tools. It's genuinely useful — a warehouse manager can automate a stock check without waiting for a developer — but without oversight it leads to duplicated apps, ungoverned data connections and business-critical processes running on something nobody in IT knows exists.
Can Power Platform connect to our existing line-of-business systems?
In most cases yes, through standard or custom connectors to systems like SQL Server, Dynamics 365, SAP and common accounting packages. Where a system doesn't have a ready-made connector, a custom connector or a middleware layer can usually bridge the gap, though this adds development time worth planning for upfront.
How do we stop sensitive data leaking through a Power Automate flow?
Data loss prevention policies at the tenant level control which connectors can be used together, preventing a flow from, say, reading from a business system and posting to a personal email account. Very few organisations have these configured beyond the default, which is one of the first things we review.
Is Power Platform a replacement for proper software development?
For well-defined, departmental processes, often yes, and considerably faster and cheaper than a bespoke development project. For complex, high-transaction or customer-facing systems, it's usually better as a complement — automating the surrounding workflow while a proper application handles the core process.
How long does a typical Power Platform project take?
A single well-scoped app or automated workflow, such as an expense approval process or a site inspection form, typically takes two to six weeks from design to deployment. Larger solutions spanning multiple departments or replacing a legacy system take longer and are best delivered in phases.
Dynamics 365 business solutions
Connect the applications you build to a full business platform for sales, service and operations.
Managed IT services
Ongoing support for the wider Microsoft 365 tenant Power Platform runs on.
Case studies
See how we've helped organisations remove manual work and improve their security posture.
Got a manual process worth automating?
Tell us what it involves and we'll give you an honest view of whether Power Platform is the right fit and roughly what it would take to build.
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