Microsoft Teams is the home for the modern workplace of the future

While using legacy systems, users previously had to jump between several different systems through a series of bookmarks or company portals. This constant switching can be incredibly disruptive. According to a June 2015 UC Irvine study, “The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress,” it can take upwards of 23 minutes for a person to regain productivity after such an interruption.

Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork

Microsoft believes Microsoft Teams is the home for the modern workplace of the future. Out of the box, Microsoft Teams brings together the most common tasks that employees need under a single roof, such as chats, meetings, calls, and the productivity suite of Office 365. By combining these together into a sole product, employees can avoid having to constantly switch between various contexts. Instead, they can spend their time within a single team or channel that effortlessly brings together all the relevant information in-context.

The Microsoft Power Platform can complement this hub

Not all tasks, however, can come fully formed out-of-the-box. There will always be business processes that are unique to a company that require tailored solutions. This is where the Power Platform can come in to fill those gaps.

With tools like Power Apps PowerBI and Power Automate, companies can build custom applications that can automate routine processes and supply a structure where there previously was none. And with Microsoft Teams, employees can use these custom apps all while taking advantage of the conversational nature of Microsoft Teams. This is a radical departure from the past, where productivity software like email lived separately from business applications. The days of constantly switching between various tools is over now that companies can integrate all these tools into a single channel in Microsoft Teams.

The different app modes in Microsoft Teams

There are fundamentally two different app modes within Microsoft Teams: tab apps and personal apps. Tab apps are by far the most popular use of apps within Microsoft Teams. They can be pinned at the top of a channel to provide quick access to a collaborative workspace for a team.

Personal apps, on the other hand, are applications that are specific to a single person. Typically, these are apps that the IT admin thinks that everyone in the company should be using. Instead of living within a channel or a conversation, they live in the app bar. Examples include time tracking, field service applications, and HR related apps. As of October 2019, only canvas apps are currently supported as personal apps.

The different types of apps in Power Apps

In Power Apps, there are three different types of apps: canvas, model-driven and portal. Each has a different set of capabilities to address different scenarios. Canvas apps use connectors to access data and services. To create a UI, a maker can start with a blank screen like an artist’s canvas and manually lay out each screen. This allows the creator to have complete control of the placement of controls on the canvas.

Model-driven apps, on the other hand, require a Common Data Service database and are built on top of the data modeled in that database environment. Model-driven apps materialize views and detail screens based on the data structure. Because of this, they offer users a more consistent look and feel from one screen to the next without much effort by the creator.

Prometix have developed business applications using Power Platform & MS Teams. Our consultants in Sydney & Canberra have developed Business Intelligence & Artificial Intelligence   solutions for customers.

As a Microsoft Gold certified partner, we have extensive experience in delivering Office 365 based records management-based solutions. We have Office 365 consultants in Melbourne & Sydney. For more information, please contact us from enquiries@prometix.com.au