Get ready to take your business to the next level with Microsoft Power Platform! With four core products—Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Virtual Agents plus two essential add-ins, AI Builder and Power Pages—Power Platform gives you all the tools you need to succeed in today’s digital world.
Additionally, with the highly anticipated 2023 first release, Power Platform is set to deliver even more game-changing features and enhancements across all its applications. Whether you’re looking for advanced capabilities for governance and administration, pro-development, ISV experiences or data integration, Power Platform has got you covered. So why wait?
Discover the endless possibilities of Microsoft Power Platform and see what it can do for your business here!
1. Power BI
With the latest enhancements from the 2023 first release for Power Platform, Microsoft is taking Power BI to the next level. For individuals, there are exciting new features that enhance the creation experience, including the Power Query diagram view, which brings more parity on the web so you can work more efficiently.
And for teams, Microsoft is streamlining your workflows and enhancing your multitasking capabilities, so you can work with your data seamlessly no matter where you are.
i. Automated Migration to Power BI Premium from Azure Analysis Services
Thanks to Microsoft first release this year, you can now migrate from Azure to Power BI Premium automatically. With Azure Analysis Services and Power BI datasets sharing the same advanced Power BI engine, Microsoft has created a superset of this industry-leading platform.
Unlike comparable functionality available in Azure Analysis Services, the full set of Power BI workloads, features, and capabilities represent a modern, cloud-born business intelligence platform that’s the perfect choice for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve.
Plus, you can experience increased performance and reduced management overhead, coupled with a lower price point when you opt for the Power BI Premium subscription.
General availability from April 2023
ii. Improve Collaboration With Teams Meeting Integration in Power BI Pro
Revolutionise your Teams meetings and presentations with Power BI’s new seamless integration! With the modern work environment requiring up-to-date information and relevant data to make informed decisions, it’s no surprise that so many organisations turn to Power BI in Microsoft Teams.
And with this 2023 first release feature for Power BI, you can make your meetings more collaborative and productive, giving users access to the data they need, exactly when and where they need it.
Power BI’s new in-meeting experiences for Microsoft Teams bring a range of exciting features to your fingertips. With the Power BI tab added to your meetings, you can effortlessly add content, like reports, ensuring that all attendees have access to the information they need to make informed decisions.
And that’s not all. With new experiences that make it easier to find reports quickly, organise reports for attendees, and present those reports during meetings, collaborating has never been simpler. Now, more people can use data to make decisions and find relevant information that supports their objectives.
Public preview from July 2023
iii. Personalise Reports for Each Recipient With Paginated Report Email Subscriptions
Say goodbye to generic report emails and hello to personalised, customised reports with the new paginated report email subscription feature. Now each recipient can receive a unique copy of the report, tailored to their specific needs.
No more sorting through irrelevant information or trying to filter out what doesn’t apply to you. For every paginated report that uses parameters to filter data, you can now specify which parameters should be applied for each email subscriber.
What’s more, you can easily define a mapping between recipients and single or multiple parameters right in Power BI. Whether you need to send out sales reports to your team or keep your managers up to date on inventory levels, everyone can receive a personalised report with the exact data they need to make informed decisions.
Public preview from September 2023
2. Power Apps
Introducing the new and improved governance capabilities from Microsoft 2023 first release for Power Apps, designed to help organisations reduce risk and increase productivity.
Whether you’re a seasoned maker or a novice developer, you’ll find the low-code capabilities and modern app-building experiences to be highly effective. Plus, the modernisation of web and mobile experiences ensures that all users enjoy fast and seamless app experiences, no matter where they are.
With the 2023 first release for Power Apps, onboarding is a breeze, and scalability is a snap. It is now easier for organisations of all sizes to leverage the power of low-code to achieve their goals.
i. Foster Collaboration by Coauthoring With Other Developers
Enhance the way your team works together with the coauthoring feature in the modern model-driven app designer. With this cutting-edge functionality, multiple makers can collaborate seamlessly, editing the app simultaneously and seeing real-time changes.
This feature empowers both professional developers and citizen developers to work together, resulting in a stronger, more collaborative team. By breaking down the barriers between technical experts and business domain experts, you’ll be able to build more robust apps that meet the unique needs of your organisation.
So, avoid the delays and headaches of traditional development methods and harness the power of coauthoring. With real-time collaboration, you’ll save time and boost productivity, all while creating high-quality apps that drive business success.
General availability from April 2023
ii. Automated Addition of Table Columns to Forms and Views for Improved Efficiency
Tired of manually updating your forms and views every time you create a new table column in Microsoft Dataverse? Worry not because with just a few clicks, you can now update your forms and views on the fly.
This new feature lets you add table columns to selected forms and views through the table designer and table hub, streamlining the entire process. In the model-driven app designer, you can easily configure what table columns to add to the forms and views for the table.
And the best part? This feature will be automatically enabled for all makers when it becomes generally available. So, embrace a more efficient and streamlined way of app development!
Public preview from April 2023 | General availability from May 2023
iii. Do More With Less Using Drag-and-Drop Feature to Build Responsive Pages
Creating apps that work seamlessly across different devices is crucial in today’s world, where people use multiple devices. With this new drag-and-drop feature for responsive layout containers, you can now create apps that adapt to different mobile devices with even greater ease and flexibility.
Forget the days of tedious manual layout configuration for a responsive app experience! You can now easily add and rearrange controls within the responsive layout designs and resize them as needed, all directly on the authoring canvas. This streamlined process ensures that you can quickly create apps that look and function beautifully across different devices, saving time and effort.
General availability from September 2023
iv. Improved Appearance and User Experience in Model-Driven Power Apps
The updated user interface for model-driven Power Apps is here to help makers create stunning apps that delight their users with beautiful controls and experiences.
This feature includes new layouts, fonts, colours, and other elements that align with Microsoft’s open-source resources and cross-platform design system. Not only will your apps look visually appealing, but they will also be accessible and high-performing for all users.
With the updated user interface, your model-driven Power Apps will stay up-to-date with the latest design trends and deliver a seamless user experience. So, give your users something to rave about with the latest developments in Microsoft 2023 first release for Power Apps.
General availability from April 2023
3. Power Pages
Businesses today need agile solutions that empower both low-code makers and professional developers to rapidly create websites that drive innovation and growth. That’s why Microsoft is releasing new and improved features for Power Pages in its 2023 first release.
With new features and solution templates available in the Design Studio, makers can easily build and customise their applications to meet their unique needs.
Administrators can also rest easy knowing that their Power Pages sites are fully secured and governed. Plus, users can enjoy modern web and mobile experiences that are both fast and easy to use.
i. Leverage Cloud Flows With Power Pages for Easy Data Sharing
Power Pages is now integrating with Power Automate to make automation easier than ever before.
With this new feature, you can securely call cloud flows using an API from your web pages. This means you can trigger Microsoft-provided connectors on demand from events in Power Pages, with the ability for bi-directional data exchange. Best of all, you can configure security and authorise specific cloud flows to keep your data safe.
Moreover, you can streamline your business processes and integrate with external applications effortlessly. Don’t miss out on this powerful new tool to revolutionise your workflow.
Public Preview from May 2023
4. Power Automate
The new capabilities from the 2023 first release for Power Automate simplify creating flows, even for new users. By describing flows in natural language and introducing work queues, users can automate tasks more easily than ever before. Additionally, simpler connectivity to desktop flows eliminates the need for additional installations, streamlining the process and saving valuable time.
i. Use Natural Language for Flows Creation
Power Automate brings you flow parameters that are pre-filled for you, making authoring natural language flows easier than ever before.
Gone are the days of manually configuring your flows from scratch. With this new feature, Power Automate does the heavy-lifting for you by automatically filling in the values for the required configuration parameters. Simply describe the flow you want to create using natural language, and let Power Automate take care of the rest!
Save time, minimise errors, and streamline your workflow with innovative pre-filled parameters. Get started today and experience the convenience of natural language flow authoring like never before.
Public preview from April 2023
ii. Define sequential approvals in Power Automate
Elevate your team’s productivity with a new feature that makes approval workflows within Microsoft Teams and Power Automate flows more organised. Experience the capability to establish multiple levels or stages in your approval workflows and assign approvals to specific users.
This feature enables you to define the order in which approvals should occur and what happens when someone rejects a flow. Once the necessary approvals have been given, the flow automatically advances to the next level or stage.
If an approval is denied, the flow is considered rejected and will not continue to subsequent levels. All approvers have visibility into the approval history at each stage, ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the entire process.
General availability from May 2023
iii. Benefit From the Native Excel Integration
Take your Excel experience to the next level by seamlessly integrating with Power Automate flows. With this feature, you can work more efficiently and automate time-consuming tasks with ease.
This integration between Excel and Power Automate allows you to create and run flows directly within Excel. No more jumping between applications or managing files in different places. With the Automate menu in Excel, you can access pre-built templates and get started with flow creation right away.
The process is simple and straightforward, with a guided template onboarding experience that helps you set up your flows in minutes. Plus, you can easily manage all the flows associated with the Excel file you’re currently working on. This feature streamlines your workflow and helps you stay productive without leaving Excel.
General availability from May 2023
5. Power Virtual Agents
Benefit from the full potential of conversational AI with Power Virtual Agents. The new unified authoring canvas from the 2023 first release for Power Virtual Agents is the ultimate solution for all your bot-building needs. These updates empower everyone, from subject matter experts to developers, to create powerful bots.
i. Trigger bot topics by events
Elevate your Power Virtual Agents bot’s functionality with advanced triggering capabilities that allow you to easily perform pre- and post-message processing logic. Whether you need to scan messages for sensitive data or store them in a central audit trail, this feature enables you to meet key business requirements with ease.
With advanced triggering for Power Virtual Agents bots, you can add custom processing logic at critical events in your bot’s flow. This includes the ability to trigger a topic using connectors, giving you unparalleled flexibility to meet your specific extensibility needs.
Whether you’re receiving or sending a message, this feature ensures your bot can perform advanced logic processing with ease, ensuring your business needs are met every step of the way.
General availability from May 2023
ii. Use Adaptive Cards to Enrich Conversations
Businesses today need engaging and interactive conversational experiences that deliver real value to their customers. With this year’s first release, Power Virtual Agents empowers bot authors to do just that by enabling them to create rich media content using Adaptive Cards.
Adaptive Cards offer bot users the ability to interact with custom-formatted data and manipulate visual content to meet their specific needs. With a set of pre-built templates, bot authors can easily design cards to display information, solicit user input, or provide navigation options within the bot. What’s more, bot interactions will also become more dynamic and engaging, allowing businesses to offer their customers a truly immersive experience.
General availability from May 2023
What’s Next?
These updates from Microsoft 2023 first release greatly enhance the capabilities of your Power Platform solutions. With so many global customers, Power Platform is increasingly empowering businesses to leverage low-code/no-code features to deliver the best services for both customers and the workforce. Find out what else the 2023 first release plan for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Power Platform has in store here.
Note
The features listed here are planned for release from April 2023 through September 2023. However, the delivery timelines may change. For more information, go to Microsoft policy.
