Insights

One standout session from Microsoft Ignite 2024 featured the Digital Team sharing strategies for managing Power Platform environments at scale. Their governance approach effectively balances user empowerment with security management, addressing an issue I know many of our customers grapple with.

Microsoft’s Lianne Zelsman demonstrated how she applies these tools to oversee Power Platform implementation across 55,000 environments.

By employing a group-based approach, environments are segmented into three categories:

1. Personal productivity
2. Team collaboration
3. Enterprise development

This framework establishes a clear system for managing environments based on their risk level and purpose.

Recent updates to Power Platform, such as advanced connector policies, the new security centre with compliance overviews, and environment-specific guest access controls, add practical tools to simplify governance while keeping data secure.

These tools, combined with the Power Platform Well-Architected Framework’s pillars of reliability, security, and performance efficiency, provide clear guardrails. This approach enables low-code productivity and citizen development while maintaining a resilient and secure environment.

The framework, officially launched in May, has quickly evolved to make best practices more actionable and accessible. From workload assessments to continuous improvement recommendations, it equips organisations to manage both enterprise-scale governance and individual maker empowerment effectively.

For collaboration and enterprise applications, the Power Platform delivers robust Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) tools that enhance resilience, control, and governance. Deployment pipelines streamline the automated movement of solutions across development, test, and production environments, ensuring consistent and reliable deployments. Integrated approval workflows support systematic review and authorisation of changes, maintaining compliance and quality standards. Additionally, tools like the Power Platform Build Tools for Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions for Power Platform automate common build and deployment tasks, supporting CI/CD practices and improving efficiency.

The ALM Accelerator for Power Platform further simplifies ALM processes with a user-friendly canvas app interface that integrates with Azure Pipelines and Git source control. This enables makers to export components, create deployment requests for review, and streamline collaboration between developers and governance teams. Collectively, these tools ensure that changes are systematically reviewed, controlled, and deployed in alignment with business requirements while enhancing operational resilience.

The recently published 2024 Forrester Total Economic Impact™ of Microsoft Power Platform report highlights the platform’s business impact, showcasing a three-year ROI of 224% and a payback period of less than six months. Benefits include a 25% average time savings for impacted employees, $14.8 million in operational cost savings, and $15.4 million in topline revenue growth due to faster time-to-value. These findings underscore how Power Platform is not only transforming workflows and automations but also driving measurable financial and operational efficiencies for enterprises.

Ready to Take Your Power Platform Governance to the Next Level?
The insights from Microsoft Ignite 2024 showcase significant advancements in Power Platform governance. Now’s the time to explore how these strategies can benefit your organisation.

Our Chamonix Power Platform experts are to help you leverage the latest tools and best practices for a more secure, efficient, and scalable Power Platform implementation.

Ready to empower your team and keep your digital transformation on track? Contact us today to get started!

Source: The Total Economic Impact™ Of Microsoft Power Platform, https://ignite.microsoft.com/en-US/home