Making Sense of Power Apps 2024 Updates: Key Features Explained

Do you keep up to date across Microsoft's 'What's new and planned for Power Apps'?

The latest wave of Power Apps updates is bringing exciting changes that will revolutionize how businesses operate and innovate. With new tools to build modern apps, leverage AI, and improve enterprise-scale capabilities, these features promise to boost productivity, streamline processes, and enable organizations to build powerful, scalable applications more easily.

Here are some of the key updates from the 2024 release wave and how they can benefit businesses:

1. Visualize and Work with Complex Data Using Copilot

Expected General Availability: September 2024 One of the most impactful features for businesses is the ability to visualize and work with complex data using AI-powered Copilot. This will make data manipulation more intuitive for users, allowing teams to extract insights and make decisions faster. Businesses can unlock the value hidden in their data, with Copilot offering real-time support to understand trends and opportunities, enhancing decision-making.

2. Bring Custom Copilots into Power Apps Canvas Apps

Expected General Availability: Ongoing (from July 15, 2024) With this feature, businesses can incorporate custom AI copilots into their canvas apps, enabling app makers to create personalized AI-driven experiences for their users. This opens doors for automating routine tasks and improving customer interactions, as these copilots can assist in app navigation, data entry, and even customer support, enhancing user engagement and productivity.

3. Collaborate in Real Time to Build Canvas Apps

Expected General Availability: December 2024 Power Apps will now allow teams to work together in real time on canvas apps. This feature is particularly valuable for organizations with distributed teams, as it enables seamless collaboration on app development, eliminating the need for constant back-and-forth or rework. Faster, more cohesive development will allow teams to bring solutions to market quicker, increasing agility.

4. Set Up and Create Pipelines in Power Apps Seamlessly

Expected General Availability: April 30, 2024 For organizations managing complex workflows, the ability to set up and create pipelines directly in Power Apps will be a game changer. This feature will simplify the process of managing app development and deployment at scale, ensuring smoother transitions from development to production environments. Businesses can build more reliable and scalable solutions with less manual effort, driving operational efficiency.

5. Connect Your Environment to Source Control

Expected General Availability: Ongoing (from September 2024) Power Apps is empowering businesses to integrate source control directly into their environments, which will help improve app quality and version control. This feature allows for better collaboration among development teams, ensures compliance with corporate governance, and reduces the risk of errors when building or updating apps. Businesses can now have greater confidence in the apps they develop, maintaining a high level of control over their digital assets.

Full List of New and Planned Features for Power Apps (April 2024 - September 2024)

• Use the Power Platform Environment Settings app – General Availability: November 2024
• Display AI-generated app descriptions in model-driven apps – General Availability: June 2, 2024
• Understand canvas apps functionality through code view – General Availability: October 2024
• Modernize maker experience security settings – General Availability: July 14, 2024
• Work together in real time to create canvas apps – General Availability: December 2024
• Quickly start an app when launching Power Apps mobile – General Availability: May 19, 2024
• Share a canvas app quickly with one-click – General Availability: September 2024
• Take advantage of improvements to Power Apps Studio – General Availability: September 2024
• Import msapp file in Power Apps – General Availability: September 2024
• Use the new capabilities of form fill assistance – General Availability: April 1, 2024
• Get help filling forms in model-driven apps – General Availability: April 1, 2024
• Visualize and work with complex data using copilot – General Availability: September 2024
• Review column suggestions from Copilot in model-driven apps – General Availability: October 2024
• Bring custom copilots into Power Apps canvas apps – General Availability: Ongoing
• Get field suggestions with Copilot in Power Apps – General Availability: June 2, 2024
• Set up and create pipelines in Power Apps seamlessly – General Availability: April 30, 2024
• Direct new makers to their own developer environments – General Availability: April 24, 2024
• Make direct calls to SQL Server stored procedures – General Availability: July 28, 2024
• Connect your environment to source control – General Availability: Ongoing
• Execute tests for Power Apps securely – General Availability: September 2024
• Manage your source code for canvas apps – General Availability: January 2025

As Power Apps continues to evolve, these features present immense opportunities for businesses to modernize their operations, improve collaboration, and leverage AI to enhance user experiences. Whether you're a small business looking to streamline processes or an enterprise aiming for large-scale app development, these updates can help you stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

Feel free to reach out if you'd like to explore how these features can be applied to your organization!

Kim Brian

Modern Applications and Power Platform Solutions Architect at Velrada .

Technical Consultant Helping organizations unlock the full potential of their Microsoft efficiency tools.

Feel free to share your thoughts or connect with me to discuss how you can prepare your organization for the future of data management!