Learning Microsoft Power Apps

Chapter 5. Determining Which Type of Power Apps to Make

As you learned in the previous chapters, model-driven apps and canvas apps are the two Power Apps options for building business applications. Each has unique features and advantages, so it is crucial to know which application is best for your organization.

The following are the considerations you have when designing an end-to-end business solution:

• How do I want the app to look and function?

• Should I use a canvas app, a model-driven app, or a combination of both?

• How will data be stored and retrieved from data sources?

• Where should I write business logic and store my data?

• Will I need to implement advanced features?

I’ll go over several factors and business use cases in this chapter to help you decide whether to use a canvas app, a model-driven app, or a combination.

When to Use Model-Driven Apps

As discussed earlier, model-driven apps are best suited for process-driven and data-dense business apps that let users quickly navigate between related records. Apart from that, you should consider the following factors when deciding whether to use a model-driven app.

Data Stored in Microsoft Dataverse

Where the data will be stored is the first concern that arises before building the application. There are two potential solutions:

• Set up an entirely new database and store data in Dataverse.

• Use the client’s existing database or any database other than Microsoft Dataverse, such as Oracle, SQL Server, Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft ...