Imagine having the power to craft custom web experiences that look great but also function seamlessly across all user touchpoints—without needing to dive deep into the complexities of coding.
That’s the promise of PowerApps Portal: a low-code solution that empowers organizations to build external-facing websites and applications with ease.
With PowerApps Portal, the process of bringing your digital vision to life becomes more accessible and less time-consuming.
Plus, its seamless integration with other Microsoft products amplifies its appeal, enabling businesses to leverage their existing data and workflows in new and innovative ways.
But what if your project demands a bit more? More customization, more integration options, or perhaps a solution that’s tailored more closely to your unique business needs?
You will get answers to all your questions by the end of this blog. So, keep reading.
What is PowerApps Portal?
Microsoft offers PowerApps Portal as part of the Power Platform suite of products. It aims to provide organizations with a low-code solution for building and deploying external-facing websites and web applications.
It allows users to create custom web pages, forms, and dashboards that can be accessed by external users such as customers, partners, or even employees.
This enables organizations to extend the reach of their applications and services beyond their internal network.
Users can design and customize their web applications’ look and feel according to their branding guidelines.
They can choose from a variety of templates and pre-built components to quickly create functional web pages without the need for extensive coding knowledge.
PowerApps Portal also seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products, such as Dynamics 365 and Office 365. Thus, organizations can leverage their existing data and processes within their web applications.
One of the key features of PowerApps Portal is its ability to provide secure access to external users. Organizations can easily manage user authentication and authorization through various authentication providers such as Azure Active Directory or social media accounts.
This ensures that only authorized users can access specific content or perform certain actions within the web application.
Understanding Different Powerapps Portal Licensing and Pricing Options
Organizations can license Power Pages sites based on the monthly number of authenticated and anonymous visitors, either by purchasing user packs or utilizing a pay-as-you-go system.
User packs provide more predictability but may require the usage of all users even if not all of them are utilized, while pay-as-you-go allows for greater flexibility.
Microsoft also provides three levels of user packs, determined by commitment and a minimum number of users per month. You can check out current pricing by visiting their website.
Individuals without a specified identity have the ability to browse through the contents of the site but are restricted from utilizing certain features, such as editing or adding data to a Dataverse table.
Companies can acquire additional capacity for anonymous users in increments of 500, with a discounted rate based on the required capacity. An alternative pay-as-you-go choice necessitates an Azure subscription and incurs charges for each anonymous user visiting a site within a month.
Users who have been verified are required to log in using an identity provider that has been incorporated into the website. While each verified user may come at a higher cost compared to anonymous users, they are also granted access to extra features based on their authentication status.
Similar to anonymous users, a discounted pricing structure is in place for verified users, with the cost decreasing as more users are added.
In addition, individuals who are already licensed for other services, such as PowerApps per-user/per-app or Dynamics 365, and have been granted inherent usage rights for Power Pages are classified as internally licensed users. These users will not be counted twice when they access a site as an authenticated user.
Overview of CRMJetty Dynamics 365 Portal: An Alternative to Microsoft PowerApps Portal
In the search for alternatives to Microsoft’s PowerApps Portal, CRMJetty Dynamics 365 Portal offers a competitive edge with its comprehensive set of features designed for businesses aiming for higher customization and integration capabilities.
As a scalable and flexible solution, our portal enhances the digital experience for customers, partners, and employees alike, providing an intuitive platform for creating engaging and functional web applications.
Our portal caters to a diverse range of business requirements with its flexible page builder, configurable widgets, and seamless content management system, among other features.
This enables organizations to tailor their web applications to their unique branding and ensure a personalized user experience.
Here are some of the features of our portal to simplify your business workflow.
Flexible Page Builder: Design multiple sites, pages, or sub-grids using a drag-and-drop page builder or edit the site directly with the built-in code editor.
Configurable Widgets: Utilize ready-to-use standard design components and templates with custom data binding to create pages faster.
Design Layouts: Customize design templates, choose from multiple layouts, and define HTML classes and custom IDs to give the portal a personalized touch.
Seamless Content Management: Securely share data with customers in their chosen language based on their roles. Filter the content and display it in card format publicly and privately. Set different workflows.
Custom Dashboard: Customize the dashboard to simplify customer navigation. Set quick links to widgets like Recent Activity, Counter Block, etc., for any entity.
Configuration Management: Within minutes, configure an active CRM layout. Sync data for different environments. Reset and preserve data when switching to another CRM instance.
360° Entity Management: Manage all default entities in your CRM. Configure custom entities and build forms automatically, following parent-child entity relationships.
Enhanced User Management: Add users, and roles, and define user access rules for users.
Role-Based Access: Assign roles to various users. Let them access different entities and view data in the record and account-based hierarchy formats.
Mobile-Friendly: A fully responsive interface to work on any device.
Case Management: Let customers create, view, and track their cases.
Knowledge Base Articles: Build an extensive knowledge base to help customers find answers to their questions.
Page-Level Access Control: Manage page-level access permissions for all customers.
Flexible Third-Party Integrations: Including social login, PayPal, Stripe, and much more.
Limitation in PowerApps Portal Compared to CRMjetty Dynamics 365 Portal
Here are the key limitations of the PowerApps Portal when compared to custom portals like CRMJetty Dynamics Portal:
1. Limited Page Views and Logins: PowerApps Portal limits portal access, including fixed numbers of logins and page views per month. This can lead to cost uncertainty as a business grows, whereas CRMJetty offers unlimited logins and page views, making it easier to scale without worrying about additional costs.
2. Customization and Integration: PowerApps Portal offers limited customization options, only fetching CRM forms without allowing for customization. It partially supports integration with external systems. CRMJetty, on the other hand, allows for comprehensive customization of forms using a drag-and-drop and code builder. It also supports extensive integration with third-party systems, enhancing flexibility and functionality.
3. Payment Gateway Support: PowerApps Portal supports a single payment gateway (eWAY), while CRMJetty supports multiple payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe, offering more options for financial transactions within the portal.
4. Advanced Features and Workflow Customization: CRMJetty supports advanced field-level workflows, JavaScript, and CSS at the page level, and multiple users can access the admin interface simultaneously. PowerApps Portal, however, has limitations in these areas, such as only using predefined blocks for workflows, limited JavaScript support, and restrictions on simultaneous access for developers.
5. Cost-Effectiveness: CRMJetty’s pricing model is designed to be more predictable and cost-effective as a business grows. PowerApps Portal’s cost increases with the user base, which can significantly raise expenses as a company expands. CRMJetty offers up to 80% savings for larger user bases compared to PowerApps Portal, providing a more scalable solution for businesses focusing on growth and expansion.
6. Data Synchronization and Management: CRMJetty offers real-time data sync, whereas PowerApps uses caching, which might not be as efficient or up-to-date for dynamic data management needs.
Conclusion
Choosing between PowerApps Portal and CRMJetty Dynamics 365 Portal ultimately depends on your organization’s specific needs, budget, and long-term digital strategy.
PowerApps Portal offers a straightforward, low-code approach that integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products, making it an attractive option for those already embedded in the Microsoft ecosystem.
However, for businesses requiring greater customization, advanced features, and cost-effective scaling, CRMJetty Dynamics 365 Portal presents a powerful alternative.
CRMJetty stands out by offering unlimited logins and page views, extensive customization and integration capabilities, support for multiple payment gateways, and real-time data synchronization. These features make it an ideal choice for organizations looking to build highly customized web applications that can grow with their business.
Feel free to reach out to us for a customized demo at [email protected].
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