Why Power Apps Isn’t Always the Right First Choice

Recently, an organisation approached me asking for a new Power Apps solution. They already had several small, disconnected apps that supported Ordering, Projects, Inventory and Manufacturing—but each had been built in isolation, using different workflows, data structures and design patterns.

Their idea was to rebuild everything into a single Power App, using Dataverse as the central data store, with the goal of:

• Streamlining processes and eliminating duplicated data

• Providing a single, consistent user interface

• Improving security and permission management

On the surface, this seemed like a reasonable plan. But once I explored their existing processes more deeply, a few concerns became clear.

When a Power App Can Accidentally Reinforce Bad Processes

Their business rules were extremely complex, and in some cases not aligned with industry-standard best practices. If we rebuilt their system exactly as it is today, a Power App could unintentionally lock in these problematic patterns, making future improvements even harder.

In other words:
A well-designed app won’t fix poorly designed processes — it will just digitise them.

For some organisations, the right answer isn’t to recreate everything in Power Apps, but to step back and assess whether there is already a mature, best-practice solution available.

Many Organisations Share These Same Requirements

What this organisation needed wasn’t unique. In fact, most small-to-medium businesses with ordering, project, inventory and manufacturing needs typically benefit from established ERP systems — systems that already follow best-practice operational processes out of the box.

A software solution such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central could be used as a foundation. It delivers industry-standard processes for:

• Inventory control

• Project management

• Ordering workflows

• Manufacturing operations

• Financial Management

And importantly, once the core is stable and structured, Power Apps can then be used on top of it to customise the exceptions, extend workflows and create targeted tools for front-line teams.

So Where Do Power Apps Truly Shine?

Power Apps is an incredible platform — but it excels most when used for:

• Highly specialised business requirements

• Gaps not covered by off-the-shelf systems

• Enhancements that improve productivity

• Mobile-friendly tools for staff on the ground

• Extensions to ERP, CRM or SharePoint solutions

When paired with strong processes and robust core systems, Power Apps can add enormous value. But using it as the starting point for rebuilding an entire operational system can lead to higher long-term costs, unnecessary complexity and scalability issues.

Conclusion

Power Apps is best used to enhance, not replace, well-designed business systems. For organisations with broad operational requirements like ordering, inventory or manufacturing, an ERP such as Microsoft 365 Business Central provides the structured foundation they need. Power Apps can then extend that foundation to deliver flexible, user-friendly solutions tailored to the business.

Sometimes the smartest digital transformation decision is choosing the right platform before choosing the right app.