Overview
Microsoft Power Platform is a collection of low-code tools that help you automate tasks, build applications, analyze data, and /or create AI-powered solutions without needing advanced programming skills. It is designed to assist staff independently and locally within their department or team solve business problems or disruptions. Power Apps solutions are configurable; use one or more applications combined to create business solutions for improving business processes, reducing repetitive work, and automating tasks that integrate with other Microsoft 365 applications.
Licensing Information
Licensing information on Power Platform app for students, faculty, and staff
| Application |
Students |
Faculty/Staff |
| Power Apps |
Included in UARK Account |
Included in UARK Account |
| Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) |
Included in UARK Account |
Included in UARK Account |
| Power BI |
(Basic) Included in UARK Account |
(Pro) Included in UARK Account |
| Power BI Premium |
Not Included |
Available for Purchase of a Premium License |
| Copilot Studio |
Not Available |
Available for Purchase of a Premium License |
| Power Pages |
Not Available |
Available for Purchase of a Premium License |
For purchasing a Premium Power App license, please use the Request Microsoft Desktop Software request button on the right to request Microsoft Power Platform applications. Workday worktag information is required on the request form for chargeback. Contact your department's financial contact for this number.
About Power Apps
Main use: Build custom web and mobile application for enhancing business processes.
Good for: Digitalize manual processes, replace spreadsheets and paper forms, and provide employees with easy-to-use web and mobile applications.
Common uses:
- Event registration forms
- Inventory management
- Inspection and audit checklists
- Leave and travel requests
- Department dashboard
- Approval processes
- Collecting data
Cost: Plan for faculty/staff is $201.60
Use the Request Microsoft Desktop Software request button on the right to request Power Apps Premium.
About Power Automate
Main use: Workflow automation.
Good for: Eliminate repetitive tasks.
Common uses:
- Create daily reminders
- Create a daily summary of Tasks
- Notify when a new file is uploaded to OneDrive or SharePoint
- Forward new Teams posts to Outlook
- Forward new emails to a Teams chat or channel
- Create a task in Planner from a Microsoft Form or Outlook email
- Start an approval process from a Microsoft Form submission
- Post a message on a Teams based on a trigger such as Planner Task completion
TIP: If you find yourself performing the same series of clicks every day, such as saving email attachments, notifying coworkers, updating lists, or requesting approvals, there is a good chance Power Automate can do it for you automatically.
Cost: Plan for faculty/staff is $95/year per user
Use the Request Microsoft Desktop Software request button on the right to request Power Automate.
About Microsoft Power BI
NOTE: Power BI has different tiers. Every UARK account has access to the basic Power BI. Faculty/ Staff have access to Power BI Pro. Departments are able to purchase a Premium license for their staff/faculty. The Premium license is for power users who are data engineers, data analysts, and data reporters.
Main use: Data analysis, reporting, and visualization.
Good for: Create, publish, and share interactive reports and dashboards.
Common uses:
- Replace state Excel report with interactive dashboards
- Build executive dashboards
- Track metrics
- Monitor budgets and expenditures
- Analyze survey results
- Visualize data such as enrollment, operational, or research
- Create self-service reporting for departments
About Microsoft Power BI Pro
Power BI Pro is used for data analysis, reporting, and visualization and allows users to create, publish, and share interactive reports and dashboards with other Pro users and collaborate in workspaces. Everyone who views shared content must also have Power BI Pro, unless Premium capacity is used.
NOTE: Power BI Pro is included with the Microsoft A5 Faculty license but is not included with the Microsoft A5 Student license.
About Microsoft Power BI Premium
Main use: large-scale or enterprise reporting scenarios
Good for: Engineering data flows and pipelines that merge multiple data sources into one (or multiple) interactive dashboards.
Cost: $55.13/year per user
Use the Request Microsoft Desktop Software request button on the right to request Power BI Premium.
About Copilot Studio
Note: Requires additional premium license.
Main use: Creating chatbots of AI-powered agents
Good for: Build conversational assistants that can be shared within your department and linked to shared cloud storage.
Common uses:
- Department / Team Frequently Asked Questions
- Just in time training for new employees
- Assist with university policies or compliance obligations
- Automate common requests or approvals
- Help locate documents, forms, or services
- Create a departmental virtual assistant
Use the Request Microsoft Desktop Software request button on the right to request Copilot Studio.
About Power Pages
Please note, though Power Pages is a great application within the Power Platform, all students, faculty, and staff already have access to SharePoint. The use of SharePoint modern pages and SharePoint cloud storage is a recommended substitute for Power Pages.
NOTE: Requires additional premium license.
Main use: Creating portals or data-driven websites
Good for: External users or customers to access self-service portals
Common uses:
- Service portal
- Registration portal
Use the Request Microsoft Desktop Software request button on the right to request Power Pages.