As a direct response to the global Coronavirus Covid-19, Microsoft have released a template for Power Apps. This will enable organisations to manage communications in a time of crisis, and help faciliate remote working. Its a tribute to Microsoft that were able to respond to this and push out this template after just 48 hours.
Key features include:
- Employees can report their work status (e.g., working from home) and make requests. This helps managers coordinate across their teams and helps central response teams track status across an organization.
- Admins can use the app to push news, updates, and content specific to their organization, and can provide emergency contacts specific to different locations.
- The app includes the ability to add RSS feeds of up-to-date information from reputable sources such as WHO, CDC, or a local authority.
In addition, Microsoft have said that Power Apps users will have temporary access to a premium feature, Power Apps Push Notifications, so you won’t need any premium licenses to use Power Apps to push information to users. Microsoft have reclassified Push Notifications as a standard connector for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis.
If you would like to implement this solution, you can find the instructions at Microsoft's documentation site.
We think this is a brilliant initiative, and it is a prime demonstration of how Power Apps can be used to quickly be leveraged to develop applications that need to be pushed out to users for a very specific need. It also shows that Microsoft are leading in terms of leveraging its infrastructure to support the global community and producing a service for the public good.
