How to Set Up Your Microsoft Power Platform Environments for Internal Innovation with Lower Risk

Innovation is often the difference between remaining competitive or fading into obscurity in the current business landscape. However, the risks associated with rapid innovation can be daunting. Microsoft's Power Platform offers a robust solution that enables organisations to foster innovation internally, while minimising risks. We unpack how to set up your Microsoft Power Platform environments to promote internal innovation safely and effectively.

Understanding Microsoft Power Platform

Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of tools designed to empower users to build apps, automate workflows, and analyse data without extensive coding knowledge. The platform includes:

• Power BI: For business analytics.

• Power Apps: For building custom applications.

• Power Automate: For automating workflows.

• Power Virtual Agents: For creating chatbots.

Together, these tools allow for rapid development and iteration, all of which foster a culture of innovation within your organisation.

The Importance of Environment Management

However, for these tools to work effectively, proper environment management is critical. Here’s why. 

1. Segregation of Duties: Different environments can be used for development, testing, and production to ensure that changes are thoroughly vetted before going live.

2. Security: Environments help to compartmentalise access and data. This reduces the risk of unauthorised access or data breaches.

3. Compliance: Different environments can be configured to comply with various regulatory requirements.

How to Set Up Your Microsoft Power Platform Environments

1. Plan Your Environment Strategy

Before setting up your environments, it’s essential to have a clear strategy. Consider the following:

• 🌏 Number of Environments

  Typically, you’ll need at least four environments: 

  • Development

  • Testing

  • Production

  • Orchestration - to control the deployment pipeline

  Depending on your needs, you might also include environments for training or pre-production.

• 🔄 Purpose of Each Environment

  Define what each environment will be used for and who will have access.

• 🖥️ Governance Policies

  Establish policies for managing environments, including naming conventions, data policies, and lifecycle management.

2. Create Your Environments

It is relatively straightforward to create an environment in Power Platform. Here’s how.

1. Navigate to the Power Platform Admin Center: Log in with your admin credentials.

2. Select 'Environments': Click on 'New Environment'.

3. Configure Settings: Provide a name, region, and type (Trial, Production, Sandbox). Choose the database option if needed.

4. Block Unmanaged Customisations: For user testing and production environments, it is essential to toggle this to “yes”. This allows complete control over the environments and only allows development to occur in the development environment.

Make sure you set up your environments according to your strategic plan. For example, create a Sandbox environment for development, another for testing, and a Production environment for live applications.

3. Configure Security Roles and Permissions

Security is paramount in managing environments. Power Platform allows granular control over who can access what.

• 🌱 Environment Roles

  Assign roles like Environment Admin, Environment Maker, and Basic User based on responsibilities.

• 🔐 Dataverse Security

  Use Dataverse (formerly Common Data Service) to manage data access and permissions within environments

• 🔑 Conditional Access Policies

  Implement Azure AD Conditional Access policies to enhance security.

4. Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies

Data Loss Prevention policies help mitigate the risk of data breaches by controlling the flow of data.

• Define Data Groups: Categorise connectors into Business and Non-Business data groups.

• Set DLP Policies: Specify which connectors can be used together to prevent unintentional data leaks.

• Monitor Policy Violations: Regularly review logs and reports to ensure compliance with DLP policies.

5. Set Up ALM (Application Lifecycle Management)

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is crucial for managing the progression of applications from development to production:

• Source Control: Use tools like the Power Platform deployment pipelines for CI/CD.

• Solution Management: Package your customisations and applications into solutions for easy deployment.

• Pipeline Automation: Automate the deployment process using pipelines in Azure DevOps, ensuring consistent and error-free deployments.

6. Monitor and Optimise Environments

Continuous monitoring and optimisation are essential for maintaining a healthy Power Platform ecosystem.

• Usage Analytics: Utilise Power Platform Analytics to monitor usage patterns, identify bottlenecks, and optimise performance.

• Audit Logs: Regularly review audit logs to track changes and identify potential security incidents.

• Performance Tuning: Optimise performance by reviewing resource usage, adjusting capacity, and tuning queries.

How to Promote Innovation While Minimising Risk

Foster a Culture of Innovation

Encourage your teams to experiment and innovate within the Power Platform.

• Training and Support: Provide training sessions and resources to empower users to leverage Power Platform effectively.

• Innovation Challenges: Host hackathons and innovation challenges to stimulate creative problem-solving.

• Community of Practice: Establish a community of practice for Power Platform users to share knowledge and best practices.

Balance Freedom with Control

While fostering innovation, it’s essential to maintain control to minimise risks.

• Governance Framework: Implement a governance framework that balances freedom and control, providing guidelines without stifling creativity.

• Review Processes: Establish review processes for new applications and workflows to ensure they meet security and compliance standards.

• Feedback Loop: Create a feedback loop to continuously improve your governance policies based on user experiences and evolving needs.

Your Partner in Safe Innovation

Microsoft Power Platform offers a powerful set of tools for fostering internal innovation while minimising risks. By setting up your environments strategically, configuring security and compliance measures, and promoting a culture of innovation, you can empower your organisation to innovate rapidly and safely. 

At riivo.io, we specialise in bringing your innovation and ideas to fruition with low code solutions that save you time, reduce risk, and optimise costs. 

Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your innovation journey.