Microsoft Power Platform Governance: stay in control as employees unleash their creativity

The price of employee freedom

Microsoft Power Platform is included in most companies' Microsoft 365 subscriptions. The platform enables what is commonly referred to as citizen developmentthat is, that the company's employees automate and digitize their work processes themselves without being dependent on the IT department. In turn, this is a shortcut to efficiency, a good force of good that can really unleash creativity in the company.

It is important that the new amateur developers use the platform in the right way. We see that companies that have started using the Power Platform on a larger scale have started to notice the downside of digital democracy. If you unleash initiative without control, sooner or later it will lead to unwanted consequences.

That is, finding a balance between central control and individual freedom.

Rising costs

The cost of the increased use of the platform often pays off in terms of efficiency and productivity improvements. Unfortunately, when users build their own flows without control and guidelines, the storage and data consumption costs can can soon spiral out of control.

But employees often buy too many licenses or keep licenses that are no longer used in their work. When a process is abandoned by its creator and no longer used it just sits and costs money. A process that uses one gigabit for storage can cost 450 SEK per month. It is also not uncommon for active flows that are no longer needed to accumulate unnecessary run costs every month. Many times without the company having a clue about it.

Failed business processes

But it's not just about costs: citizen development can also increase the risk of errors in business processes. Personal dependency is a major culprit. An employee who built an automated flow for a process that many people depend on can quit. Suddenly there is no one to administer it. Perhaps it was the former employee who built all the reports in Power BI that must be reported on time. Then it can get tough.

It may be enough for an unsuspecting person to change a password for a process to stop working. It can take many hours to troubleshoot a workflow and find workarounds when you are not familiar with the Power Platform. In the worst case scenario, you have to rebuild the entire flow.

Security risks

Next, we have IT security. You need to make sure that the right people have access to GDPR data or the confidential information in flows built by your employees. And to ensure security, you should proactively confirm that both the processed data and its users are protected against possible threats and attacks.

Governance - getting the most out of IT

In a broader context, it's not just about avoiding problems, but about using your company's IT in an effectively in the organization.

Which requires control and governance, or IT Governance, the art of proactively managing the business so that its IT adds as much value as possible.

So far, the governance of the platform has more or less required a full-time employee. Someone who learned the tools for Governance in the Power Platform and constantly stays up to date with the many and rapid changes of the living environment.

But now there is actually an alternative: Microsoft Power Platform Governance as a subscription service.

Governance as a service

Governance as a service means that Upheads monitors the digital processes and enterprise resources created by your organization. using the Microsoft Power Platform. We detect and alert you to flaws in the system, such as errors occurring in processes or unused storage space.

Our compliance processes ensure that your business complies with applicable laws and regulations and policies on how data loss protection should be handled.

In addition, a monthly report with recommended actions based on an analysis of your platform and best practices.

This, in turn, allows your business to make optimal use of the platform without the need for in-house expertise. And this security and control allows you to proactively develop and improve your business.

Read more about Power Platform Governance - or get in touch!