Power Platform advisory · selection & arades
The Power Platform rarely fails on technology — but on missing platform strategy, on a sprawl of SharePoint lists instead of a clean Dataverse model, or on missing governance. This page first shows the six criteria by which any Power Platform advisory must be measured — and then positions where arades GmbH, as a mid-market-specialized Microsoft partner with 20+ years of platform practice, is strong.
Selection criteria
Six levers that in our experience decide between sustainable Power Platform landscapes and expensive re-architecture loops. When comparing multiple advisors — ask exactly these points. Worded vendor-neutral so you can also classify the answers from other providers.
01 · Platform strategy
Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Power Pages, and Copilot Studio only unfold their value in the interplay on a shared data model. A good advisor first designs the platform strategy: which processes belong in an app, which in an automation, what is exposed externally via a portal. Advisories without a platform view deliver scattered individual apps that never grow together.
02 · Dataverse depth
A clean data model is the foundation of any sustainable Power Platform solution. Table relationships, business rules, security roles, choice columns, and granularity must still hold years after go-live. Advisories that base everything on SharePoint lists or Excel save at the start — and later create performance, permission, and maintainability problems.
03 · Industry understanding
Industry experience shortens the discovery phase by weeks. An advisor who knows approval workflows, member administration in associations, or order processing in the mid-market from running projects immediately asks qualified detail questions instead of generic best-practice slides. Generic templates rarely fit the specific process reality.
04 · Governance & ALM
Power Platform landscapes without governance become unmaintainable in the second year — hundreds of apps and flows, unclear permissions, deprecated connectors, no path from test to production. An advisor with governance experience delivers environment strategy, DLP policies, a Center of Excellence, and application lifecycle management with managed solutions and pipelines.
05 · License architecture
The choice between Power Apps Per User, Per App, Pay-as-you-go, Power Automate licenses, premium connectors, Dataverse capacity, AI Builder, and Copilot Studio has dramatic cost effects. A good advisor explains the math — what the rights included in Microsoft 365 cover, from when premium becomes necessary, and where Pay-as-you-go wins over fixed licenses.
06 · Pricing transparency
Are day rates, fixed-price packages, and license margins openly communicated? Does the advisor explain the NCE mechanics, the triennial discount, and renewal conditions — or do you get a flat-rate offer line without breakdown? Hidden license margins are structurally possible in the CSP model; a good advisor discloses them.
These six points are market standard for good selection diligence. In the next section we show where arades GmbH delivers reliably against each point.
arades as your Power Platform advisory
arades GmbH has been advising on the Microsoft business application platform since 2007 — from Dynamics CRM and SharePoint workflows through InfoPath and Excel automation to today's Power Platform world with Dataverse and Copilot Studio. This history makes the difference in architecture decisions.
We start every Power Platform project with the platform map, not with the first screen: which processes belong in an app, which in an automation, what is exposed externally via Power Pages, where a Copilot Studio agent pays off. This way a coherent solution grows instead of a collection of scattered siloed solutions.
Table relationships, business rules, security roles, and granularity belong in the first workshop days — before the first app is created. We rely on Dataverse instead of SharePoint list sprawl and add pro-code where needed: PCF components, plugins, and custom connectors. Our own solutions on Dataverse serve as proof of end-to-end competence.
Specialization on education providers (course and participant processes), professional associations (member administration, fee logic), IT service providers (project operations, utilization), and mid-market industry & manufacturing (order and service processes). Existing process patterns shorten your discovery phase.
We set up a lightweight Center of Excellence — environment strategy, DLP policies, naming conventions, maker inventory — without bureaucracy that chokes citizen development. Plus application lifecycle management with managed solutions and pipelines from dev through test to production.
We calculate the license math openly: what the Power Platform rights included in Microsoft 365 cover, from when Per User wins over Per App, when Pay-as-you-go makes sense, and what Dataverse capacity, AI Builder, and Copilot Studio cost on top. Model calculation with our License Cost Calculator.
arades is intentionally small — no corporate apparatus, no account-manager-to-delivery wall. In the sales process you speak with the same architects who will lead your Power Platform project. Management directly reachable. Application Care at a predictable monthly flat fee. Concrete quotes on request.
Advisory formats
From a 30-min discovery call to multi-month embedded advisory — four documented formats with clear prices, clear delivery, and no minimum term.
Format 1 · Discovery call
First conversation to clarify starting point, processes, existing siloed solutions, and time/budget framework. You receive an honest assessment of whether a Power Platform project fits you and which format makes sense next. Online via Teams. No obligation.
Format 2 · Strategy workshop
Half-day or full-day workshop with stakeholders. Process inventory, prioritize use cases, platform map, license sketch, first Dataverse data model on the whiteboard, roadmap with effort indicators. Result document as decision basis for the next 4–8 weeks.
Format 3 · Architecture & governance review
Deep assessment: process mapping, Dataverse model sketch, environment strategy, DLP policies, CoE setup, ALM pipeline, and license architecture. The result is a reliable decision basis with a fixed-price offer for implementation. Also useful for consolidating grown Power Platform landscapes.
Format 4 · Embedded advisory
Ongoing advisory as guidance for your internal maker and developer team — architecture reviews of existing apps and flows, governance adjustments, ALM optimization, coaching for citizen developers. Day rates on request. Transition into Application Care for predictable continuous operation possible.
Use cases from our advisory practice
Three anonymized constellations from current practice. Real undertakings with real processes and real architecture — so you can compare our advisory profile with your situation.
Consolidate sprawl
Mid-market IT service provider with over 60 grown list apps without governance. Consolidation onto one Dataverse data model, environment strategy, DLP policies, and a CoE Starter Kit. Migration in stages without operational interruption. Duration 8–12 weeks.
Process automation
Professional association with manual approval and application processes. Cloud flows for approvals, desktop flows (RPA) to connect a legacy system without an API, notifications via Teams. Data storage on Dataverse. Duration 4–6 weeks.
External portal
Education provider needing a self-service portal for participants. Power Pages on the same Dataverse model as the internal app, authentication via Microsoft Entra External ID, tiered visibility via security roles. Duration 6–10 weeks.
Frequently asked questions
The entry is free: 30-minute discovery call without obligation. Reliable advisory formats are the strategy workshop (one day) and the architecture and governance review (3–5 days). Embedded advisory and CoE guidance bookable as a day rate or monthly retainer. Concrete quotes on request. For ongoing advisory, there is Application Care as a predictable monthly flat fee.
Advisory first answers the platform questions — which environment strategy, which Dataverse data model, which governance and DLP policies, which license class (Per User, Per App, Pay-as-you-go), and which ALM process. App building only follows after that. Apps without prior advisory typically lead to siloed solutions on SharePoint lists that are unmaintainable after a year — because the data model and permission concept were not considered from the start.
As soon as more than a handful of apps and flows are in circulation — yes. A Center of Excellence is not a tool but a lightweight rulebook: environment strategy, DLP policies, naming conventions, an inventory across all makers, and an approval path for premium connectors. We set up the CoE Starter Kit and adapt it to the size of your mid-market tenant — without bureaucracy that chokes citizen development.
Discovery and strategy workshop: 1–2 weeks. Architecture and governance review with Dataverse data model, environment concept, and license recommendation: 2–4 weeks. First productive app or automation: 4–8 weeks depending on data source and integration complexity. Full governance and CoE rollout with ALM pipelines and DLP policies: 8–14 weeks. Embedded advisory for internal teams runs as a continuous format.
Yes. Copilot Studio (formerly Power Virtual Agents) and AI Builder are now an integral part of the Power Platform. We advise on agent scenarios based on your Dataverse and Microsoft 365 data, on message capacity planning, on AI Builder credits, and on the question of when a Copilot Studio solution is economical over classic automation with Power Automate.
Yes — that's by design. We deliver solutions as managed solutions into your tenant, documented data models on Dataverse, traceable flow and app logic, and a clean ALM pipeline. If you continue internally after the advisory or implement with another partner, the result is takeover-ready. No vendor lock-in through undocumented custom constructs.
Further reading
Six follow-up topics in the order in which they typically become relevant after the Power Platform advisory.
Engineering overview of our Power Platform service spectrum — Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages, Dataverse, governance, and pro-code extension.
Canvas and model-driven apps on Dataverse, PCF components, and the question of when low-code should be handed over to pro-code.
Per User, Per App, Pay-as-you-go, Dataverse capacity, AI Builder, Copilot Studio — transparent math with break-even logic and NCE mechanics.
When analytics is the focus: data modeling, DAX coaching, dashboard architecture, and Power BI governance as a stand-alone advisory topic.
Response in under 4 hours, established Microsoft escalation path. Pay-per-hour, Application Care, or Strategic Care for Power Platform landscapes.
Calculate yourself what your Power Platform licenses would cost with the right mix of Per User, Per App, and Pay-as-you-go.
30 min · free · no obligation
Tell us about your processes and your plan. We listen, classify, and give an honest assessment — whether the Power Platform fits you, which license class makes sense, and what a realistic investment range would be. If another product fits better, we say so.
