Learn about the updates in the Power Platform 2023 release wave 2

The Power Platform is a set of low or no-code tools that can be combined with Office 365, Dynamics 365, Azure, and hundreds of other applications to build robust business solutions. The Power Platform enables organizations to better analyze data, automate processes, build custom applications, and create virtual agents. Microsoft recently released the plans for the 2023 release wave 2 for the Power Platform. 

In this blog post, we will highlight key updates and new features that users can expect to be released from October 2023 through March 2024 for the following applications: 

• Power Automate 
• Power Apps 
• Power BI 

In the 2023 release wave 2 of Power Automate, Microsoft introduces the capability to bring your own lake with high scale for process advisor. With this innovative update, you now have the ability to effortlessly ingest data from the source of your choice, all while benefiting from high-scale capabilities. The process advisor feature allows you to take charge of the sources from which you wish to ingest data into the process mining engine.  

Microsoft expanded its cloud flow capabilities in the 2023 release wave 2 of Power Automate. The enhancements to the cloud offer an array of functionalities that empower you to orchestrate tasks seamlessly across diverse systems. This release introduces a series of updates designed to provide users with a holistic and potent automation experience. 

• Monitor performance for cloud and desktop flow activities: With this feature, you have a single consolidated view to understand the automation performance across your cloud and desktop flows, allowing you to track trends and errors effortlessly while transitioning between cloud and desktop activities. 
• Manage bulk abandoned cloud flows: This feature equips admins with simplified reporting and the ability for bulk reassignment of flows that were initiated by users who have left the company. This centralized control, accessible through the Power Platform admin center, minimizes risk and simplifies estate management. 
• Run extended cloud flows: The 30-day execution limitation is now a thing of the past. This wave introduces the ability to design and run cloud flows that exceed the 30-day boundary. No longer constrained by dividing business logic across multiple flows, this enhancement streamlines the design and testing experience for longer, more intricate automations. 
• Enhanced data encryption: Privacy and data security take a leap forward with the capability to employ your own encryption keys from Azure Key Vault for encrypting data at rest in existing environments. This feature ensures compliance with your company’s or industry’s privacy guidelines, affording you a tailored approach to data protection. 

In the 2023 release wave 2 of Power Automate, Microsoft introduces a comprehensive array of features to amplify desktop automation capabilities. Designed to seamlessly automate tasks on your Windows PC, these updates transcend boundaries to empower users with efficient, uninterrupted, intelligent automation. 

• UI Automation with Simulated Actions: Users may use the machine that the automation is being executed in attended mode as UI automation actions will be performed in the background, without the need to have the UI element visible on the screen. Subsequently, the user can continue their work without any interruption or issues while automation is running.  
• Web Automation in Virtual Desktops: Power Automate for desktops now collaborates with the Power Automate agent for virtual desktops to facilitate UI automation in Citrix and RDP virtual desktops. This capability extends to both design and runtime, enabling you to craft desktop flows that seamlessly interact with web browsers launched in virtual desktop instances. 
• Enhanced Debugging Flexibility: The debugging experience reaches new heights as users gain the ability to alter variable values on the fly during debugging. No longer confined to read-only views, the variable viewer window becomes a dynamic canvas for testing scenarios and fine-tuning automation processes. 
• Revolutionized UI Element Management: UI elements are now categorized under screen parents, such as windows, panes, and web pages. Customize your UI element repository by creating, merging, and splitting screens to align with your business requirements. Notably, Power Automate for desktops intelligently avoids creating new screens when capturing UI elements, enhancing overall efficiency. 

The 2023 release wave 2 of Power Apps introduces the game-changing Copilot feature. With AI at the helm, both app creators and users are empowered to transcend traditional boundaries, seamlessly translating natural language into dynamic, productive app experiences. 

• Formula writing with natural language: Crafting Power Fx formulas no longer needs to be a time-consuming challenge. Copilot now collaborates with creators, providing AI-driven assistance to formulate complex equations with ease. By understanding natural language or learning from examples, Copilot accelerates formula creation, eradicating complexities and boosting efficiency.  
• Elevate app development with natural language inputs: Responding to growing demand, Copilot for Power Apps Studio extends its prowess to streamline app creation and editing. A user-friendly gateway to AI-driven app development, Copilot now designs apps based on natural language prompts. Creators can effortlessly wield Copilot within Power Apps Studio, instructing the tool to generate screens, controls, and data linkages through simple language interactions.  

Power Apps is redefining the landscape of modern app creation with its cutting-edge features. In the 2023 release wave 2, Microsoft updates the experience, setting the stage for an immersive and intuitive user experience. These updates in Power Apps presents a dynamic combination of streamlined design and enriched user interfaces, empowering creators to craft apps that seamlessly adapt to different scenarios and devices. 

• Data-connected layouts: Power Apps introduces data-connected layouts that cater to common scenarios. These layouts seamlessly integrate with data-connected components, rendering them dynamically responsive across various window sizes. Creating apps that cater to diverse device specifications is now a breeze, allowing makers to focus on delivering rich content without getting caught in the intricacies of responsive design.  
• Elevated UI with fluent design system: Model-driven Power Apps now have an updated user interface aligning to the latest Microsoft Fluent Design System. Microsoft Fluent is an open-source design system to create engaging product experiences, accessibility, internationalization, and performance included.  

In the 2023 release wave 2 of Power Apps, Microsoft makes improvements to monitor, the debugging tool that is used by makers to diagnose and fix problems with their apps. These updates make it easier than ever to use and to enable makers to quickly zero in on troublesome operations that can be corrected or optimized. 

• Improved discoverability: Microsoft brings the Monitor launch action to a more prominent and discoverable location in Power Apps Studio to make it easy for makers to realize its benefits. 
• Data quality improvements: Addressing log entry overload, the Monitor tool now consolidates duplicate or chained entries, allowing makers to quickly identify crucial data points and app behavior. 
• Focused data relevance: By enforcing stringent guidelines, Power Apps ensures that data sent to Monitor is actionable and pertinent to makers’ needs, enhancing the tool’s effectiveness in decision-making. 
• Intuitive UI improvements: Navigate the Monitor tool effortlessly with enhanced features like sorting, highlighting, filtering, and searching, providing a seamless and interactive data exploration experience. 

In addition to the features listed above, here are a few other noteworthy updates: 

• Set the solution context for customizations 
• Improved named formula browsing in Power Apps Studio 
• Resize and reposition the Power Fx editor within Power Apps Studio 
• Power Apps can make direct calls to SQL Server stored procedures 
• Direct new makers to their own developer environments 

In the 2023 release wave 2 of Power BI, Microsoft updated the ability to write and run DAX queries with Query view in Power BI Desktop. Professional BI developers can write and run DAX queries natively within Power BI. Previously, as DAX queries is an existing feature, a BI developer would have needed to use third-party external tools or use an API in order to write and run DAX queries. Now, they can write and run DAX queries natively in Power BI in context and with additional tools to quickly get started and productively use DAX queries. 

• Quick queries: Initiate DAX queries from the context menu for data preview and summary statistics without visuals. 
• Simplified DAX retrieval: Easily access DAX expressions of measures, DEFINE, and EVALUATE statements from the Data pane. 
• Streamlined measure definition: Modify and save measures directly to the model, eliminating manual copy-pasting. 
• Enhanced contextual understanding: Consolidate DAX expressions of measures referencing others onto a single screen. 
• Seamless query execution: Execute visual DAX queries within Power BI using Performance Analyzer, removing the need for external tools. 

The 2023 release wave 2 introduces Query scale-out in Power BI Premium, a feature that enables user queries to be load-balanced across multiple datasets read replicas in a pool of Power BI Premium nodes. This speeds up query response times for high user-concurrency workloads. Designed to elevate user experiences, this enhancement empowers organizations to effortlessly support demanding workloads and drive efficient data exploration. 

• Support high user-concurrency workloads with query scale-out in Power BI Premium. 
• Distribute user queries across multiple datasets and read replicas to accelerate query response times. 
• Isolate dataset refresh operations from read replicas for enhanced performance and user experience. 
• Streamline query scale-out management with Power BI’s automated resource allocation, setting it apart from other platforms. 

In the 2023 release wave 2, Power BI introduces an integrated feature that facilitates viewing, saving, and sharing files through OneDrive and SharePoint. This innovative integration streamlines workflows, enhancing both productivity and cohesion among teams. 

• Integrated File Interaction: Effortlessly save, share, and view files using OneDrive and SharePoint directly within Power BI. 
• Streamlined Collaboration: Native file sharing within the organization eliminates the need for explicit publishing to the Power BI Service, promoting fluid communication among team members. 

In addition to the features listed above, here are a few other noteworthy updates: 

• Visual calculations allow users to build new calculations from any visual in Power BI using the Excel-grid-like interface 
• Users can now author calculation groups using first-party tooling in Power BI Desktop 
• Connect to organizational data and create a semantic model in the Power BI service 
• Model explorer provides easy paths to author objects 
• Allow discovery of service content in Power BI Desktop 
• Use Loop to share Power BI charts into Microsoft 365 documents 

Rand Group is your Power Platform support partner to highlight new Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate features that your organization should utilize, train your users on the new features, and perform system checks to ensure all modules are performing as planned after each release wave. Microsoft has planned numerous updates, enhancements, and new features in addition to those listed above. To learn more about these features, contact Rand Group today.