Mid-June it was that time again, the European Power Platform Conference 2024, this time in Brussels.

The second time for me, last year in Dublin, this time 3 days as fortunately I was able to register for the tutorial day.

Took the train to Brussels, a very short walk to the Square and registered and picked up our goodies.

Ended the day at a bar with a Duvel 666 and a diner at Café Leffe of Carbonades a la Leffe Brune with a Leffe Ruby.

Day 1: Power Platform Best Practices in Architecture

First day a tutorial day, all about architecture, nice that it started what a real architect really is within our field.

Are people worthy of the title architect?

Well, I cannot and will not answer that question about myself, I prefer to leave that to others.

Then we talked about the evolution of application tiers and how the Power Platform fits in.

And then it really hell broke loose, everything that is possible passed by and was clearly named, including security and Managed environments, an important one to remember, ran like a red thread through several sessions.

Finally, three architecture cases that we were allowed to discuss in groups, where the outcome, with the knowledge gained, could not really be wrong.

A great day with Claire Edgson and Ahmad Najjar.

And certainly gained a lot of things that need attention.

Again some Belgian beers, this time started with a Vedett IPA and with my diner a Blanche Hoegaarden next to my Pieds de porc à la Bruxelloise.

Day 2: Sessions, more sessions.

At 07:30 the first customer at Wittamer Sablon to buy a delicious case of Belgian chocolate, otherwise I was not allowed to come back home.

A keynote with focus on the future of the Power Platform, evolve how we crate and reimagining what we create, Copilot with AI and Managed environments.

Then Managed environments, Your Secret to Success  by Carl Cookson. It is all about more visibility and more control with less effort. A set of tools to improve the management of Power Platform environments.

A session on low-code, Gen-AI and extending Copilot Studio couldn’t miss, of course, so, joined a session by Henry Jammes and Nicolas Kirrmann, both Microsoft. A deep dive on Gen-AI features, Gen-AI orchestration with at the end a glimpse of Copilots using process mining.

Powering Up Tests Advanced Strategies with Power Apps Test Engine with Gilles Pommier. In the past I looked into Test Studio and like it, now I see much more, a Test Engine, model-drive apps supported and Playwright coming together, wow, what a tool!

The first session  that is not in my standard knowledge backpack, so, good to do something unknown, a session on connectors Top hidden features of custom connectors to level up your maker experiences presented by Mats Necker & Daniel Laskewitz. I really need to gain more knowledge on this topic, as all was new to me.

After a full day of sessions a drink was needed.

Watch it carefully, because now I get into the Belgian beers, started at the conference expo drinks with a Brugse Zot, then a Vedett IPA at a bar and a Triple Karmelite besides my diner.

Day 3: Even more sessions…

The keynote with Dona Sarkar and we hate homework, but still, we will do it.

A very catchy title Don’t Get Knocked Out by Licensing Costs by Luise Freese & Lisa Crosbie. Always keep in mind the licensing stuff of Microsoft when you are developing on the Power Platform, you don’t want to be faced with sudden high costs.

10 Key Things to do to get Your Organisation Ready for Power Platform Adoption, as usual Chris Huntingford gives us very strong points of attention when working with the Power Platform. For me environment strategies, including Managed environments and Maker Archetypes are the ones to look into.  

Powerful App Development with PCFs with Diana Birkelbach, totally out of my comfort zone as have no experience with Power Apps Component Framework, but during creating an app already had to make decisions if we needed to use one or not. A technical session, very interesting and really need this in my knowledge backpack.

Deep Dive into Building Copilots with Copilot Studio with Microsoft’s Dewain Robinson, just amazing.

Everybody should follow him on YouTube at @Dewain27

Key takeaways

• Managed environments, indeed a secret to your success.
• Licensing, never forget.
• Power Apps Component Framework, use them when you don’t have anything else, make sure you get knowledge on them.
• Test Engine, a hidden gem.
• Learn more on connectors.
• I really need to do more on Power Platform Adoption as sometimes I am the only one screaming in the desert.
• And most import of all: Do your homework, keep on learning!

See you next time…

Again I saw a lot, learned a lot, tried to make contacts and inspired to continue with the adoption of the Power Platform and it is clear to me that the chosen path is the right one.

See you in Vienna in 2025 for 4 amazing days!