"Gen AI is reshaping the business application market twenty years later"

Low-code and no-code development has fundamentally changed the business application market by enabling organizations to build applications faster and more efficiently, reducing reliance on traditional coding methods. However, the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing a whole new dimension to business application tools.

Charoo Singh, Business Applications Lead for Microsoft India and South Asia, believes that the next generation of AI capabilities is fundamentally transforming the business application market, marking the first time in over 20 years.

The integration of AI with low-code is changing the way solutions are built and how people work, collaborate, and create. It is worth noting that Microsoft's Power Apps in the Power Platform was one of the first products to integrate generative pre-trained transformers (GPT) with business applications.

"While Microsoft Power Platform has already provided anyone with the opportunity to build their own solutions without limitations on their technical abilities, the integration of generative AI significantly enhances the accessibility of low-code development," said Singh in an exclusive interview with AIM.

Microsoft Power Platform is a comprehensive set of low-code tools and services that enable organizations to build custom business solutions, automate processes, analyze data, and create virtual agents. It includes multiple product areas such as Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Power Virtual Agents, and Power Pages.

Introducing Generative AI to Power Platform

In March 2023, Microsoft announced the addition of Copilot functionality to Power Virtual Agents, another component of the Power Platform. Through Copilot, Microsoft Power Platform brings AI-powered assistance to Power Apps, Power Virtual Agents, and Power Automate.

"This includes embedding GPT-enabled chatbots within Power Apps to provide in-app assistants for users, as well as GPT data exploration enabled within Power Apps, allowing end users to intelligently query their data for instant actionable insights," said Singh.

With the Copilot functionality in Power Platform, Microsoft provides a new way for all developers, including citizen developers and professional developers, to solve business problems, achieve smoother and more intuitive experiences, and accelerate development.

"Simply describe the application, process, or bot in natural language, and Copilot can build it within seconds. Power Platform users now have a real-time collaborative partner to help them build solutions and provide improvement suggestions," she added.

Singh also emphasized that while AI is transforming the software development field, it is also helping to increase developers' productivity. Microsoft is leveraging AI to make technology accessible to more people through low-code and no-code solutions, while also providing AI tools for professional developers like GitHub Copilot.

In fact, over the past few months, we have seen Microsoft integrate Copilot into every business line of Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. Additionally, it serves as a single extensible platform with native integration to productivity applications, Microsoft Teams, Business Applications (Dynamics 365), and all Microsoft cloud products in Azure.

Empowering Indian Customers

According to Microsoft, its Power Platform has 33 million active users worldwide. In India, many customers are leveraging Power Platform to gain advantages. For example, PCHFL, a non-deposit housing finance company based in Mumbai, has utilized Power Platform.

Singh stated that PCHFL aimed to establish a centralized loan origination and management system to become a data source for risk, asset monitoring, compliance, investment, and operations, seeking assistance from Microsoft.

This housing finance company has used Microsoft Power Platform in various aspects. For instance, it has created an end-to-end approval process covering various credit policy-driven approvals with complex coordination functionalities related to pre-approval and post-approval activities using Power Automate.

"Microsoft's solution also helps in executing routine tasks such as setting access controls, regular data repository cleanups, and event-based email notifications. Through Power Apps, a mobile application has been built that allows users to take photos and store them directly in the application repository (OneDrive) of the loan origination system," she explained.

In addition, PCHFL has built dashboards for financial, budget, and loan sales data center information using Power BI. These dashboards are tightly integrated with the company's applications, enabling users to easily access personalized views with just one click.

Similarly, State Bank of India (SBI), the largest bank in India, is utilizing Microsoft Power Apps to implement multiple solutions across its branches nationwide, revealed Singh.

"From recording attendance to conducting quizzes in employee training, and ensuring ATM accessibility for people with disabilities, Power Apps plays a role," she said.

"Furthermore, customers like Aditya Birla Capital and Magicrete are utilizing Power BI to access data, create interactive dashboards, and gain real-time actionable insights. This, in turn, helps them make strategic decisions that positively impact the value chain and business outcomes," Singh concluded.