SharePoint + Power Automate + Power BI + Power Apps

The corporate integration suite for transactional and non-transactional systems

Modern organizations don’t win just by running “systems of record” (ERP/CRM/HRIS). They win by connecting them to the day-to-day reality of work: documents, requests, approvals, exceptions, collaboration, visibility, and accountability.

That’s where SharePoint + Power Automate + Power BI + Power Apps (with Microsoft 365 as the foundation) becomes a practical integration suite: it turns disconnected processes into a single operational fabric—without forcing every need into a heavyweight custom app.

Microsoft itself positions SharePoint as a cloud service to share and manage content, knowledge, and applications and empower teamwork. (Microsoft Learn)
On top of that foundation, Power Platform brings:

• Power Apps for quickly building business apps connected to data sources (including SharePoint, SQL Server, Microsoft 365, Dataverse, etc.). (Microsoft Learn)
• Power Automate for workflows that connect apps/services and automate tasks and processes (event-driven, instant, scheduled). (Microsoft Learn)
• Power BI for connecting, modeling, visualizing, and sharing insights across the organization. (Microsoft Learn)

And the “glue” that makes it an integration suite in the real world is the connector ecosystem: Power Platform uses connectors to talk to hundreds of services and data sources (SaaS and enterprise). (Microsoft Learn)

1) Why this suite behaves like an enterprise “integration layer”

When people hear “integration,” they often imagine ESB/iPaaS, queues, microservices, and API management. Those remain important. But most business integration pain is not a missing message broker—it’s:

• humans coordinating work across tools
• requests waiting in email
• approvals with no audit trail
• spreadsheets acting as “databases”
• weak visibility into progress and bottlenecks
• knowledge scattered across chats, drives, and inboxes

This suite attacks that reality by combining four roles:

SharePoint = collaborative backbone (content + metadata)

SharePoint is the place where collaborative work becomes structured: sites, pages, libraries, lists, permissions, and search. It is explicitly positioned as a platform for sharing/managing content and enabling teamwork. (Microsoft Learn)

Power Apps = “front door” for structured interaction

Power Apps provides a rapid environment to build custom business apps connected to your enterprise data—ideal for replacing email-based requests and spreadsheet intake. (Microsoft Learn)

Power Automate = orchestration, integration, and workflow

Power Automate cloud flows connect apps/services to automate tasks and processes, triggered by events or schedules. (Microsoft Learn)

Power BI = visibility, measurement, and operational truth

Power BI turns operational data into a shared view: metrics, trends, bottlenecks, adoption, compliance, and outcomes. (Microsoft Learn)

Connectors = the “integration surface area”

Connectors let Power Apps/Automate (and also Logic Apps) communicate with many platforms, turning your M365 layer into an integration hub for business users and IT. (Microsoft Learn)

2) Transactional vs non-transactional systems: what belongs where

A useful mental model:

Transactional systems (systems of record)

These are designed for correctness, integrity, and high-control processing:

• ERP (finance, procurement, inventory)
• HRIS (employee lifecycle)
• CRM (customer and pipeline data)
• ITSM (incidents, changes, assets)
• Line-of-business systems with strict data rules

Goal: accurate records and controlled transactions.

Non-transactional systems (systems of work / collaboration)

These are designed for coordination, knowledge, and execution:

• document collaboration, intranets, communication sites
• project coordination, requests, approvals
• knowledge bases, policies, procedures
• forms and lightweight apps for business teams
• operational dashboards for visibility

Goal: get work done, with traceability and shared context.

The suite shines when it connects both worlds:

• transactional systems remain the source of truth
• SharePoint + Power Platform becomes the operational layer for collaboration, intake, exception-handling, and visibility

3) Core enterprise use cases (mapped to transactional and non-transactional scenarios)

Below are the patterns that repeatedly work in large organizations.

A) “Request → Approve → Execute → Audit” (classic workflow modernization)

Scenario: People request things that must follow policy (purchase requests, access requests, HR requests, changes).
How it works:

• Power Apps provides a guided form (correct fields, validation, attachments) (Microsoft Learn)
• data is stored in SharePoint lists (or Dataverse when you need relational rules and scale)
• Power Automate routes approvals, notifies stakeholders, creates tasks, and updates status (Microsoft Learn)
• Power BI reports cycle time, bottlenecks, SLA breaches, and volume by department (Microsoft Learn)

Transactional integration:
Use connectors to create or update records in ERP/ITSM/CRM when approved. The connector ecosystem is built for cross-service automation. (Microsoft Learn)

B) “Exception handling layer” for ERP/CRM/ITSM

Scenario: Transactional systems do not handle exceptions gracefully (missing data, ambiguous ownership, approvals requiring context, ad-hoc evidence).
Pattern:

• exception is logged to a SharePoint list (or Dataverse)
• a Power App collects missing fields + attachments
• Power Automate orchestrates escalation, approvals, and resolution
• Power BI exposes “top exception causes” and “time to resolution”

This reduces “shadow IT” and email chaos without rewriting the system of record.

C) Project and program governance (non-transactional work that touches many systems)

Scenario: A PMO needs consistent processes: status, risks, issues, decisions, documents, templates, stage gates.
Pattern:

• SharePoint as the workspace (site + documents + lists)
• Power Apps to standardize inputs (risks, RAID logs, status updates)
• Power Automate to run reminders, gate approvals, and publication workflows
• Power BI to show portfolio health: on-time delivery, risks, financial burn-down

SharePoint is built for sharing/managing knowledge and content across the organization. (Microsoft Learn)

D) Corporate communications + knowledge management at scale

Scenario: The company needs a “single source of truth” for policies, procedures, and operational knowledge.
Pattern:

• SharePoint as intranet + document governance
• Power Automate for review/approval of policy publishing, periodic attestation, and expiry notifications (Microsoft Learn)
• Power BI for readership/adoption metrics and compliance coverage (Microsoft Learn)

E) “Data capture at the edge” (field, operations, audits)

Scenario: Teams need mobile-friendly capture of inspections, audits, safety checks, site visits.
Pattern:

• Power Apps for mobile experience and offline-ready patterns (depending on data source strategy)
• SharePoint/Dataverse as storage
• Power Automate for routing and evidence packaging
• Power BI for trends and compliance reporting

Power Apps is explicitly positioned to build custom business apps quickly and connect to many data sources. (Microsoft Learn)

F) Reporting that actually changes behavior (not just dashboards)

Scenario: Dashboards exist, but actions don’t happen.
Pattern:

• Power BI provides the “truth layer” and monitoring (Microsoft Learn)
• Power Automate triggers actions when thresholds are exceeded (alerts, escalations, creation of follow-up work items)
• Power Apps provides a “fix it” workflow from the alert
• SharePoint stores evidence and audit trail

This turns analytics into an operational loop.

4) Why Power Platform is the key element of corporate collaboration

SharePoint gives you place and structure. Power Platform gives you motion and behavior.

Collaboration requires more than co-authoring

File collaboration is powerful—but collaboration at enterprise scale needs:

• consistent intake (structured data capture)
• automated routing (who does what next)
• transparent status (where things are stuck)
• governance and audit (who approved what, when)
• measurement (how the process performs)

Power Automate is designed for workflows that connect apps/services and automate processes. (Microsoft Learn)
Power BI is designed to connect and share insights across the organization. (Microsoft Learn)
Power Apps is designed to build apps rapidly and connect to enterprise data. (Microsoft Learn)

Together they turn “collaboration” into managed execution.

5) Reference architecture (practical, not theoretical)

A repeatable enterprise pattern looks like this:

1. Experience layer (Power Apps / SharePoint pages)
   • forms, dashboards, and role-based entry points
2. Collaboration and content (SharePoint)
   • documents, lists, metadata, permissions, templates
3. Orchestration (Power Automate)
   • approvals, notifications, integrations, status updates
4. Insights (Power BI)
   • performance, usage, process analytics, compliance
5. Integration points (connectors + APIs)
   • ERP/CRM/ITSM/SQL/Graph/custom endpoints via connectors (Microsoft Learn)

6) Governance notes (so the suite scales beyond “a few flows”)

To make this suite a true enterprise integrator, you typically standardize:

• Environments and DLP policies (what connectors can be used where)
• Solution packaging (ALM for Power Platform)
• Identity and access model (SharePoint permissions + app roles)
• Naming, logging, monitoring (flow run history + centralized logging)
• Data strategy (SharePoint lists vs Dataverse vs SQL; when to use each)
• Center of Excellence (CoE) practices (enable makers, keep control)

Even when you don’t go “full CoE,” you need at least a minimal governance baseline to avoid sprawl.

7) Microsoft Learn study references (recommended starting points)

Use these as your canonical references:

• SharePoint introduction (SharePoint + OneDrive in Microsoft 365) (Microsoft Learn)
• Power Platform documentation hub (Microsoft Learn)
• Power Apps overview (Microsoft Learn)
• Power Automate cloud flows overview (Microsoft Learn)
• Power BI overview (Microsoft Learn)
• Connectors overview (Power Platform) (Microsoft Learn)

Final summary table