The fifth day enables the developer to:

• Integrate with other data sources and other components of the Power Platform
• Deploy a solution to test and development environments
• Back up environments and prepare a contingency plan

All sections in day 5 are currently pending development or testing, so please let me know if you think any subjects are missing or the order could be improved.

Virtual tables

Virtual tables allow a developer to connect to data sources other than Dataverse. However, virtual tables don’t offer the same ease of use and functionality as Dataverse tables.

Microsoft have expressed an intention to improve access from Power Pages to MS SQL Server in the future.

Power Apps

Power Pages and Power Apps share the same environment and it is possible to integrate functionality, subject to licencing requirements.

Power Automate

Power Automate workflows can be triggered by user activity in Power Pages.

Power BI

Power Pages and Power BI share the same environment and it is possible to integrate functionality, subject to licencing requirements.

Solutions (multiple)

It is possible to split a website between two or more solutions, to enable the deployment of part of a website.

Often, there will be dependencies between multiple solutions and care must be taken when moving solutions with dependencies between environments.

Pipelines

Pipelines automate the process of moving solutions between environments.

At the early stages of development, it is easy enough to export and import solutions, but the frequent moving of solutions for testing and production is easier with pipelines.

Dev, test and production

There are different environment types to accommodate each stage of the software development life cycle.

Security settings

In addition to running the security scan to identify and address vulnerabilities, it is possible to customise the advanced security settings to further protect a site.

Back up

Exporting a solution does not include data – it just exports the objects and configuration.

The back up and restore process covers the whole environment, including data.

Contingency

As with all software as a service (SaaS) solutions, contingency plans should be prepared for the loss of availability for short, medium and long time periods.