Microsoft strives to remove issues and make tasks easier to complete. Extraction of data from the public was a tough task until Microsoft launched two powerful tools. The two tools are Microsoft Forms and PowerApps. Both have easy user-interfaces and can carry out different functions.
Microsoft Forms vs PowerApps
The main difference between Microsoft Forms and PowerApps is that the objective of Microsoft Forms is to create surveys, questionnaires, or quizzes, save the responses and use the data effectively while the objective of PowerApps is to create numerous applications without coding, automate various business processes and integrate AI capabilities.
Microsoft Forms was released by the parent company Microsoft in June 2016. It is also known as Office forms. The category of Microsoft Forms is Survey software. The information-gathering tool has a simple web-driven interface.
On the other hand, PowerApps was released by the parent company Microsoft in October 2018. PowerApps belong to the Power platform of Microsoft. The category of PowerApps is App development and robotic process automation.
Comparison Table Between Microsoft Forms and PowerApps
| Parameters of Comparison | Microsoft Forms | PowerApps |
| Year of launch | June 2016 | October 2018 |
| Type | Survey software | App development and robotic process automation |
| Purpose | To create service, polls, questionnaires, quizzes, and extract and record public responses | To create applications without the involvement of code and automate business services |
| Advantages | Anonymous access, responsive design, quiz design | Efficiency in app creation, business process automation, AI capabilities low code or even know code, integration with 3rd party services, cross-platform access, and low cost of app ownership |
| Disadvantages | Limitation of only 100 questions, choice questions can store up to 60 options, the response can have only 4000 characters, and users cannot update a submitted response or save a form | License is constrained, low code services does not provide effectiveness, complicated licensing model, and integrated environment is not well developed |
What are Microsoft Forms?
Microsoft Forms are also known as Office Forms. It is an online platform to create surveys and record public responses. It is a part of Office 365. It was released by the parent company Microsoft in June 2016. The users can create surveys and quizzes with Microsoft Forms and have automatic marking in them. The data of Microsoft Forms can be easily exported and transferred to Microsoft Excel.
The survey software had released a preview of Forms Pro in 2019 which provided the feature to export data in the Power BI dashboard. The web platform has algorithms that can automatically detect and then block phishing attempts. Users of Microsoft forms are always advised do not to share any personal information in the survey or form like passwords, pin, OTP, and others.
Microsoft Forms can also be used in teams meeting it helps in launching multiple-choice quizzes in the meeting. It is effective to engage the audience in a trivia game and also get real-time insights about the attention of the audience. The responses can be analyzed with word clouds which provides an overview in quick phrases. The forms can also be customized with italicized, bold, or underlined words.
The information-gathering tool has a simple web-driven interface. The setting up of the form and sharing it with others is quite easy. The completion of the form can be by Nexus 365 users or other external and anonymous users. The data gathered from Microsoft forms can be further stored in Excel Online or OneDrive or other storage space.
What is Microsoft PowerApps?
PowerApps belong to the powerful platform of Microsoft. It was launched in the year 2018. It allows developers to build apps and portals without the use of conventional code. PowerApp integrates various approaches for the creation of business logic in apps which does not include any code, like usage of PowerAutomate workflows.
Before being launched, power apps were known as Kratos. The introduction of the power app was first in the official Microsoft blog. Later it was launched in the market. The change of the name was done to have alignment with Power Automate and Power BI of the Power platform of Microsoft. PowerApps has a simple user interface with drag-and-drop controls.
Professional coders and developers can extend the application with code like the creation of business logic by Azure functions or using plugins. PowerApp acts as a framework that can be used by Microsoft in building components of model-driven apps. This framework is also used by professional developers and they create and customize the components. The connection to the external data source or storing data inside the app can be effectively done by PowerApps.
PowerApps are available in three different app types that are canvas apps, model-driven apps, and portals. The apps that are created by PowerApps can run on iOS, Android, Windows, and other Internet browsers. The mobile app is easier to operate across other platforms which are created by PowerApps. PowerApp is also available in a web version.
Main Differences Between Microsoft Forms and PowerApps
- The function of Microsoft Forms is to create surveys, questionnaires, or quizzes while the function of power apps is to create various applications without coding.
- Microsoft Forms have predefined formats and offer attempts of variation to the user while the PowerApp provides complete control over the display, input, and storage of information to the user.
- Every design or creation of Microsoft Form is responsive while not every design or creation of PowerApp has chances of being responsive and successful.
- Microsoft Forms allows only one-time entry to external users while PowerApps allows access of addition and editing to external users.
- Microsoft Forms do not provide flexibility to the users while PowerApps provide flexibility to the users.
Conclusion
Both the applications of Microsoft that is Microsoft Forms and PowerApps have distinct features and functionality. The origin of both the software was to provide different types of services to the users. However, the end goal of both the services is to simplify the tasks of the users and provide effective results.
Both the software are used by millions of users worldwide. Both are effective in providing solutions. The users should evaluate all the parameters to understand the differences between both the software, and then make informed decisions about the usage of the software.
References
- https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/339582
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=lang_en&id=bhsvEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Microsoft+forms+and+powerapps&ots=_JiQ-tMdPt&sig=MS3sPlMGt_zkYd6S2TxMGVOPDkw