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What would it cost to use the entire PowerPlatform within your org? At first, this is akin to a "developer license". As a developer, you'd need to perform every function of the Platform.
A little analysis:
1. Must have Office365 Business Premium License
- So you could test with all Office Apps AND Sharepoint
- $12.50 - $15.00 / Month
- Also, remember, all your users will need this level of licensing if your App/Flow uses Sharepoint, etc.
2. Must have a PowerApps License
- So you can create Custom Connectors, test Premium Connectors, use CDS, etc.
- $10 - $40 / Month
- Also, remember, all your users will need this level of licensing if your App/Flow uses premium features
3. Must have an "AI Builder Capacity Add-on"
- To test AI Builder functionality
- $500 / Month (!)
4. Must have a "Portals Add-on"
- To test Portals
- $200 / Month + $100 / Month for unauthenticated users (aka web surfers?)
5. Must have a Flow Premium license
- $15 - $500 / Month (I can't tell the difference between these licenses!)
- How can someone build UNLIMITED Flows for $15/month, then be charged $500/month for a single Flow?
6. Must have a PowerVirtualAgents License
- $1000 / Month (!!!!)
7. Nice to have: Additional CDS Capacity
- UNKNOWN can't find the $/GB/Month for this service
8. Nice to have: Licenses for External Users so that you can test external access
- $10 - $40 / User / Month
9. Nice to have(?): Licenses for INTERNAL USERS so that you can test INTERNAL apps/Flows/etc.
- $10 - $40 / User / Month
- An app that serves 300 people = $3000 - $12000 / Month
10. PowerBI License
- $9.99 / User / Month - $4,995 / Enterprise(?) / Month
Please don't reply to this and say, "you can do it all for free with a Community License". At some point, you need to be in an Enterprise environment with UATesters, etc. The Community License only goes so far. Also, please don't reply to this and say "you can do it all for free with an Office365 Developer License". Again, at some point, you need to bring this toolset in-house to connect to on-prem data, test, conduct feasibility studies, etc.
I kind of feel like at the beginning (2 years ago), we were promised jetpacks (PowerApps and Flow came WITH O365 license, and Azure SQL was a non-premium connector). I'm starting to get weathered as a citizen developer speaking more to licensing questions within my org than development questions. In fact, more than ever, my development is being shutdown left and right due to the Oct 99' licensing changes and the new features (AI, Virtual Agents, etc.) licensing models.
Granted, this post is a bit ranty, I'm frustrated, but still, I think the future of the PowerPlatform will be brighter if the licensing can be boiled down to something simpler. (Please don't reply to this saying the Oct 99' changes simplified the licensing model, they didn't.)
Are others feeling similar pressures or am I an anomaly?
So I built this template that processes any document just using the less expensive image recognition AI Builder service & GPT.
It seems much less expensive with a much lower barrier to entry only requiring a premium Power Automate license with 5000 AI Builder credits per month & some on-going LLM / GPT costs…
If I’m looking at this right, this method should cost
So about $ .013 per page.
Less expensive than any of the other microsoft document/receipt/invoice processing options. And several of those take about 30 seconds to run.
And the 5000 AI Builder credits that come with the now $15 premium Power Automate license is enough for 1500 Image recognition pages. So you could probably process 500-750 documents per month with just 1 premium Power Automate license.
So it seems this method is faster, less expensive, easier to adjust, & requires less set-up than other standard AI builder set-ups.
Once the GPT actions are in general availability, I don’t know why I’d use any of the other services. 🤷
In my understanding, this product-by-product or module-by-module approach is more reasonable.
Office365, PowerApps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agent and Power BI, even though they can cooperate with each other, they are still different products. Adapt to local conditions and purchase licenses as needed.
AI builder add-on, Portal add-on, and CDS capacity add-on, they are also not required, just bug on demand.
I guess you might think it would be a hassle to figure out all the licensing details. There are many ways to learn about license content, Documents, License guides, Community and Microsoft Support, so feel free to post any question to us.
Of course, you can submit your idea/feedback to PowerApps Ideas Forum, you may communicate directly with PowerApps product employees.
Sik
And just so we're clear, I'm a CONSTANT ADVOCATE (at the cost of my own reputation within my org at times) of this toolset. In any given 72 hours, I've probably spent 40 hours within the toolset, both professionally and personally.
I'm speaking from the perspective of someone vested.
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