Resco Power Components are designed for app creators to make building business apps on the Power Platform faster and easier.

They are made for consultants, developers, and solution architects—who craft model-driven and canvas apps for their clients in low-code / no-code. Code components allow app makers to add a wide range of functionality to their apps immediately without needing to wait for and budget for custom code from developers.

This makes project delivery more efficient, letting app makers digitize processes quickly and be more productive with ease.  

What are Power Components?

First batch based on popular demand

Based on popular demand, we have selected the first batch of essential tools – an image gallery, Kanban board, video player, signature area, multi-select dropdown list, and a calendar picker.

The Resco Power Components are customizable, meaning that app makers will be able to use them for more than one use case. Instead of having to code components in JS from scratch, app makers will be able to use our components and configure them as they need to without needing to code. Using the configuration section doesn’t require code knowledge.

Each code component can be used for different business use cases. For example, you can use the Kanban board for managing tasks or to build a sales funnel – depending on the data you map it on.

Working with a well-managed library of code components takes care of security concerns as well as maintenance issues. We plan to develop the components continuously, extending their features where needed and adding more components to the library.

Benefits of using Resco Power Components:

• Speed up project delivery to clients
• Save costs on developer hours and custom coding
• Guarantee security, quality, and future compatibility of code
• Build components compliant with Power Apps licensing

Príspevok New product alert: Build on Power Platform faster with Resco Power Components zobrazený najskôr Resco.

1. Automated document generation improves operational efficiency 

With findings from a Zapier study highlighting that a significant portion of workers spend hours daily on data-related tasks, the whitepaper underscores the critical need for document automation. By adopting automated document generation, organizations can save resources, minimize errors, and enhance productivity. 

2. Analysis of Microsoft and third-party tools 

The paper presents a guideline for using Microsoft’s native tools versus third-party solutions for document generation. While Microsoft tools offer the advantage of having one supplier, potentially reducing compatibility issues, they may lack the specialization and ease of use provided by third-party solutions specifically designed for document automation on Power Platform. 

3. Advantages of third-party add-ons 

Third-party add-ons bring customization, advanced features, scalability, rapid deployment, and dedicated support to the table. These solutions are built to address the evolving and complex needs of businesses, providing advanced functionalities that enhance Microsoft’s native options. 

4. Key considerations when choosing a solution  

The whitepaper emphasizes the importance of considering factors such as the procurement process, data storage and handling, additional data management costs, and potential performance issues when selecting a document generation solution. These considerations are vital for aligning with regulatory requirements, ensuring cost-effectiveness, and achieving desired operational efficiencies. 

5. Highlight on Resco Docs+ 

Among the third-party solutions, Resco Docs+ stands out for its integrated Document designer, offering a no-code, point-and-click environment for template creation. Its performance, ease of use, and mobile application compatibility make it an ideal choice for organizations seeking reliable and complex document generation capabilities. 

In conclusion, the whitepaper serves as a comprehensive guide for organizations navigating the complexities of document generation on the Power Platform. By evaluating the pros and cons of Microsoft and third-party tools and considering essential selection criteria, businesses can make informed decisions that will aid them in their document automation efforts. 

Download the whitepaper

Príspevok Document generation in Microsoft Power Platform [5 key takeaways from the latest whitepaper]   zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Fieldworkers rely on good tools for data collection, and Resco’s Inspections+ and Forms+ are the go-to solutions. But the real challenge isn’t just gathering data – it’s making sense of it. 

Thanks to our partnership with Microsoft, we’ve made this process straightforward. By integrating Resco’s data collection with Microsoft’s visualization tools, we’ve created a streamlined solution for businesses to harness their data effectively. 

This guide breaks down the steps for using Power BI to not just view but truly understand your questionnaire responses. It’s time to move beyond the basics of data collection and tap into the full potential of your information with the power of Power BI. 

Use case: Working with questionnaires in Power BI 

Using sample data from elevator inspections, we create visual reports to identify patterns.  

For instance, filtering inspections by account reveals variations in problematic accounts. Those variations include:

• Asset-specific insights, like identifying recurring issues with specific elevator brand component.
• Analyzing specific time frames, such as comparing season to season.
• Asking why we did fewer inspections this season compared to others
• Visualizing meaningful data to offer valuable insights. 

Technical integration

Importing data into Power BI Desktop: Data extraction 

Let’s start with the actual report.  Begin by importing data from your backend using the “Get Data” option. This connection serves as the foundation for your Power BI report, allowing you to pull in data from sources like Dataverse or Salesforce. 

Entity selection 

You don’t have to import the whole organization. Select only the relevant entities that you intend to visualize in your report. Once you have selected all the entities that you need, click Transform data. This imports the entities and starts Power Query Editor right away. 

Data transformation and cleaning 

Data refinement 

Use the Power Query Editor to clean up your data. This involves removing unnecessary columns and shaping the data to match your reporting needs. In this use case, unnecessary columns can be questionnaires we don’t want to visualize or questionnaires with serialized answers columns that are empty. Cleaning your data ensures that only essential information is included in your report.  

Parsing JSON 

After you are finished with data cleaning, create a new query (table) that contains only the questionnaires you want to visualize. Remove all but the serialized answers column (containing questionnaire responses in JSON) and transform (parse) it. This step is crucial for isolating the key columns that hold the answers you want to visualize. 

Managing relationship model 

Defining relationships 

The Model View is used to set relationships between various tables in the report. That includes a newly created table, like the one where we’ve transformed questionnaire data.  Establish relationships between the different tables in your dataset. These relationships create a unified data structure, allowing you to connect and analyze data across various entities. 

Building the report (final step) 

Creating visualizations 

In this phase, your data is ready to be visualized. Pick visualizations that convey your data insights the best. You can choose from many visualization types. Here is one of the most basic: A card displaying the number of questionnaires collected. You can modify each visualization by editing properties, adding filters, etc.  

Key takeaways

• Resco’s Inspections+ and Forms+ are essential for precise data collection, answering the challenge to derive meaningful insights from massed data 
• Our collaboration with Microsoft enhances this process by integrating Resco’s data collection with Microsoft’s visualization tools, providing a streamlined solution for businesses. 
• This guide briefly explores displaying and interpreting questionnaire responses with Power BI, unlocking your data’s full potential. 
• In our use case, working with questionnaires in Power BI unveils patterns and valuable insights for decision-making based on actual figures. 

Conclusion

Efficiently transforming questionnaire responses into a robust Power BI report empowers data-driven decisions and becomes a catalyst for knowledge acquisition, strategically equipping field workers for inspections and enhancing overall efficiency. This is how data visualization transforms the mobile workforce. 

Explore more with a Power BI deep dive on the Wiki. 

Príspevok A step-by-step guide to visualizing questionnaire responses with Power BI zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Resco Docs+ is a solution natively integrated in Power Apps that allows you to design your template and choose what data to add. It uses a Power Automate connector to automate the creation, sending, and saving of your documents.

Resco Docs+ is fully integrated in Power Platform. This opens the door for you to use all the tools the low-code platform offers, including the latest innovations.

Design your document

First, you need to choose what document you want to create and how it will look.

Resco Docs+ makes it easy to turn your idea into reality with an intuitive drag-and-drop designer.

You can design your document using a header block, a footer block, and grid blocks. Grids ensure that your data won’t overflow and your layout won’t break down. It will stay exactly as you intended. We call this pixel-perfect design.

Choose what data to use

Choose from a list of fields and variables and simply drag them to the document.

Add data from Microsoft Dataverse/Dynamics365 or those collected in the field. Use data from related and unrelated tables.

Take advantage of the rules engine to show or hide parts of the document.

The no-code system makes it easy for all business users to make changes. More complex requests from partners and skilled users can be satisfied with advanced tools.

Automate document generation, sending, and saving

When you are done with the design stage, use Docs+ to generate your document.

For this, you can use a Power Automate workflow. The Resco Report Connector fetches the document template, fills it in with up-to-date data, and generates a document in your preferred format automatically.

Power Automate also lets you set up what will happen with the document. You can either save it on your SharePoint or send it via email.

Need to schedule documents in advance? You can choose when the document will be created. For example, a monthly report can be automatically generated and sent to the stakeholders once a month. A service report can be stored on SharePoint and sent to a customer when the field technician finishes collecting data and hits a dedicated button. And an invoice can be automatically generated when an order lands.

How to try Resco Docs+?

Resco Docs+ works in a Power Platform environment. To use it, you need an appropriate Power App and Power Automate license, along with Resco Docs+ license.

Learn more on Resco Docs+ landing page and read detailed guidance on Resco Docs+ wiki.

Start a free trial and download the two solution packages from our website. Add these packages to your Power App project, and you are ready to go.

Start free trial

Príspevok Improve your business processes with Resco Docs+ on Power Platform zobrazený najskôr Resco.

In this article, we will delve into:

Understanding Power Platform, the democratization of app development

The Microsoft Power Platform is a low-code / no-code platform designed to simplify the application development process.

It makes digital transformation accessible to both tech professionals and business users. By enabling app development without coding, more people can be engaged in transforming their business in less time. This opens a world of new opportunities: any member of an organization can come up with an idea, develop it, and integrate it seamlessly with the existing framework.

How Resco Power Solutions enhance the Power Platform

The best suggestions for digitizing workflows can come from anywhere, not just the front office. They often come from the frontline, where business meets the world.

Frontline workers, always on the move, require efficient tools regardless of where they are: on the rooftop, in the basement or on the outskirts. They can’t afford to use tools that don’t align with their daily tasks. Simply put, workflows need to be tailored to fit their operations.

This is where Resco comes into play.

Resco is the product of 20+ years of experience, accumulating decades of frontline know-how and turning it into software solutions attuned to the needs of mobile workers.

And now, we are bringing the best of it to Power Platform.

Watch Trevor Metcalfe, Resco’s marketing manager for North America, deliver the news live from the Microsoft Power Platform Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada

As a seasoned ISV partner of Microsoft, Resco is built to natively fit Microsoft Business Applications portfolio – whether with Dynamics, Power Platform, or Business Central.

By using our solutions, businesses can satisfy the needs of their frontline workforce quicker, at a lower cost, and make their projects easy to maintain.

Exploring Resco Forms+, Docs+, and Steps+

We proudly present three inter-compatible solutions for Power Platform. Designed as modular building blocks, you can just reach out and use them whenever needed.

Resco Forms+ enables frontline personnel to collect data – from conducting surveys, audits, and inspections, to using guided workflows, to getting customer signatures. Everything can be done seamlessly within Power Apps and Power Pages. You can use simple drag-and-drop tools to make the form align with the needs of frontline workers. This maximizes user adoption, which in turn means higher data quality.

Resco Docs+  combines Dataverse and field data to automatically create invoices, contracts, and reports in PDF or any format you choose. Users can design pixel-perfect document templates in a drag-and-drop editor and use Power Automate to build flows for automatic document creation, data population, and distribution.

Resco Steps+ allows businesses to share knowledge in a simple, accessible form. You can create step-by-step instruction guides with text, images, and videos to prevent errors and speed up onboarding, making them available exactly when and where frontline workers need them.  

Why choose Resco Power Solutions

Let’s look in more detail at how the new solutions can cut your costs, reduce maintenance and pave the way for the future.

Watch Marek Sitar, Resco’s Product Marketing Manager, explain how Resco Solutions for Power Platform work

Use the advantages of Power Platform and the ISV community

Building in the Power Platform ecosystem means you can count on its longevity in futureproofing your projects.

The partner community is one of the biggest competitive advantages of Microsoft, providing a smart solution to almost any of your challenges.

Leverage native integration

With Resco, you can leverage Microsoft licenses and connect through Active Directory. Resco is not only natively integrated with Microsoft architecture but is also a part of the ecosystem it enhances.

Ready-made solution thanks to our focus on customers

Customers have always been our singular focus. Thanks to countless conversations with organizations that rely on hundreds of frontline workers, we know what the industry needs and have designed ready-made solutions for pressing problems.

We implemented the insights of clients working in the most demanding conditions and armed our solutions with advanced features to cater to their needs. Even if you won’t need every feature from the onset, you can take advantage of them as your company grows. Need new features? Deploy them instantly without any additional costs.

Cut time to market and cost to market, increase ROI

Having a ready-to-go, scalable solution means you don’t have to invest your time and resources in building. You can simply start using it.

When using Resco Power Solutions, you can get prototypes ready for testing within weeks, not quarters. This reduces your time-to-market, and consecutively cost-to-market, over a solution built from scratch.

By using fewer resources, your initial threshold for calculating ROI (return on investment) is lower.

Simplify Maintenance

Implement stakeholder suggestions without discarding your existing code. You can even re-use parts of your projects. Not having to maintain custom code lowers the cost of maintaining your whole project and the risks that come with it.

Use the offline mode of Resco mobile app on Power Platform

Resco is well-known for its mobile app with full offline mode. With an advanced sync engine, it is the mobile app of choice for businesses in the most demanding industries.

When offline is needed, you can always use the Resco Mobile App on top of your Power App license. Your users benefit from our offline-first architecture to avoid increased internet traffic/consumption, latency due to shaky reception (even in urban areas), or even shortened battery life.

If you want to learn more, you can visit the Power Solutions landing page, or watch a recording from our Power Platform masterclass webinar.

Príspevok What are the new Resco Power Solutions? zobrazený najskôr Resco.

Resco Steps+ serves as a practical tool for gathering and maintaining knowledge, enabling employees to access work instructions seamlessly and standardize processes. As a reliable helping hand, it empowers users with the information they need at their fingertips.

While the creation process still requires some manual work, a dedicated AI team within resco.Labs has been actively exploring the advancements in AI technology. This has led to an idea for simplifying the process of creating work instruction guides just by leveraging user descriptions.

We talked to Matej Končal, developer, about the process of implementing AI within Steps+ for the generation of work instructions and benefits that comes with it. 

In this article, you will find out: 

• more about the idea of ​​generating guides with AI 
• how it works 
• the benefits of AI generated digital guides 
• what’s next

Simplifying work instructions

The idea to implement AI into Steps+, freeing our customers from the manual creation of work instructions, began during brainstorming sessions by the AI team at resco.Labs. This initiative aims to drive the process to the next level and transform the way work instructions are generated. 

Currently, if a user wants to create a work instruction guide, there are several manual steps that must be followed. However, there is a way to skip these manual steps by integrating AI with Steps+. This can limit many human errors, easily standardize the form of work instructions, and more importantly, it saves a significant amount of time for users, allowing them to focus on more critical tasks. 

How AI generates work instruction guides 

Thanks to this idea, users no longer have to think about how to structure clear and easy-to-understand instructions.

Let’s have a look at how it will appear in practice and generate a guide for the Lockout-Tagout process, a safety method used to ensure that the hazardous equipment is correctly shut off. 

Users simply need to click a single button and provide a description of the information they want the guide to contain. In this case, we are simply requesting a Lockout-Tagout guide consisting of five steps. 

In response, a draft guide is automatically generated, providing a solid foundation.  

Users can then make additional edits, tailoring the guide to their specific needs. This approach empowers users to create an outline in their own words, freeing them from the limitations of standardized structures and supporting a more personalized and flexible guide creation process. 

How is this possible? The foundation lies in the way our guides are stored in a JSON database structure, which allows for flexibility and easy manipulation of the data. Leveraging the power of OpenAI, our AI team is working hard to implement its API, making it an ideal tool for our guide creation process. 

Beyond just user input, this system goes a step further by tapping into ChatGPT’s own extensive knowledge base. This knowledge base acts as a valuable resource, providing plenty of information that the system can draw upon. By accessing this knowledge base, the system can leverage its own “creativity” and generate helpful suggestions. 

Combining user input with ChatGPT’s own knowledge allows for a more comprehensive and insightful guide creation process. The system not only considers the user’s specific instructions but also includes its own understanding and context, resulting in more accurate and valuable suggestions.

This interaction between user input and the ChatGPT’s knowledge base improves the overall guide creation experience, ensuring that the generated guides are informative and tailored to meet the user’s needs. 

More ideas on the way 

Powered by AI, Steps+ saves time, simplifies the creation process, and collaborates with intelligent suggestions. But that’s not all. There is more to look forward to. At Resco, we are continuously exploring additional ways to integrate AI into our products, aiming to further improve customer experiences and simplify their lives. 

Discover Resco Steps+ 

To find out more, visit the Steps+ landing page and start a free trial.

Príspevok Generating work instructions with the power of ChatGPT in Resco Steps+ zobrazený najskôr Resco.

When you want all your employees to be on the same page, you need a communication channel that is easy to reach and understand. Read how Resco uses its own product, Resco Steps+, to communicate the company’s benefits and sales processes to its staff, harvest feedback, and implement improvements.

At Resco, we have recently launched Resco Steps+, a module that lets companies gather knowledge in the field, review it, and publish it. It is available for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.

Resco employees recognized the module’s potential and started using it immediately. We talked with Internal Communication Specialist Slavomir Chovanec and Sales Manager Michal Kubala about how they chose, implemented, adopted, and used Steps+ within their teams.

In this blog, you will learn, how Steps+:

• helped the internal comms team close knowledge gaps
• helped the sales team keep their data tidy
• supported the onboarding of new sales team members

All employees can easily access information

Steps+ were first used in Resco’s internal Resco+ system, which allows employees to claim their benefits and upload receipts for reimbursement. Resco+ is built entirely on the Resco platform and customized for the use case.

The new Resco+ benefits app has brought a need to let people know what they can claim, how to ensure they have uploaded the correct documents, and what the next steps will be.

Everything in one place

At first, Slavomir Chovanec, Internal Communication Specialist, considered putting all the documentation on SharePoint or in a Word document. But when he learned about the benefits of Steps+, he concluded that this module would be a much more effective solution for employees.

“Steps+ not only make it possible to have all documents related to claiming benefits directly in the app itself. You don’t need to leave the benefits app to get the information you need. The guides look nicer and are more user-friendly. They even allow us to collect statistics and feedback,” explains Slavomir.

Thanks to Steps+, we were able to deploy a whole new app and process after just one online company meeting instead of having to do dedicated training with people in the office.

Four guides for two groups 

The Internal Communications department has created four guides for the users of the Resco+ benefits app.

The first two guides are aimed at all users. One contains instructions on how to use the app. The second guide lists the types of benefits that will be reimbursed by Resco – for example courses, trainings, sports cards, etc.

The third and fourth guide are for administrators. They describe the workflow to employees involved in the approvals process. Only users with the right permissions can see them.

Thanks to setting up user roles in Steps+, people see the content relevant to them, specifically. Anyone in HR or administration, even newcomers, can get all the information without needing to ask.

Easy iteration

Slavomir describes the advantages of working with Steps+ to capture and distribute knowledge: “It was very easy to create the guides. My colleagues and I could cooperate and add images, links, PDFs, and videos.”

Tweaking the guides was smooth, too.

“When we wanted to go for another iteration, we simply made a new copy of the whole guide and tinkered with it. It was pleasant to work with different versions of the guide before publishing the final,” Slavomir adds.

Notepad for new ideas

Steps+ makes it very easy to collaborate on creating content. Slavomir’s team took advantage of this feature.

“We are just getting started with the Resco+ benefits app and we have many ideas for the next steps. We asked ourselves, why not brainstorm in the app and use it as a tool to collect ideas? This allows our app admins to keep track of content ideas that will be used in the next application versions.”

Steps+ in CRM help keep the sales data tidy

In Resco, guides are not only used in the benefits app. They have also found their way into the internal CRM, for which we use our own product – Resco Field Sales+.

Before explaining how Steps+ help the sales team, let’s look at how the CRM works. It is Resco’s hub for the entire sales process from lead generation to customer success and retention.

People in four departments rely on the CRM data: the sales department records the entire sales process, the financial department processes invoices and orders, the marketing department provides leads, and the product department gathers data on the use of products by customers and partners.

It is salespeople who enter most of the data into the system. Sales Manager Michal Kubala explains: “In the CRM, we try to keep all the data as tidy as possible because many processes and plans depend on it.”

Setting a basic standard

Why is it so difficult to keep the data up to date? Michal Kubala sees salespeople as individuals with specific personalities. Everyone has a different approach. Some may be super organized, while others might give lower priority to the administrative part.

“CRM is a problematic tool if everyone uses it differently. If at least a basic standard is set, we’ll immediately have more accurate numbers and better data to work with,” Michal adds.

Michal and his colleagues felt a need to create a best practice guide that would explain the process to all salespeople: “We needed a guide that reflects a single point of truth. All salespeople should look there whenever something is unclear.”

At first, they started tinkering with a text document. “We put together a CRM guide in a text form. The problem was that it has been quite text-heavy. Some salespeople were reluctant to look into it. It was on our SharePoint site, and it took time to find where it was kept.”

“Our CEO Andrew Lorraine introduced me to Steps+. We saw it as a way to make our sales manual easier to access and understand,” says Michal.

Onboarding new sales representatives is easier

The sales team started documenting three parts of the sales process that have had the most significant impact – opportunities, quotes, and leads. These have already been transformed into guides. “We want to start working on pricing and licensing as well. Then we’ll collect feedback and see what will be needed.”

“When completing their work, salespeople now know what should go where and what is important. They see warnings for tricky or complex areas of the process. They are provided with tips and tricks on how to work with CRM. It is especially helpful for new salespeople. It’s much easier to onboard them now,” says Michal Kubala.

The plan is to make the entire documentation for CRM reachable from the CRM itself. Individual guides will link to the right places in the CRM. When a user creates a new opportunity, they will see an icon that will open the guide describing opportunities.

The new guides are already boosting the productivity of the whole sales team. On average, our sales teams used to collectively spend about five hours a week on CRM topics, which we’ve now reduced thanks to including Steps+ directly in CRM.

Try Steps+ for yourself

Steps+ can help you fill knowledge gaps in many areas – not only in internal comms and sales, but also in the field.

Our customers and partners are already piloting Steps+ in various scenarios. They appreciate that the text, photos, or videos for the guides can be added by employees, on any mobile device, even with limited or no connection. The guide can then be completed, approved, and published by employees in the Head Office.

If you can imagine Steps+ solving your problem with knowledge gaps caused by an aging workforce, the high cost of onboarding newcomers, or inconsistent use of information in your organization, start a trial for free.

We will be thrilled to help you get the most out of the tribal knowledge.

Príspevok Using digital guides makes internal communication and sales more straightforward zobrazený najskôr Resco.