Independent Power Platform consultant, UKSpecialist or Microsoft partner? An honest guide to choosing who builds your Power Platform solution.
Both are good choices for different jobs. Here is what partner designations mean, when a large partner is the right call, when an independent specialist fits better, and the trade-offs of working with us.
The short answer
Choose based on the size of the job and who you want doing the work.
Large programmes suit large partners. Focused builds for UK organisations of 20 to 500 staff often suit an independent specialist.
If you search for help with Power Apps, Power Automate or Copilot Studio, most results are Microsoft partners of various sizes, offshore development firms and individual freelancers. Each model works well in the right situation. The question is less "who is best" and more "who fits this particular piece of work".
We are an independent Power Platform consultancy. Every project is scoped, built and handed over by one lead consultant who holds the Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate (PL-200) certification, with a delivery background on enterprise and UK public sector programmes. We are not a Microsoft partner, and this page explains plainly what that does and does not mean for you.
Specialist vs Microsoft partner
What a Microsoft partner designation actually means
Microsoft runs a partner programme for companies that sell, build or support its products. Within it, Solutions Partner designations are awarded at company level. At the time of writing (October 2026), they are based on a points system that broadly reflects three things: how many people at the company hold relevant Microsoft certifications, customer success measures such as deployments and active usage, and growth in the customers the company serves. Microsoft revises the criteria from time to time, so check its current partner programme documentation for the detail.
A designation is a useful signal about a company's overall Microsoft practice: that it has invested in certified people and has a track record of customer deployments. Partners can also access Microsoft programmes, offers and, in some cases, funding that independent consultants cannot.
What a designation does not tell you is who will design and build your app, how experienced that person is with Power Platform specifically, or how the engagement will be priced. Those are questions to ask any supplier, partner or not. Individual certifications such as PL-200 or PL-600 are visible per person, and are worth asking about directly.
When to choose a larger partner
When a large Microsoft partner is the right choice.
We would rather point you to the right kind of supplier than take on work that is not a good fit. A larger partner is usually the better option when you need:
- A rollout across several countries, legal entities or languages at once
- A large programme that needs a team of developers, testers, architects and a project manager working in parallel
- Buying licences, Azure consumption and services together under one commercial agreement
- Contractual 24/7 support with defined response times and on-call cover
- Access to Microsoft funding programmes or deployment offers that are delivered through partners
- Procurement rules that require a supplier of a certain size, or a specific partner designation
When an independent specialist fits
When a boutique Power Platform consultancy fits better.
An independent specialist tends to suit focused, well-bounded work where speed, direct contact and clear pricing matter more than team size.
- A UK organisation of roughly 20 to 500 staff with one to a few processes to fix
- You want to speak directly to the person designing and building the solution
- A defined first build, such as replacing a spreadsheet, automating approvals or a Copilot Studio agent
- You want a written fixed price and published from-prices before the first meeting
- Your own team will take over maintenance and needs proper handover documentation
- A second opinion or health check on an existing Power Platform estate
In practice, that means one specialist from start to finish, with no account manager between you and the person building. You get our from-prices in GBP before the first meeting, a written fixed price before any work starts, a working first version in about two weeks on most builds, weekly demos in your own tenant and a 30-day warranty after go-live.
Because we focus only on Power Platform rather than general IT services, we will also tell you when it is the wrong tool, and when a standard Microsoft 365 feature, an off-the-shelf product or a custom build would serve you better.
Honest trade-offs
The trade-offs of working with an independent specialist, and how we handle them.
Working with one specialist has real limits. Capacity is finite, holiday cover is thinner than a large team's, and knowledge can sit with one person. Here is how we reduce each risk.
Documentation as a deliverable
Every build ships with a solution guide, data dictionary, flow descriptions and a runbook for common changes, written so another competent Power Platform developer could pick it up.
Managed solutions in your tenant
Apps, flows, tables and agents live inside solutions in your environments from day one, not in a personal account or our tenant. Source solutions are exported and handed over too.
No lock-in
You own the work, the accounts and the connections. Service accounts belong to you. There are no proprietary components, licence keys or retainers you must keep paying to keep things running.
Planned capacity and cover
We take on a limited number of projects at a time and agree the schedule in writing. Holidays are notified in advance, and Care Plan clients get monitoring and agreed response times for the apps they rely on.
The single-point-of-knowledge risk is the one we take most seriously. The test we apply to every handover is simple: could a competent Power Platform developer you hire next year understand and change this solution from the documentation alone? If the answer is no, the handover is not finished. Ongoing support is available through a Power Platform support Care Plan, but it is never a condition of the build.
Power Platform partner alternative
Engagement types compared.
General patterns, not rules. Individual suppliers vary, so use this as a starting point for the questions to ask.
| Large Microsoft partner | Offshore development firm | Freelancer | Independent specialist (us) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | A delivery team, often with an account manager, project manager and several developers | A remote team, often coordinated by an onshore account or project lead | The individual you hire, usually inside your team's processes | The certified consultant you speak to, from scoping to handover |
| Typical engagement | Programmes, retainers or larger statements of work | Time and materials or fixed bids, often with a minimum team size | Day rate, often for a minimum number of weeks | Productised fixed-price packages, then fixed-price builds |
| Price visibility | Usually quoted after discovery | Usually quoted after discovery; lower day rates are common | Day rate known; total depends on how long it takes | From-prices published; written fixed price before work starts |
| Capacity and scale | High; can scale a team up quickly | High; large teams available | One person's time | One specialist's time, scheduled in advance |
| Holiday and sickness cover | Built into the team | Built into the team | Usually none | Limited; mitigated by documentation and planned schedules |
| Microsoft partner designation | Often held | Sometimes held | Not applicable | Not held by us; individual PL-200 certification |
| Who manages delivery | The partner | Shared; time-zone overlap matters | You do | We do, with weekly demos in your tenant |
| Often the better fit for | Large or multi-country programmes and 24/7 support | Large, well-specified builds where cost per day matters most | Adding capacity to an existing in-house team | Focused builds for organisations of 20 to 500 staff |
Questions to ask any supplier
Five questions that matter more than the logo
- Who exactly will design and build the solution, and which certifications do they hold?
- Will the work be priced as a fixed fee or by the day, and what happens if it overruns?
- Will everything be built in our tenant, inside solutions we own, with documentation?
- How will we see progress: written reports, or working software in our environment each week?
- What happens after go-live: is support optional, and can another developer take over?
Our answers are on the about page, our fixed-price packages and the consultancy FAQ. For a direct comparison on your own project, book a free 20-minute call.
FAQ
Independent consultant or Microsoft partner: common questions
Do I need a Microsoft partner to build Power Apps?
No. Anyone with the right skills and access to your tenant can build Power Apps, Power Automate flows and Copilot Studio agents. A Microsoft partner can be the right choice for large programmes, licence bundles or partner-delivered funding, but partner status is not required to design or build a solution. What matters most is the experience and certification of the person doing the work.
What is a Microsoft Solutions Partner designation?
It is a company-level designation in the Microsoft partner programme. At the time of writing it is awarded on a points system that reflects things like the number of certified people at the company, customer deployments and usage, and growth. It says something useful about a company's overall Microsoft practice; it does not tell you who will build your app. Check Microsoft's current partner programme documentation for the exact criteria.
What is the difference between a Power Platform freelancer and an independent consultant?
A freelancer usually works on a day rate inside your team, with you managing the work and the outcome. An independent consultancy like ours scopes the work, gives a written fixed price, manages delivery and is accountable for the result, with documentation and a warranty. Both can be good choices depending on whether you need extra hands or a delivered outcome.
What happens if our independent consultant is unavailable?
It is a fair question for any small supplier. We reduce the risk by keeping everything in your tenant inside managed solutions, documenting each build so another developer could maintain it, scheduling holidays in advance and agreeing response times for Care Plan clients. If you need guaranteed 24/7 cover, a larger partner may suit you better, and we will say so.
Is a boutique Power Platform consultancy cheaper than a large partner?
Often, for focused work, mainly because there are fewer layers between you and the person building. We publish from-prices so you can compare: a Licensing Review from £395, a Health Check from £1,450 and a 2-Week Proof of Value from £4,950, all excluding VAT. For large programmes, a bigger team may deliver more in less elapsed time.
Talk to the specialist who would build it.
A free 20-minute call, no account manager. You get an honest view on whether we, a larger partner or a different approach suits your project, and a rough budget if it is us.