Carl Cookson
Power Platform Architect & Developer
London, United Kingdom
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Power Platform seasoned (ex) developer with a passion for community and enabling everyone.
I am a seasoned professional developer who has experience with Dynamics 365 as well as other CRMs for over 20 years.
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Introducing the Power Platform ToolBox
Power Platform ToolBox is a modern, cross‑platform desktop application that brings together community‑built tools for managing, building, and troubleshooting Microsoft Power Platform and Dataverse applications.
In this lightning talk, you’ll get a fast‑paced introduction to what Power Platform ToolBox is capable of. We’ll look at how it lets you discover, install, and update tools with a single click, connect securely to your environments using interactive login and MFA, and run each tool in complete isolation for improved security and stability.
I'll also highlight the kinds of tools available today, including:
Dataverse data management, bulk operations, and migrations
Environment, solution, and security role analysis
Power Automate flow exploration and visualisation
Metadata exploration, dependency analysis, ERD generation, and documentation
Developer tools for plugins, PCF controls, and Custom APIs
Finally, we’ll touch on how Power Platform ToolBox is open source, community‑led, and designed to evolve alongside the platform, making it a successor to the XrmToolBox in lots of ways.
Power Automate Not Integrate: The Rise of the Agents
Every great integration project starts with a script. Yet too often we jump straight into development before understanding which tools, patterns, and technologies are best suited to the role.
And when Power Automate just doesn’t cut it, AI is there to help take your integration to the next level.
In the third instalment of this series, we begin by exploring the integration landscape across the Microsoft Power Platform and Azure. From Power Automate and Dataverse events through to Azure Functions, APIs, Custom Connectors, Service Bus, and Logic Apps, you will learn when each approach belongs in the cast and when it should remain on the cutting room floor.
Once the scene is set, we shift focus to the newest member of the production team: Artificial Intelligence.
Mats and Carl will show how they use Copilot to accelerate the design and development of integration solutions utliising it to create architecture diagrams, generate infrastructure as code, build Azure Functions, develop APIs, write unit tests, create Custom Connectors, document solutions, and troubleshoot issues. Using the latest tools, Copilot becomes your production assistant in your latest blockbuster.
By the end of this session you will:
Understand the key integration options available within Power Platform and Azure.
Know when to use Power Automate, Logic Apps, Azure Functions, Service Bus, APIs, and Custom Connectors.
See how AI can accelerate solution design and architecture decisions as well as assist you at every moment of your deployment.
Gain practical techniques for delivering integration projects faster while maintaining quality and governance.
Whether you are a maker, developer, architect, or consultant, this session will show you how AI is changing the way modern integration solutions are brought from script to screen.
Power Platform Admin Essentials: CLI, Tools & Tips
The Power Platform CLI is a powerful tool with a dedicated following, offering extensive functionality to help you build and maintain your Dynamics and Power Platform environment. But do you know how to get started? Are you making the most out of it? What are the hidden gems and tips that can elevate your experience?
If you’re not a fan of command lines and prefer a more visual approach, don’t worry! There are plenty of features available through the standard admin center. Plus, there are numerous community tools designed to make your life easier.
Join Microsoft Power Platform Advocate Daniel Laskewitz and community tool legend Carl Cookson as they guide you through the Power Platform CLI, XrmToolBox, and the Admin Center. With their hints, tips, and live demos, you’ll discover the must-know features that will simplify your journey as a Power Platform developer or administrator.
Building SOLID PCF controls with Github Copilot 🤖
Tired of messy Typescript and inconsistent PCF projects? Want to speed up your delivery, improve code quality and transform your custom projects? Need a standard way of working across all your components?
This lab will take a novice React developer 🧑💻to the next level, allowing them to provide enhanced user interfaces beyond the standard, utilising themes common with full-stack developers. It will also provide you with approaches to utlising Gen AI across your development and user interfaces, whether Copilot, Claude or others. It will also highlight some common mistakes to watch out for, particularly with new devs (or new AI tooling)
In this lab, we’ll build PCF controls together, using a robust, reusable architecture that brings clarity and structure to every solution.
We’ll dive into how output properties supercharge your controls, enabling dynamic interactions across the form and unlocking powerful, responsive behaviours. By working through a living example and creating code together, this session will enable you for the next wave user interfaces.
If you want to build PCF controls that are not just functional but future-proof, this session is your next step.
Agenda
1. Intros and setting up your environment.
2. What is mobx - building your first view
3. Defining interactions and improving performance
4. Github Copilot in action
5. Reviewing Generated Apps
Career Strategy Health Check: Ask the Experts, are you doing the right things now, for your future?
The tech landscape as we know it is changing and so are roles within consultancies and end users. We can’t avoid conversations about disruptive AI, big tech layoffs and how we all need to adapt. But what are you doing about it? One thing is for sure, burying your head in the sand to see what happens isn’t an option!
Our panel of experienced AI and Microsoft industry experts and hiring managers, will discuss the changes they’re seeing within their own organisations and advise what you can be doing to keep up with the market.
This interactive session will offer a generous amount of time to audience participation and ‘Ask us Anything’.
Host:
BizApps Career Coach
Panel:
Head of AI – Top 100 UK Law Firm
Power Platform Practice Lead, Microsoft Partner
Solution Architect and former Head of Power Platform
Power Platform (Power Pages) Freelancer
Founder & Principal Consultant, Strategist, Coach, Mentor & MVP
You will come away with confidence and knowledge of what the people who are reviewing you job application are actually looking for, and an understanding of what other options like contracting and freelance could mean for you.
Code Apps, Generative Pages, and Vibe: Understanding the Technology and the Impact
The Power Platform now offers several Copilot‑driven ways to build applications, but choosing between Code Apps, Generative Pages, and vibe.powerapps.com is as much an organizational decision as it is a technical one.
In this session we will compare these three approaches from both angles. Technically, we will look at how each option is built, how Copilot is applied, what level of control you have over data models, UI, logic, and extensibility, and where the current limitations are. You will see how starting an app from code differs from starting from a prompt, and how AI‑generated structure fits into traditional Power Platform patterns.
From an organisational perspective, we will explore what each approach enables for different roles and teams. We’ll discuss how Code Apps support professional developers and complex ALM scenarios, where Generative Pages accelerate delivery inside model‑driven apps, and how vibe lowers the barrier for business users to move from idea to working solution. We will also cover the impact on governance, maintainability, skills adoption, and collaboration between makers, developers, and IT.
By tying the technology to real delivery models, this session helps you understand:
- When speed matters more than flexibility, and when the reverse is true
- How different build experiences influence ownership, support, and long‑term sustainability
- How these tools can coexist within a single Power Platform strategy rather than competing with each other
If you are responsible for building apps, enabling teams, or setting direction for Power Platform adoption, this session will help you align the right Copilot experience with both technical requirements and organizational goals.
The Dataverse Experience: Get hands on and create amazing things with Microsoft Dataverse
Join us for a full day Dataverse workshop where you will learn how to create useful, secure solutions using Dataverse. In this hands-on, scenario based workshop, you will gain knowledge on how to leverage Dataverse to manage your data effectively, efficiently and securely. Our experienced instructors will guide you through the process of designing and building data structures specific to your organization's needs. You'll learn to create custom entities, fields, and relationships, and how to use workflows, business rules, PowerApps and APIs to build programmatical and user interfaces to secure data. By the end of the day, you'll have a thorough understanding of how to use Dataverse to manage data in a secure, scalable, and cost-effective way. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to maximize the benefits of Dataverse for your organization!
Power Platform Security 🔐 Do’s and Don’ts
How not to make your data public but still engage your makers and enable your users.
Defining who should have access to your precious data is a fundamental part of creating an application and is frequently forgotten. This whistle-stop tour of the security principles of the Power Platform will enable you to assess and ensure your app keeps your data secure.
We will cover all relevant parts of security around the Power Platform so you will learn how to secure:
- secure your platform,
- your application
- your data
- your API
by leveraging the OOTB configurations and the best practices from our two speakers' years of working with every type of customer.
Whether you are already a security superstar or just starting your journey getting there, we have you covered and are looking forward to an extensive Q&A to tailor the content even better to your needs!
API’s – The most powerful tool, anyone can use!
API’s are a powerful tool and using them with the Power Platform can take a good solution, into an incredible solution. You can use API’s to get information from Companies house, update external systems, get images of Cats and much, much more.
In this session, Carl will go through, what are API’s, how you can use them in the Power Platform and show you there is nothing to be afraid of.
European Power Platform Conference (EPPC26) Sessionize Event
ColorCloud Hamburg 2026 Sessionize Event
European Power Platform Conference (EPPC25) Sessionize Event
Powerful Devs Conference 2025 Sessionize Event
Cloud Technology Townhall Tallinn 2025 Sessionize Event
European Power Platform Conference (EPPC24) Sessionize Event
ColorCloud Hamburg 2024 Sessionize Event
Canadian Power Platform Summit 2024 Sessionize Event
Nordic Summit 2023 Sessionize Event
Scottish Summit 2023 Sessionize Event
Iberian Technology Summit Sessionize Event
Power Platform 24 Sessionize Event
Power Platform Nordic Summit 2022 Sessionize Event
Power Platform Conference (Community Content) Sessionize Event
Dynamics 365 & Power Platform User Group - London User group Sessionize Event
Scottish Summit 2022 Sessionize Event
Oslo Power Platform and beyond Sessionize Event
SWISS Power Platform 365 Saturday 2021 Sessionize Event
Dynamics 365 User Group - UK - 22 Apr 2021 Sessionize Event
Certification Saturday 2021 Sessionize Event
Virtual Scottish Summit 2021 Sessionize Event
Certification Saturday 2020 Sessionize Event
Dynamics 365 User Group - UK - 2nd Dec 2020 Sessionize Event
October Wave 2020 Sessionize Event
Dynamics 365 User Group - London 27th July 2020 Sessionize Event
Power Platform Fest : Summer 2020 Blast! Sessionize Event
Microsoft 365 Virtual Marathon Sessionize Event
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