Quick Answer
The answer is Power Apps portals. This is the correct choice because portals (now part of Power Pages) provide a low-code, authenticated website that allows external users like suppliers to view stock levels without needing a Power Apps license or internal network access, with permissions set to read-only to prevent any modification. On the Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals PL-900 exam, this question tests your understanding of which component serves external versus internal users—a common trap is choosing Canvas apps, which are designed for internal users and require licensing or guest Azure AD access. Remember the memory tip: “Portals for partners, Canvas for colleagues”—if the user is outside your organization and only needs to view data, think portals.
This PL-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe the business value of microsoft power platform. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A retail company uses Power Apps to manage inventory. The app allows store managers to scan barcodes and update stock levels in real time. The company wants to extend this capability to suppliers so they can view stock levels but not modify them. Which Power Platform component should be used to create the supplier-facing interface?
Power Apps portals
Power Apps portals enable external users to interact with data through a secure website.
Power BI dashboard
Why wrong: Power BI is for data visualization, not interactive data entry.
Canvas app
Why wrong: Canvas apps are designed for internal users, not external supplier access.
Power Automate
Why wrong: Power Automate is for automating workflows, not building user interfaces.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Power Apps portals
Power Apps portals (now part of Power Pages) allow external users, such as suppliers, to access data through a low-code, authenticated website without requiring a Power Apps license or internal network access. This enables suppliers to view stock levels via a browser-based interface while preventing any modification, as permissions can be set to read-only. Canvas apps, by contrast, are designed for internal users and require a license or guest access in Azure AD, making portals the correct choice for external, unauthenticated or lightly authenticated scenarios.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Power Apps portals
Why this is correct
Power Apps portals enable external users to interact with data through a secure website.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Power BI dashboard
Why it's wrong here
Power BI is for data visualization, not interactive data entry.
Canvas app
Why it's wrong here
Canvas apps are designed for internal users, not external supplier access.
Power Automate
Why it's wrong here
Power Automate is for automating workflows, not building user interfaces.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse a canvas app’s ability to share with external users (via guest access) with a purpose-built external-facing portal, forgetting that canvas apps require licensing and are not designed for anonymous or lightly authenticated external access without complex Azure AD setup.
Detailed technical explanation
Power Apps portals leverage the Dataverse (formerly Common Data Service) as the backend, using the portal’s built-in web role and entity permission system to enforce row-level and field-level security. Under the hood, the portal renders as an ASP.NET-based website that communicates with Dataverse via the OData v4 REST API, allowing external users to perform CRUD operations strictly according to assigned permissions. In a real-world scenario, a supplier would log in via Azure AD B2C or local authentication, see a read-only grid of inventory items, and any attempt to POST or PATCH data would be rejected by the portal’s permission layer.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
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FAQ
Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform — This question tests Describe the business value of Microsoft Power Platform — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Power Apps portals — Power Apps portals (now part of Power Pages) allow external users, such as suppliers, to access data through a low-code, authenticated website without requiring a Power Apps license or internal network access. This enables suppliers to view stock levels via a browser-based interface while preventing any modification, as permissions can be set to read-only. Canvas apps, by contrast, are designed for internal users and require a license or guest access in Azure AD, making portals the correct choice for external, unauthenticated or lightly authenticated scenarios.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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