What is Explore Microsoft Dataverse

Microsoft Dataverse is a cloud-based solution that easily structures various data and business logic to support interconnected applications and processes in a secure and compliant manner. Managed and maintained by Microsoft, Dataverse is available globally but deployed geographically to comply with your potential data residency. It isn’t designed for stand-alone use on your servers, so you need an internet connection to access and use it.

Dataverse is different from traditional databases in that it’s more than just tables. It incorporates security, logic, data, and storage into a central point. It’s designed to be your central data repository for business data, and you might even be using it already. Behind the scenes, it powers many Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions such as Field Service, Customer Insights, Customer Service, and Sales. It’s also available as part of Power Apps and Power Automate with native connectivity built right in. The AI Builder and Portals features of Microsoft Power Platform also utilize Dataverse.

The image shows a visualization that brings together the many offerings of Microsoft Dataverse.

Here’s a brief explanation of each category of features.

• Security: Dataverse handles authentication with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to allow for conditional access and multifactor authentication. It supports authorization down to the row and column level and provides rich auditing capabilities.
• Logic: Dataverse allows you to easily apply business logic at the data level. Regardless of how a user interacts with the data, the same rules apply. These rules could be related to duplicate detection, business rules, workflows, or more.
• Data: Dataverse offers you the control to shape your data, allowing you to discover, model, validate, and report on your data. This control ensures your data looks the way you want regardless of how it’s used.
• Storage: Dataverse stores your physical data in the Azure cloud. This cloud-based storage removes the burden of worrying about where your data lives or how it scales. These concerns are all handled for you.
• Integration: Dataverse connects in different ways to support your business needs. APIs, webhooks, eventing, and data exports give you flexibility to get data in and out.

As you can see, Microsoft Dataverse is a powerful cloud-based solution for storing and working with your business data. In the following sections, you look at Microsoft Dataverse from the lens of data storage for Microsoft Power Platform, where you start your journey. Keep in mind the other rich capabilities discussed which you can explore further as your usage increases.

To get started, Microsoft Dataverse lets you create one or many cloud-based instances of a standardized database. The database includes predefined tables and columns that store data commonly found across nearly all organizations and businesses. You can customize and extend what’s stored by adding new columns or tables. The ease of setting up a Microsoft Dataverse database and standardized data model under it simplifies your ability to concentrate your efforts on building solutions without worrying about infrastructure, storage, and data integration. With your data stored in Microsoft Dataverse, there are many ways to access it. You can work with the data natively with tools such as Power Apps or Power Automate. Any business solution can connect to Dataverse using connectors APIs. With the power of features such as role-based security and business rules, you can trust your data is safe no matter how it it’s accessed.