What is Microsoft Dataverse

Microsoft Dataverse allows organizations to securely store and manage data used by your business applications. Dataverse data is stored in tables. A table is a set of rows and columns. Each column in a table stores specific type of data such as names, locations, ages, dates, salaries, and so on. In addition to data storage, Dataverse also has other elements that help with securing data, data validation, and productivity.

Each Dataverse instance includes a base set of standard tables that cover typical business scenarios such as accounts, contacts, and activities. This base set of tables reduces the amount of time that it takes for organizations to start building solutions since there are already standard business tables available. Additionally, organizations can create custom tables specific to their needs and populate them with data.

For example:

• A real estate company might create tables to store the properties they sell, represent open houses, or store showings.
• A financial company might add tables to represent loan applications or bank accounts.
• An auto repair company might add tables to represent the parts they sell or the services they provide.

Once the tables are created, application makers can use tools like Power Apps to build rich business applications that use this data. For example, a real estate company might create a property management application for their agents working in the field. The app would provide agents with access to the properties stored in Dataverse.

Using Dataverse provides these benefits:

• Easy to manage: Both the metadata and data are stored in the cloud.
• Easy to secure: Data is securely stored so users can only access what they need to. Role-based security allows you to control access to tables for different users within your organization.
• Rich metadata: Data types and relationships are used directly within Power Apps.
• Logic and validation: Define calculated columns, business rules, workflows, and business process flows to ensure data quality and drive business processes.
• Productivity tools: Tables are available within the add-ins for Microsoft Excel to increase productivity and ensure data accessibility.

Many solutions built on Power Platform use both Dataverse and connectors heavily. Dataverse acts as the primary business data storage mechanism, and connectors are used in the different apps and automations that are connecting to different data services.