Dataverse act as a database. Dataverse allows you to securely store and manage data used by your business applications. Data within Dataverse is stored within a set of tables.
Dataverse includes a base set of standard tables that cover typical business scenarios such as accounts, contacts, and activities.
Integrating data into Dataverse
Building an app typically involves data from more than one source. Although this can sometimes be done at the application level, there are cases where integrating this data into a common store allows for an easier app-building experience and a single set of logic to maintain and operate over the data. Dataverse allows data to be integrated from multiple sources into a single store, which can then be used in Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and Power Virtual Agents along with data that's already available from the Dynamics 365 applications.
- Scheduled integration with other systems – Data that's kept within another application can be regularly synchronized with Dataverse to allow you to take advantage of data from other applications in Power Apps.
- Transform and import data using Power Query – Transforming data when importing into Dataverse can be done through Power Query—a tool commonly used across Excel and Power BI—from many online data sources.
- One-time import of data – Simple import and export of Excel and CSV files can be used for a one-time (or infrequent) import of data into Dataverse.
For more information about integrating data into the Dataverse, go to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-query/dataflows/add-data-power-query.
Interacting with tables
When you develop an app, you can use standard tables, custom tables, or both. Dataverse provides standard tables by default. These are designed, in accordance with best practices, to capture the most common concepts and scenarios within an organization.
You can extend the functionality of standard tables by creating one or more custom tables to store information that's unique to your organization. More information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/data-platform/create-custom-entity
Logic and validation
Tables within Dataverse can take advantage of rich server-side logic and validation to ensure data quality and reduce repetitive code in each app that creates and uses data within a table.
- Business rules validate data across multiple columns and tables, and provide warning and error messages, regardless of the app used to create the data. More information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/data-platform/data-platform-create-business-rule
- Business process flows guide users to ensure they enter data consistently and follow the same steps every time. Business process flows are currently only supported for model-driven apps. More information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/business-process-flows-overview
- Workflows allow you to automate business processes without user interaction. More information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/maker/data-platform/overview-realtime-workflows
- Business logic with code supports advanced developer scenarios to extend the application directly through code. More information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-apps/developer/data-platform/apply-business-logic-with-code
Security
Dataverse has a rich security model to protect the data integrity and privacy of users while promoting efficient data access and collaboration. You can combine business units, role-based security, row-based security, and column-based security to define the overall access to information that users have in a Power Platform environment. More information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/wp-security in the Power Platform admin guide
