Microsoft Dataverse and Dynamics 365 solutions work closely together to connect business data, applications, and processes across an organisation. The relationship between these technologies isn’t simply about integrating one solution with another. Dataverse provides a secure data platform that can help organisations manage business data and connect it with applications across the Microsoft ecosystem.
In the modern era of prioritising customers and delivering connected experiences, data plays an important role. Generally, a business collects huge amounts of customer and operational data from different sources on a daily basis. Businesses then need to analyse this data and turn it into useful information for better decision-making.
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Dataverse is one such Microsoft data platform that securely stores and manages business data in the cloud. It provides a structured data foundation that applications can use to access and work with business information. Dynamics 365 applications, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI can work with Dataverse data in different ways depending on the application and integration scenario.
This is how the relationship between Dynamics 365 and Dataverse helps businesses create a more connected application and data environment.
What is Dynamics 365?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a portfolio of business applications that includes ERP and CRM solutions. These applications help organisations manage areas such as finance, sales, customer service, supply chain, field service, commerce, projects, and human resources.
Some of the major Dynamics 365 applications include:
Dynamics 365 Business Central
Dynamics 365 Finance
Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management
Dynamics 365 Sales
Dynamics 365 Customer Service
Dynamics 365 Field Service
Dynamics 365 Commerce
Dynamics 365 Project Operations
Dynamics 365 Human Resources
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys
To implement any of the Dynamics 365 ERP or CRM solutions, you need to understand your business requirements and their uniqueness before finalising a solution. However, Dynamics Square can help you understand your business requirements and select a solution that aligns with your business needs.
For complex requirements, Dynamics 365 applications can also be extended through configuration, customisation, integrations, and the wider Microsoft ecosystem.
What is Microsoft Dataverse?
Microsoft Dataverse, earlier known as Common Data Service (CDS), is a cloud-based data platform that lets organisations securely store and manage data used by business applications.
Dataverse stores data in tables consisting of rows and columns. Rows were previously referred to as records, while columns were previously referred to as fields or attributes. Each column is designed to store a particular type of information, such as a name, age, address, or other business data.
Dataverse provides standard tables for common business scenarios, while organisations can also create custom tables when their requirements are not covered by the standard data model.
Dataverse also provides capabilities for security, business rules, validation, relationships, auditing, data integration, and application development. This makes it more than a conventional cloud storage system; it acts as a data foundation for business applications.
Types of Tables in Dataverse
Dataverse provides different types of tables to help organisations structure and manage business data. The main types include:
Standard Table: These tables are provided by Dataverse for common business scenarios. Examples include Account, Contact, User, and other commonly used business tables. Standard tables can often be customised to meet additional business requirements.
Custom Table: These tables can be created when the standard tables do not meet a specific business requirement. Custom tables allow organisations to define their own columns, relationships, business rules, and other properties.
Activity Table: Activity tables are designed for activities such as emails, appointments, tasks, and phone calls. They help organisations track actions and interactions associated with business processes.
Dataverse also supports Virtual Tables, which allow applications to work with data stored in external systems without physically storing the external data in Dataverse. Elastic Tables are designed for scenarios involving very large volumes of data.
Benefits of Standard and Custom Tables with Dataverse
Standard and custom tables in Dataverse provide a structured and secure way to manage business data. They come with numerous benefits, such as:
Easy to Store and Manage Data
You can store and manage business data in a structured cloud-based environment without having to manage the underlying database infrastructure yourself.
Secure Data Storage
Dataverse provides role-based security and access controls so that organisations can control which users have access to business data. Security can be applied at different levels depending on the requirements of the application and organisation.
Accurate Logic and Validation
Dataverse provides business rules, business process flows, workflows, and other capabilities that can help validate data and automate business processes. This helps maintain data quality and consistency across applications.
Access Dynamics 365 Data
Data from Dynamics 365 applications that use Dataverse can be accessed and extended through Power Platform capabilities. This can help organisations build applications, automate processes, and analyse business information.
Integration with Microsoft Tools
Dataverse integrates with Microsoft technologies such as Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and Microsoft Excel. These integrations allow organisations to use business data across applications for reporting, automation, and application development.
Dynamics 365 and Dataverse: What’s the Correlation?
Dynamics 365 and Dataverse have a strong relationship within the Microsoft business application ecosystem, but the exact architecture depends on the Dynamics 365 application being used.
Customer engagement applications such as Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service, and Field Service use Dataverse as their underlying data platform. This allows organisations to work with customer and operational data across Dynamics 365 and Power Platform applications.
Other Dynamics 365 applications have their own application-specific data architectures. For example, Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management use their own cloud-based transactional data architecture and can integrate with Dataverse through supported integration patterns.
For example, Dynamics 365 Business Central provides built-in integration capabilities with Dataverse. This can support data synchronisation, virtual tables, data-change events, and business events between Business Central and Dataverse.
Dataverse can also connect Dynamics 365 applications with the wider Microsoft ecosystem. Organisations can use Power Apps to build business applications, Power Automate to automate workflows, and Power BI to analyse and visualise business data.
This connected approach can help businesses reduce data silos, improve access to information, and create more consistent business processes across applications.
How Does Dataverse Support Dynamics 365?
Dataverse provides a common data foundation for many Dynamics 365 customer engagement applications and Power Platform solutions. Instead of building a separate data structure for every application, organisations can use standard and custom tables, relationships, security roles, and business logic to manage business data.
For example, a business can use customer data in Dynamics 365 Sales, build a Power App using that data, automate a related approval process with Power Automate, and create analytical reports with Power BI.
This helps organisations connect business applications while maintaining appropriate security and governance around their data.
Get Started with Microsoft Dataverse
The capabilities of Dataverse can help businesses build connected applications, manage business data, and extend Dynamics 365 solutions. If you want to implement or integrate Dataverse with your existing Microsoft business environment, Dynamics Square UK can help you assess your requirements and select the appropriate approach.
Dynamics Square can support businesses with Dynamics 365 implementation, Power Platform solutions, integrations, data management, and business application services.
If you are looking to connect Dynamics 365 with Dataverse or extend your business applications using Power Platform, contact Dynamics Square UK to discuss your requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Microsoft Dataverse is a cloud-based data platform that securely stores and manages data used by business applications. It provides standard and custom tables, security, relationships, business logic, and integration capabilities.
Dynamics 365 and Dataverse are closely connected within the Microsoft business application ecosystem. Customer engagement applications such as Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service, and Field Service use Dataverse as their underlying data platform, while other Dynamics 365 applications can integrate with Dataverse through supported integration patterns.
Dataverse is a data platform used to securely store and manage business data, while Dynamics 365 is a portfolio of business applications for areas such as sales, customer service, finance, supply chain, and operations.
Dynamics 365 Finance has its own application-specific transactional data architecture. It can integrate with Dataverse through supported integration patterns, but it should not be described as using Dataverse as its primary transactional database.
Yes. Business Central provides built-in integration capabilities with Dataverse, including data synchronisation, virtual tables, data-change events, and business events.
Yes. Dataverse can work with Microsoft technologies including Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, Excel, and Dynamics 365 applications. Integration options depend on the application and business requirement.
Dynamics Square UK can help businesses assess Dataverse requirements, integrate Microsoft business applications, implement Dynamics 365 solutions, and extend business processes using Power Platform technologies.
