Power Platform Dataverse

What is Microsoft Dataverse (in context)

Microsoft Dataverse is a cloud-based data storage and management platform (previously known as Common Data Service).

It provides a secure, scalable, relational database designed to integrate with Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and Power Virtual Agents.

It’s essentially Microsoft’s "data backbone" for the Power Platform.

Why you might use Dataverse

You’d use Dataverse when you need:

1. A unified, structured data model (similar to SQL tables) shared across multiple Power Platform apps.
2. Data security and governance — role-based security, auditing, compliance, and integration with Azure Active Directory.
3. Relational data — handling complex data with relationships (one-to-many, many-to-many) and business logic.
4. Integration — native connection to Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, and Azure.
5. Offline and mobile support — Power Apps using Dataverse can work offline and sync automatically.

Scenario 1 – Using Dataverse

Example: company helpdesk system

• Power Apps: to create a mobile/web app for employees to submit support tickets.
• Power Automate: to send notifications when a ticket is created or assigned.
• Power BI: to report on ticket resolution times and trends.

Dataverse’s role:

• Stores structured data like Tickets, Employees, Departments, Comments.
• Manages relationships (e.g., one department → many employees).
• Provides built-in security so employees only see their own tickets.
• Supports business rules, data validation, and lookup columns.

Scenario 2 – Without Dataverse

Example: simple vacation request automation

• Power Apps: simple form for submitting vacation requests.
• Power Automate: saves to Excel in SharePoint and sends approval emails.

Storage: Excel/SharePoint lists/OneDrive instead of Dataverse.

Why it works without Dataverse:

• Simple data model (few columns, no complex relationships).
• Lower compliance/security needs.
• Cheaper — no Dataverse/premium connector licensing required.

Key differences: Dataverse vs external storage

Feature / need	Dataverse	Without Dataverse (e.g., SharePoint, Excel, SQL)
Complex relationships	Yes	Difficult
Role-based security	Built-in	Manual setup
Data validation & business rules	Built-in	Manual or missing
Offline support (Power Apps)	Yes	No
Integration with Dynamics 365	Native	Limited
Cost	Requires premium licensing	Cheaper / free
Scalability	Enterprise-grade	Limited

Rule of thumb

• Use Dataverse when you need a robust, secure, multi-app data model that multiple Power Platform services will rely on.
• Use other storage (like SharePoint or Excel) for simple, low-cost automations and single-purpose apps.

Dataverse security model overview

Dataverse uses a role-based security model that combines:

1. User accounts (from Azure AD / Microsoft 365)
2. Security roles (what actions you can take)
3. Access levels (how broadly you can act)
4. Team membership (shared roles or ownership)
5. Record ownership (who owns the data)
6. Hierarchical and field-level permissions (optional refinements)

Permissions can be controlled:

• At the environment level
• At the table level
• At the record level
• At the field level

Environment access

Before you can use Dataverse you need:

• A valid Power Apps or Dynamics license, and
• Access to the environment that contains the Dataverse database.

Security roles

Security roles define what you can do in Dataverse (e.g., read, write, delete) and how broadly (own records vs all records).

Common actions: Create, Read, Write, Delete, Append, Append To, Share, Assign.

Access levels (scopes)

Access level	Description
None	No access at all
User	Only records you own or are shared with you
Business Unit	All records in your business unit
Parent: Child Business Unit	Your business unit and its subunits
Organization	All records in the environment

Teams

Teams can be used to inherit security roles:

• Owner team: owns records, can have security roles assigned directly
• Access team: temporary shared access to specific records
• Azure AD group team: membership synced from Azure AD groups

Record ownership and sharing

Each record has an owner (user or team). Owners can share records with others (e.g., read-only).

Field-level security

Dataverse supports Field Security Profiles for sensitive fields to control read/update/create at the column level.

Hierarchical security (optional)

Optional hierarchy-based access (e.g., managers can see their team’s data) using manager/position hierarchies.

Predefined security roles

Every Dataverse environment includes standard roles you can build on:

• System Administrator
• System Customizer
• Basic User
• Environment Maker (environment-wide role, not a Dataverse role)