Common Data Service – Microsoft Dataverse

Recently the common data service has been renamed to Microsoft Dataverse. Primarily Dataverse allows to securely store and manage data used by business applications. All the data stored within Microsoft Dataverse is stored within a set of tables. Such that a table represents a set of rows (earlier known as records) and columns (earlier known as fields/attributes). Moreover, Dataverse also has a base set of standard tables to cover typical scenarios, but we can also create custom tables specific to an organization and thereby populate them with data by using Power Query. Further, the App developers may use the Power Apps to build rich applications for using this data.

Benefits of using Microsoft Dataverse

The Dataverse offers standard and custom tables which provide a secure and cloud-based storage option. Also, tables allow creating a business-focused definition for using the organization’s data within the apps. Some of the benefits include –

• Firstly, tables are very easy to manage, since both the metadata and data are stored in the cloud.
• Secondly, tables are very secure, since data stored can be accessed by users only if we grant them access. Moreover, role-based security permits to control access to tables for different users within the organization.
• Thirdly, tables allow access to Dynamics 365 Data stored within Dataverse, that permits to immediately build apps that use your Dynamics 365 data and extend apps with Power Apps.
• Next, it offers rich metadata such that data types and relationships are used directly within Power Apps.
• Also, tables provide logic and validation. It helps define calculated columns, business rules, workflows, and business process flows to ensure data quality and drive business processes.
• Lastly, it is a valuable productivity tool. The tables are available within the add-ins for Microsoft Excel for increased productivity and thereby ensure data accessibility.

Learning about Dynamics 365 and Dataverse

The Dynamics 365 applications – Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, or Dynamics 365 Talent use Dataverse for storing and securing the data being used. It allows building apps by using Power Apps and Dataverse directly against core business data, used within Dynamics 365, without the need for integration.

• Firstly, you can use it to build apps against your Dynamics 365 data
• Secondly. you can manage reusable business logic and rules
• Lastly, it allows reusable skills across Dynamics 365 and Power Apps

Steps to integrate Data to Dataverse

Indeed the building of an app may involve data from various source. Even though it may sometimes be conducted at the application level, such that data integration into a common store allows an easier app-building experience as well as a single set of logic to maintain and operate over the data. Further, the data integrated from multiple sources into a single store by dataverse, can be used in Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and Power Virtual Agents together with data already available from the Dynamics 365 applications.

• At first, it allows you to schedule integration with other systems.
• Secondly, it helps you to transform and import data using Power Query
• Also, it allows you to perform simple import and export of Excel and CSV files used for a one-time (or infrequent) import of data into Dataverse.