Dataverse, as a part of Power Platform, enables you to manage and store data utilized by business applications securely. Data within Dataverse is stored within a set of tables.
A table is made up of rows (formerly known as records) and columns (previously known as fields/attributes). Each column in the table is intended to hold specific information, such as name, age, salary, and so forth.
Dataverse comes with a foundational set of default tables that address common scenarios. Still, you can also design unique tables specific to your company and use Power Query to populate them with data. Then, developers may use Power Apps to create sophisticated applications that utilize this data.
Why use Dataverse?
Standard and custom tables within Dataverse provide a secure and cloud-based storage option for your data. Tables let you create a business-focused definition of your organization’s data for use within apps. Consider these advantages if you’re unsure whether tables are the right choice for you:
- Simple to manage: The data and metadata are kept in the cloud. You don’t have to be concerned with the specifics of how they are kept.
- Simple to secure: Information is properly saved, so users can only access it if you give them permission. Thanks to role-based security, you can manage which people inside your company have access to specific tables.
- Access your Dynamics 365 Data: Because Dataverse stores your Dynamics 365 application data, you can easily create apps that utilize it and expand them using Power Apps.
- Rich metadata: Power Apps directly employ data types and relationships.
- Logic and validation: To maintain data quality and power business processes, define calculated columns, business rules, workflows, and business process flows.
- Tools for productivity: Tables are provided in the Microsoft Excel add-ins to boost productivity and guarantee data accessibility.
Integrating data into Dataverse
It often takes data from multiple sources to build an app.
Despite the fact that this can occasionally be done at the application level, there are instances where integrating this data into a common store enables a simpler app-building process and a single piece of logic to manage and operate over the data.
In conjunction with the data already available from the Dynamics 365 applications, Dataverse enables the integration of data from several sources into a single store that can then be used in Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, and Power Virtual Agents.
- Scheduled integration with other systems: You can use data from other applications in Power Apps by having data from those other apps routinely synchronized with Dataverse.
- Transform and import data with Power Query: Power Query, a technology frequently used in Excel and Power BI, allows you to transform data when importing it into Dataverse from a variety of online data sources.
- One-time import of data: Excel and CSV files can be easily imported and exported in order to operate data into and from Dataverse only once (or infrequently).
Tables in Dataverse
Business data is modeled and managed using tables. You can create custom tables, standard tables, or a combination of both when creating an app. Standard tables are provided by default in Microsoft Dataverse.
These tables were created according to best practices to include the most typical ideas and situations within a business.