Microsoft Dataverse: The Power Platform Database

Dataverse (formerly Common Data Service) is the data backbone of Power Platform. It’s a managed, secure database that integrates with Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI.

Key Features

• Relational data with relationships and constraints
• Standard tables for common entities (Account, Contact, etc.)
• Business logic (workflows, plugins)
• Security (row-level, field-level)
• Integration via OData API

Creating a Custom Table

In Power Apps:

1. Tables → New table
2. Define columns
3. Set relationships
4. Configure security

Accessing via Web API

// Get records
fetch("https://org.api.crm.dynamics.com/api/data/v9.2/accounts?$select=name,revenue&$top=10", {
    method: "GET",
    headers: {
        "Authorization": "Bearer " + accessToken,
        "OData-MaxVersion": "4.0",
        "OData-Version": "4.0"
    }
})

// Create record
fetch("https://org.api.crm.dynamics.com/api/data/v9.2/accounts", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
        "name": "New Account",
        "revenue": 1000000
    })
})

Power Automate Integration

When a record is created (Trigger: Dataverse)
  ↓
Get related records
  ↓
Send email notification
  ↓
Update status field

Power BI DirectQuery

// Direct connection to Dataverse
// Real-time data in reports
TotalRevenue = SUM(Accounts[Revenue])

When to Use Dataverse

Use Dataverse when:

• Building Power Apps
• Need business logic in database
• Require row-level security
• Integrating Dynamics 365

Consider alternatives for:

• Big data workloads (use Azure)
• High-volume transactional (use SQL)
• Document storage (use SharePoint)

Dataverse is the glue that connects Power Platform components.