Microsoft Dataverse is the shared data platform that underlies Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. It provides a secure, structured way to store and manage business data, with built-in security roles, business logic and relationships between tables, so that applications built on Dataverse can share data without manual syncing.
How Dataverse works
Dataverse organises data into tables, similar to database tables but with built-in business meaning, validation rules and relationships already defined. Because Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service, Field Service and custom Power Apps all store data in Dataverse, a customer record updated in one application is immediately visible in another. Security roles control who can see and edit specific tables and records, supporting complex organisational structures without custom development.
How UK businesses use Dataverse
- A business running Dynamics 365 Sales and Field Service relies on Dataverse so a customer record updated by the sales team is immediately visible to the field service team.
- An IT team builds a custom Power Apps application on Dataverse to manage company assets, sharing security roles and a consistent data model with existing Dynamics 365 applications.
- A business uses Dataverse security roles so that only finance staff can see commercially sensitive pricing data, while sales staff retain access to customer and opportunity records.
- A consultancy extends its Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement deployment with custom Dataverse tables to track project-specific data alongside standard CRM records.
How Advantage designs Dataverse data models
Advantage designs Dataverse data models and security structures as part of Dynamics 365 and Power Platform implementations, ensuring custom tables and relationships integrate cleanly with standard Dynamics 365 functionality rather than creating data silos.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dataverse the same as a SQL database?
Dataverse is built on Azure SQL Database underneath, but it adds a business-friendly data model, built-in security roles, business logic and a managed environment on top. This means most users and even developers interact with Dataverse through its data model rather than writing raw SQL.
Do I need Dataverse to use Power Apps or Power Automate?
No. Power Apps and Power Automate can connect to many other data sources, including SharePoint, SQL Server and Business Central, without using Dataverse. However, Dataverse is required for model-driven apps and offers the richest set of features for complex, multi-table business applications.
How does Dataverse relate to Dynamics 365?
Dynamics 365 applications, including Sales, Customer Service and Field Service, are all built on top of Dataverse. This is why data flows directly between these applications. The same Dataverse environment can also host custom Power Apps and tables alongside standard Dynamics 365 data.
