Microsoft Dataverse

Dataverse designed for the load it will carry

Dataverse holds the data, security and business logic for Dynamics 365 and Power Apps. Getting its design right early saves a great deal of rework, throttling and slow forms later.

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What it covers

Tables and relationshipsSecurity roles and teamsBusiness unitsPlugins and custom APIsWeb APIAuditing

About Microsoft Dataverse

What it is

Microsoft Dataverse is the data platform underneath Dynamics 365 and Power Apps. It provides tables, relationships, role-based security, auditing and an API, so every app built on it shares one source of truth.

A good fit when

You are starting a Dynamics 365 or Power Apps build
Forms are slow or users see throttling errors
Security has grown into something nobody can explain
Other systems need to read or write Dataverse data

What we do

How we work with Microsoft Dataverse

Data modelling

Tables, relationships and keys designed around how the data is used and reported on, not just how the first form looks.

Security design

Business units, teams, security roles and field security that match your organisation and stay understandable.

Server-side logic

Plugins and custom APIs for rules that must always run, kept lean so they do not slow down every save.

Performance and limits

Reviews of API usage, plugin chains and polling integrations against Dataverse service protection limits.

Success stories

Microsoft Dataverse in practice

Federal government · Platform performance

Cutting Dataverse load without cutting features

Read the success story

A production Dynamics 365 platform that slowed after a cross-tenant migration, traced to duplicate plugins, overlapping flows and polling integrations, then fixed in order of value.

Outcome40% fewer Dataverse API calls, 60% fewer flow runs, transactions 30 to 50% faster, and no throttling at peak.

Federal government · Grants management

One Dynamics 365 platform in place of several CRMs

Read the success story

Several on-premise CRMs and a bespoke customer portal consolidated onto one Dynamics 365 platform, connected through Azure Service Bus and Logic Apps, and taken through to Authority to Operate.

OutcomeOne platform for grant management, delivered on schedule, with monitored integrations.

Questions

Common questions about Microsoft Dataverse

What are Dataverse service protection limits?

They are limits Microsoft applies to the number, duration and concurrency of API requests per user over a short period. Integrations that poll, or loop through records one at a time, are the usual cause of hitting them.

Is Dataverse the same as a SQL database?

It uses SQL internally, but you work with it through tables, the Web API and the SDK rather than direct database access. For reporting, data can be read through the TDS endpoint or copied to Microsoft Fabric.

Can external systems use Dataverse data?

Yes, through the Web API, custom APIs, Azure Service Bus or virtual tables, depending on whether data should be copied or read where it lives.

Services

Related services

Build

Also see: Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Microsoft Copilot

Working with Microsoft Dataverse?

Tell us what you have and where it hurts. A short note is enough to start.