Getting Started with Microsoft Dataverse Integrations

What is Dataverse?

Microsoft Dataverse is the evolution of the data platform that was known as Common Data Service or CDS.

As you might recall, CDS came up in 2016 as the data service for the Microsoft Power Platform suite. In 2020, Microsoft Dataverse replaced CDS. Dataverse is currently the primary data-collection repository for all applications using the Power Platform. It is built on Microsoft Azure to ensure availability, scalability, and security.

But this is not at all limited to Power Apps or the Power Platform. Dynamics 365 cloud solutions, namely Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Marketing, and Dynamics 365 Talent also use Microsoft Dataverse to store and secure their data. Other Dynamics 365 solutions, namely Dynamics 365 Finance, currently require using a Data Integrator to make their business data available in Dataverse.

In essence, and if you look at it from a developer perspective, you can think of the Dataverse as a secure cloud-based database with a corresponding API.

What Can I Do with Dataverse?

With Microsoft Dataverse, you can store and share data across business applications. The interesting part is that it has a built‐in set of standard tables that are used to store data. You can also map your data to this standardized set of tables.

If you were previously using CDS, it is important to know that the terminology has now changed. If you were used to speaking in terms of entities, in Dataverse, you would now call them tables.

To truly understand what you can do with Microsoft Dataverse, the best would be to explore a bit. Want to find out how to find your environment’s Dataverse URL? Follow the instructions provided by Microsoft.

Going beyond Microsoft Dataverse in Data Synchronization and Integration Projects

The Dataverse has immense potential, but that doesn’t mean it can be the solution for all your integration and data synchronization challenges. It has its limitations, and also it is not a free solution, so take a look at Dataverse pricing before you move on with any serious project that depends on it.

Here are some examples of projects in which using Microsoft Dataverse “per se” would not be sufficient:

• You want to take data from an external system and insert new records or update existing records in Dynamics 365
• You want to integrate on-prem or legacy versions
• You want to integrate not only the Dynamics 365 apps that use the Dataverse but also Dynamics 365 Finance
• You want to combine in the integration Dynamics 365 and other non-Microsoft software

All these projects can be best handled by going for Connect Bridge, a third-party integration platform you can find on Microsoft AppSpource.

If you are curious on how that works, you can find details on specific use cases on the Connecting Software website. For example, for details on how to move up to Dynamics 365 on the cloud keeping your custom and legacy software integrations,  you can check the Dynamics 365 CE Sync page. Case studies on how to use this tool for integration projects involving multiple vendors can be found on the Software Integration Success Stories page.

If you would prefer to see how this could apply to your case, ask us for a live demo. We would be more than happy to show you around!

By Ana Neto, Connecting Software.

Connecting Software creates integration and synchronization software. We have been on the market for nearly two decades. We operate globally, and we are also a proud “Top Member” and “Top Blogger” at the CRM Software Blog.

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