Dataverse: the enterprise database of the Power Platform

Microsoft Dataverse is the managed relational database underneath Microsoft 365 and the Power Platform. It offers rich data types, relationships, business rules, automatic flows and granular access control — all with no infrastructure to manage.

Dataverse vs SharePoint — when to use each

SharePoint:                          Dataverse:
  Simple lists ✓                     Relational data ✓
  Documents + metadata ✓             1:N, N:N relationships ✓
  No relationships between lists       Rich types (currency, lookup, choice) ✓
  No business logic                   Business rules, calculated columns ✓
  Limit: 30M items per list           Row-level security ✓
  Free in M365                       Requires Premium/Dataverse license

Create a table and columns

// make.powerapps.com → Dataverse → Tables → New table
Table name: Project
Columns to add:
  - Name (text, required)
  - Status (choice: Planning/In Progress/Completed/Cancelled)
  - Budget (currency)
  - StartDate (date and time)
  - CustomerId (lookup → Account/Contact table or custom table)
  - Owner (user — lookup to M365 users)

Business Rules — logic without code

// Rule: if Budget > 50000, Status cannot be "Planning"
// Configure on the table: Business Rules → New rule
Condition: Budget > 50000
Action: Set field value → Status = "In Progress"
        Show error message: "Projects above 50,000€ must be In Progress"

// Another rule: make EndDate required if Status = Completed
Condition: Status equals Completed
Action: Set field as required → EndDate

Row-Level Security

// Settings → Security → Column Security Profiles + Teams
// Owner Team: each record has an owner — only the owner/team accesses it
// Business Unit hierarchy: sub-unit data visible to higher levels

// In a Canvas App: the Dataverse query filters automatically
// based on the authenticated user's permissions

Conclusion

Dataverse is the right choice when the application needs relationships between entities, business logic or row-level security. The license cost is justified compared to maintaining an Azure SQL database just for Power Platform application data.