Dataverse for Teams

CDS, Dataverse, and Dataverse for Teams: Oh the Changes!

The Microsoft naming game continues. Announced recently, the Common Data Service(CDS) is now Dataverse. In addition, entities have been renamed tables, and there’s more. Check out the Microsoft documentation. For a YouTube run-through of the UI changes, see Microsoft MVP William Dorrington’s video. It’s excellent.

The thing to keep in mind about all of this (other than the terminology changes) is that Microsoft Dataverse is just the Common Data Service. Nothing more, and nothing less, just a rebrand. You’ll notice that throughout the Microsoft official documentation there are still references to the Common Data Service, but don’t let that confuse you; they just haven’t updated all their content yet. If you know the Common Data Service, you know Dataverse. The highly publicized “Dataverse for Teams” is a subset of the larger CDS data platform.

Enter a new player: Microsoft Dataverse for Teams. The original Microsoft Dataverse(CDS) has storage and management capabilities that are more extensive than the Dataverse for Teams subset. A table in this Microsoft blog post, shows Microsoft Dataverse as having "Mobile Offline" and "Relevance Search" capabilities that are lacking in the Dataverse for Teams (formerly known as Project Oakdale) subset. Additionally, the free Microsoft Dataverse for Teams lacks support for business rules, as well as developer access to an API. So, as we said, the Teams version is a subset.

Microsoft Dataverse for Teams is the built-in, low-code data platform for Teams, designed to help power users build custom apps without leaving the Teams application and its user-friendly interface. Microsoft’s goal is to empower users, sometimes called citizen developers, with tools that require minimal coding and configuration through templates and wizards. Strategically speaking, if Teams is where work will happen, then extending tools into Teams quickly adds a way of bringing business processes and conversation together, allowing Teams actions to trigger more complex application interactions. For example, data entered in a Power App could open an approval work flow in Teams. Consider the options that could be available in Project Operations if you set up a Teams Channel for all your project participants, and automated activity through the Teams interface.

Microsoft Dataverse for Teams is now included with your Microsoft Teams license; however, the free Microsoft Teams license isn’t meant to cover all your application needs. Its limitations mean that some business apps will still require premium licenses for Power Apps, Power Automate or Dynamics 365.

If you are considering using Teams in conjunction with the Power Platform and Microsoft Dataverse, we can help you quickly apply the Dataverse technology to your implementation and ongoing app development. Reach out to us.