Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Experience Analyst : Use the Dataverse connector in a cloud flow
The Dataverse connector in a cloud flow enables seamless integration between Microsoft Power Automate and your Dataverse environment, allowing you to automate business processes and manage data efficiently. With this connector, you can create, read, update, or delete rows in Dataverse tables directly from a flow, as well as trigger flows when data changes (such as when a row is added, modified, or deleted). It supports both standard and custom tables, making it versatile for a variety of business scenarios. By leveraging the Dataverse connector, organizations can streamline operations, enforce business rules, and ensure data consistency across applications, all while reducing manual effort and improving productivity.
The Dataverse connector in a cloud flow is a bridge between Microsoft Power Automate and the Dataverse data platform, enabling flows to interact with business data in a structured, scalable way.
From a technical perspective, the connector exposes a set of predefined actions and triggers:
- Actions such as Add a new row, Update a row, Delete a row, Get a row by ID, List rows, and Invoke a bound/unbound action let a flow write to and retrieve from Dataverse tables.
- Triggers (like When a row is added, modified, or deleted) allow flows to run automatically in response to data changes.
Under the hood, these operations use Dataverse’s Web API through the connector, handling authentication via Azure Active Directory (AAD) and translating flow requests into OData calls. This abstracts the complexity of direct API calls, giving makers a low-code surface to access Dataverse data securely.
From a logical standpoint, the connector makes it possible to:
- Orchestrate processes – e.g., create approvals or notifications when data changes in Dataverse.
- Synchronize systems – automatically replicate or update records between Dataverse and external apps (SharePoint, SQL, Dynamics 365, etc.).
- Enforce business logic – combine with conditions, expressions, or parallel branches in a flow to execute precise actions based on Dataverse content.
Because it supports both standard and custom tables, the Dataverse connector is highly adaptable, letting you build automation that spans your entire Power Platform solution landscape without writing code for every integration step. Using the Dataverse connector in a cloud flow means leveraging Power Automate to automate processes or integrate systems with data stored in Microsoft Dataverse. It gives you a low-code way to work with business data without writing custom API calls. Here’s a clear, technical view of how it works:
What the connector does
The Dataverse connector provides triggers and actions that interact with tables and rows in Dataverse:
Triggers start a flow automatically when something happens in Dataverse, such as:
- When a row is added, modified, or deleted
- When a flow step is requested from Dataverse
Actions perform operations like:
- Add a new row
- Update or delete a row
- Get a row by ID
- List rows with filters, sorting, or pagination
- Invoke bound or unbound actions on a table
How it works technically
- When you configure a step in Power Automate, the connector generates an OData call to the Dataverse Web API.
- Authentication is handled through Azure Active Directory (AAD), ensuring that only users with proper Dataverse permissions can access data.
- You can use standard tables (like Accounts or Contacts) or custom tables you’ve created.
Logical use cases
The Dataverse connector is especially powerful for:
- Automation: Send notifications when a record is created or updated.
- Data integration: Sync data between Dataverse and external systems (e.g., SharePoint, SQL Server, Dynamics 365).
- Business logic: Use flow conditions, approvals, or loops to act on Dataverse data automatically.
- Record maintenance: Clean up or transform rows across tables at scale.
Best practices
- Apply filters (e.g., via `Filter Query`) in “List rows” to avoid retrieving large datasets unnecessarily.
- Use pagination for bulk data.
- Respect security roles—flows run with the owner’s permissions.
- Combine Dataverse actions with other connectors to build complete, end-to-end processes.
Example:
A flow could trigger when a new Case is created in Dataverse → validate its details → send a Teams notification → and assign it to a queue based on priority.
Summary:
The Dataverse connector in a cloud flow lets you seamlessly integrate and automate processes with data stored in Microsoft Dataverse. It provides ready-made triggers (like when a row is created, updated, or deleted) and actions (such as add, update, delete, or list rows) that interact with tables through the Dataverse Web API. Authentication is handled by Azure AD, ensuring secure access based on user permissions. This connector is ideal for automating business tasks, synchronizing data between systems, or applying custom logic across records without writing complex code. By combining Dataverse with other connectors in Power Automate, you can build efficient, end-to-end workflows that enhance productivity and maintain data consistency across your organization.
Published on:
Learn more