Guide · Intermediate
Dataverse or SQL Server
When new data belongs in Dataverse, and when it should stay in the SQL Server the company already runs.
The question is not which product is better. It is where the data should live so the app stays simple and the source system remains the source.
Dataverse, when the process starts on the platform
Use it if the app is where the record is created, permissions follow a person's role, and the relationships belong to the process (request, approval, status). Dataverse already understands security, auditing, and solutions. ALM travels with the table.
SQL Server, when the data is already there
Use it if the master record lives in SQL, especially on-premises, and other applications already use it. Power Apps can read it and write what the process needs, through a gateway when the server is not exposed to the internet. Copying the whole database into Dataverse just to "have it in the cloud" duplicates the data and the reconciliation.
A mix that often works
- The master stays in SQL.
- Dataverse keeps the process file: who asked, which status it is in, which approval is missing.
- One column stores the SQL record's key, not a copy of every column.
Before you choose
Ask who fixes a value if the two copies disagree. If nobody owns that answer, it is too early to duplicate.