Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform
How the Power Platform extends, automates, analyses, and surfaces AI on top of every Dynamics 365 app.
The Power Platform is the low-code, AI-first extensibility layer for everything Microsoft does in business applications. For Dynamics 365 customers it's not really optional — every non-trivial implementation involves at least one Power Platform component, and most involve all of them.
Power Apps. Used to build custom business apps in two flavours: model-driven, which is the same framework Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, and Project Operations are themselves built on (forms, views, business process flows over Dataverse), and canvas, a free-form drag-and-drop builder for purpose-built mobile and tablet front ends. Dynamics 365 CRM-side apps are model-driven Power Apps with a pre-built schema and licensing.
Power Automate. Workflow and robotic process automation. Cloud flows run on triggers and schedules across hundreds of connectors; desktop flows automate legacy applications via UI. The most common Dynamics 365 use: replacing custom plug-ins with low-code flows, automating approvals, and bridging Dynamics 365 to non-Microsoft systems.
Power BI. Self-service analytics and dashboards. Dynamics 365 ships pre-built Power BI apps for Sales, Customer Service, Finance, Business Central, Supply Chain, and Field Service. For deeper analytics, Microsoft Fabric integration streams Dataverse and F&O data into a lakehouse where it can be combined with non-Microsoft data.
Copilot Studio. Used to build AI agents — chatbots and agentic assistants — that can read and write to Dynamics 365 via the standard connectors and Dataverse. Increasingly the way customers deflect call-centre volume, build self-service portals, and embed generative AI into internal apps.
Power Pages. External-facing portals built on Dataverse, used for customer self-service, B2B partner extranets, public-sector citizen services, and event sites.
Dataverse. The shared data platform underneath. Tables, relationships, role-based security, business rules, and an Open Data API. Dynamics 365 CRM-side apps run on Dataverse; ERP-side apps integrate with it via Dual-write or virtual tables.
Licensing. Most Power Platform usage is included with a Dynamics 365 license for the apps that user is licensed for. Standalone Power Apps and Power Automate licenses cover use beyond the bundled scope.
Related guides
- Dynamics 365 edition comparisonHow to compare Dynamics 365 editions across products — Essential / Premium tiers, Business Central tiers, F&O tiers, and the decision frameworks per scenario.
- Dynamics 365 renewal strategyHow to manage Dynamics 365 contract renewals — preparation, negotiation, true-up, rightsizing, and the patterns that get value from renewal moments.
- Dynamics 365 roadmap considerationsHow to plan multi-year roadmaps for Dynamics 365 — release waves, deprecation timelines, AI integration, and the patterns for staying aligned with Microsoft's direction.
- Dynamics 365 ROI measurementHow to measure return on investment for Dynamics 365 — defining benefits, baselines, attribution, and the patterns that produce defensible ROI calculations.
- Dynamics 365 TCO modellingHow to model total cost of ownership for Dynamics 365 — license, implementation, operations, evolution, and the 5-year picture.