The benefits of the model-driven approach

Model-driven apps are familiar to anyone who has worked with Dynamics 365 apps. To others, they're a new business productivity tool.

Dynamics 365 apps, such as Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Marketing, or Dynamics 365 Customer Service, are essentially a set of line-of-business apps, built on Dataverse. The utility of the Dynamics 365 model was recognized as being powerful and by making Dataverse fully customizable, has enabled more bespoke solutions to be created.

Model-driven apps are worth considering in your organization for the following reasons.

• The platform is reliable. It is the same as is used by Dynamics 365 apps, to cover complex business processes and govern millions of transactions in the biggest businesses in the world.
• Model-driven apps have tried and tested application lifecycle management options.
• Dataverse supports a strong and flexible data security model affecting the degree to which users can interact with table records and columns.

• Any Dataverse table component can be used and reused, such as contacts, accounts, or any custom tables created.
• Model-driven apps integrate with Office 365.
• Industry accelerators exist to enable a quicker entry into markets such as insurance or healthcare.
• Dataverse is extendable through use of Azure services, such as Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse.
• Canvas app integration possibilities are integral to the platform. More information: Design a custom page for your model-driven app (preview)
• Extensible with code to allow for a user experience that fits the organization more tightly.
• There is a pool of competence worldwide covering the platform through Dynamics consultants in addition to Power Platform practices.

• Model-driven apps are responsive by design. This means they render better on a wide range of devices.
• Model driven apps are accessible to users with disabilities including those that require screen readers.
• Offline capabilities are native to model-driven apps.
• Multilingual label support to ensure that your apps can be used worldwide.

• Minimal user interface maintenance as much of the experience is delivered via configuration versus outright coding.
• Predominantly a low code development platform.

• Logic can be introduced to ensure that columns contain the data that adheres to the business rules. More information: Create business rules and recommendations to apply logic in a model-driven app form
• Business process flows to guide users to update records in the correct order and in the correct way.
• Power Automate native integration exists and flows exist as separable solution components.

Build your first model-driven app