✏️ Explanatory Question
Virtual entities are representations of data that exist in external systems (like Finance and Operations apps) but appear in Dataverse without physically copying the data.
Virtual entities are a special type of entity in Microsoft Dataverse that allow external data—such as data stored in Finance and Operations (F&O) apps—to appear and behave like native Dataverse tables, without physically storing that data in Dataverse.
In the context of integration between Dataverse and F&O apps, virtual entities serve as live, read-write representations of F&O data. Instead of importing or duplicating data, they access data directly from F&O using a JSON-based Web API secured with SSL/TLS 1.2.
When a user or application (e.g., Power Apps or Power Automate) performs a CRUD operation (Create, Read, Update, Delete) on a virtual entity in Dataverse, the request is dynamically translated and passed to the corresponding data entity in the F&O system via the virtual entity plug-in and the CDSVirtualEntityService Web API. The data never actually resides in Dataverse; it's always stored and maintained in the original F&O system.
This architecture enables businesses to:
Avoid data duplication and synchronization overhead.
Leverage Power Platform tools like Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI on top of F&O data.
Maintain a low-code/no-code integration model.
Ensure real-time visibility and consistency between systems.
In summary, virtual entities act as a bridge to expose real-time data from Finance and Operations apps into Dataverse, enabling seamless and secure cross-platform interactions without data replication.