The Microsoft Common Data Model (CDM) is a standardized set of schemas — entities, attributes, relationships, and semantic metadata — that represents common business concepts across industries. It is the foundation for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Dataverse. Shared entities mean a customer record updated in Sales is instantly visible in Service, Finance, and Marketing with no sync required.
Key Facts
- CDM is an open-standard schema library published by Microsoft on GitHub.
- Standard entities include: Account, Contact, Lead, Opportunity, Order, Invoice, Case.
- CDM is the schema layer underneath Microsoft Dataverse (formerly Common Data Service).
- All Dynamics 365 apps share the same CDM — no integration or sync between modules.
- Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI) reads and writes to the same CDM tables.
- EPC Group: 29 years Microsoft consulting. 10,000+ enterprise deployments.
MS Dynamics 365 Common Data Model Explained
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Common Data Model Explained
The Microsoft Common Data Model (CDM) is a standardized set of schemas — entities, attributes, relationships, and semantic metadata — that represents common business concepts across industries. It is the foundation for Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Dataverse. Shared entities mean a customer record updated in Sales is instantly visible in Service, Finance, and Marketing with no sync required.
Key facts
- CDM is an open-standard schema library published by Microsoft on GitHub.
- Standard entities include: Account, Contact, Lead, Opportunity, Order, Invoice, Case.
- CDM is the schema layer underneath Microsoft Dataverse (formerly Common Data Service).
- All Dynamics 365 apps share the same CDM — no integration or sync between modules.
- Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI) reads and writes to the same CDM tables.
- EPC Group: 29 years Microsoft consulting. 10,000+ enterprise deployments.
What the Common Data Model includes
CDM defines standard entities that map to universal business objects. Each entity has a standard set of attributes and relationships.
- Account — organization or company. Parent of Contacts, Opportunities, and Cases.
- Contact — individual person. Related to Account, Lead, and Opportunity.
- Lead — unqualified prospect. Converts to Account, Contact, and Opportunity.
- Opportunity — active sales deal. Links to Account, Contact, and Products.
- Order — confirmed sale. Links to Opportunity, Products, and Invoice.
- Case — customer service issue. Links to Account, Contact, and Knowledge Articles.
- Custom entities — extend CDM for industry-specific data without breaking standard integrations.
How Dynamics 365 uses CDM
Dynamics 365 apps share the CDM schema inside Dataverse. This eliminates integration overhead.
- Sales updates an Account record. Service and Finance see the change immediately — no API call, no sync job.
- Field Service reads the same Account and Contact entities as Sales and Customer Service.
- Marketing segments on Account and Contact attributes set by Sales.
Because all modules share the same Account and Contact entities, you get one version of truth across the organization.
Dynamics 365 pricing in 2026
Dynamics 365 is sold across three commercial app families. Pricing varies by module.
- Customer Engagement (Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Marketing): $65–$210/user/month.
- Finance and Operations (Finance, Supply Chain Management, Commerce, HR): $180–$210/user/month.
- Business Central (small/midsize ERP): $70–$100/user/month.
Power Platform and CDM integration
Power Platform reads and writes directly to CDM tables in Dataverse. This is the biggest Dynamics 365 differentiator versus Salesforce in 2026.
- Power Automate — trigger workflows on CDM entity changes without custom code.
- Power Apps — build custom screens that read and write CDM tables directly.
- Copilot Studio — build AI agents that query and update CDM entities conversationally.
- Power BI — connect to Dataverse and CDM tables for operational analytics.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Microsoft Common Data Model?
The Common Data Model (CDM) is a standardized schema library that defines entities, attributes, and relationships for common business concepts — like Account, Contact, and Order. It is the data layer underneath Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Dataverse.
What is the difference between CDM and Dataverse?
CDM is the schema standard. Dataverse is the cloud database that implements CDM. Dataverse stores the actual data in CDM-defined tables. Power Platform and Dynamics 365 apps read and write to Dataverse using CDM schema.
Can I extend the Common Data Model with custom entities?
Yes. Dataverse supports custom entities, custom columns, and custom relationships that extend CDM without breaking standard integrations. EPC Group designs custom entity extensions for industry-specific data models in healthcare, financial services, and government.
How does CDM compare to Salesforce's data model?
Both use standard entities (Account, Contact, Opportunity). The key difference: CDM is shared across all Dynamics 365 and Power Platform apps natively. Salesforce integrations with external tools require API development. CDM gives Dynamics 365 a native integration advantage within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Schedule a consultation
EPC Group designs and implements Dynamics 365 and Dataverse solutions built on the Common Data Model. Call (888) 381-9725 or request a 30-minute discovery call.
Why Organizations Choose EPC Group
EPC Group is a Houston-based Microsoft consulting firm with 29 years of enterprise implementation experience and over 10,000 successful deployments across Power BI, Microsoft Fabric, SharePoint, Azure, Microsoft 365, and Copilot. We serve organizations across all industries including Fortune 500, federal agencies, healthcare, financial services, government, manufacturing, energy, education, retail, technology, and global enterprises.
What sets EPC Group apart is our governance-first approach. Every engagement begins with a security and compliance assessment. Our team of senior architects brings hands-on delivery experience across HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP, and CMMC environments. We own outcomes, not hours.
- Fixed-fee accelerators with predictable pricing and defined deliverables
- Senior architect engagement on every project, not rotating juniors
- Compliance-native delivery for regulated industries
- End-to-end coverage from strategy through 24/7 managed services
- 11,000+ enterprise engagements refined into repeatable, risk-controlled patterns
Call (888) 381-9725 or email contact@epcgroup.net for a free assessment.
Dynamics 365 Implementation: 2026 Considerations for Ms Dynamics 365 Common Data Model Explained
Dynamics 365 in 2026 is structured into 3 commercial app families: Customer Engagement (Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Marketing) at $65-$210/user/month, Finance & Operations (Finance, Supply Chain Management, Commerce, HR) at $180-$210/user/month, and Business Central (small/midsize ERP) at $70-$100/user/month. Selection criteria are organization size, vertical-specific functionality requirements, and Microsoft 365 ecosystem fit.
Power Platform integration is the dominant Dynamics 365 differentiator in 2026: Power Automate workflows, Power Apps custom screens, Copilot Studio agents, and Dataverse as the unified data layer make Dynamics 365 deployments materially more extensible than Salesforce alternatives at the same price point. EPC Group typical Dynamics 365 implementation includes 8-15 Power Platform extensions as part of the base scope.
Decision factors EPC Group evaluates
- Customer Engagement vs Finance & Operations vs Business Central app-family selection
- Migration from Salesforce/SAP/Oracle with phased coexistence
- Power Platform extensibility scope (Power Automate, Power Apps, Copilot Studio)
- Microsoft Cloud for Industry verticalization (Healthcare, Financial Services, Retail, Manufacturing)
- Dataverse data model design for cross-app reporting
For a tailored read on this topic in your specific tenant, contact EPC Group at contact@epcgroup.net or +1 (888) 381-9725. Engagement options at /pricing.