Describe the Common Data Model (CDM)
As discussed earlier in this chapter, Common Data Service can function as a database for the Power Platform tools, as well as for Dynamics 365. While Common Data Model sounds similar to Common Data Service, it is not the same thing.
CDM is not a database manager or any sort of data storage technology. Instead, the Common Data Model (CDM) is a Microsoft initiative that defines a shared data language, consisting of a unified system of schemas and metadata. The objective behind CDM is to create a standardized format for data sharing and storage that allows applications and services to share data without the need for custom implementations.
It is common for organizations to have many applications for different purposes, each of which includes its own database. In some cases, users maintain their own databases that are not linked to an application, such as a salesperson’s Excel spreadsheet containing contacts and leads. Problems arise when there is a need to share or transfer data between these many databases. Each share or transfer requires a separate procedure to ensure that individual data points are saved to the correct locations.
As a shared data model, CDM provides a consistent format for data storage. When all of the organization’s databases are based on the flexible CDM format, then the applications can share or transfer data freely without any special formatting considerations.
The primary components of the CDM are a metadata system that provides the means to define data types and a continually updated set of standardized data schemas that define commonly used types of business data. The schemas include predefined entities and attributes for many of the data types that organizations use, including sales, service, and finance, as shown in Figure 2-14.
FIGURE 2-14 Common Data Model schemas
Need More Review? Common Data Model Documents on GitHub
Microsoft maintains and continually updates documents defining the Common Data Model on their GitHub repository at https://github.com/Microsoft/CDM.
Many of Microsoft’s applications and services store their information in databases that conform to the CDM standard, including the Common Data Service, as used in Dynamics 365 and Power Platform; dataflows in Power BI and Power Apps; Graph data connect in Office 365; and Azure Synapse. All these applications and services use CDM as their native metadata structure and can freely share the data they store in CDM-based storage technologies. Many other software developers and vendors use the CDM format as the basis for their products as well.
These applications and services store their CDM-formatted data in Azure Data Lake Storage in folders that conform to the standard CDM metadata structures. Folders that contain the following files are Common Data Model folders:
■ model.json
■ .cdm.json
■ *.manifest.cdm.json