Microsoft 365 glossary

An agent is a configured AI assistant — instructions plus knowledge sources, topics, and actions — published to a channel such as Teams or a website where users converse with it.

ALM in Copilot Studio means developing agents in a Dev environment, testing in Test, and deploying to Production with Power Platform solutions — so changes move safely instead of being edited live.

AvePoint is a third-party Microsoft 365 software vendor whose portfolio spans migration, governance, backup, and data protection — usually evaluated for larger or multi-workload programs.

Connection references let flows and apps point at a named connection slot instead of a hard-coded account — so the same solution binds to Dev, Test, and Production connections at deploy time.

Copilot Studio can integrate with actions and Power Automate processes to retrieve information, update systems, or start workflows.

Partly: Dataverse stores data like a database, but it is a business application platform — tables ship with security roles, business logic, APIs, auditing, and Power Platform ALM attached.

Dataverse security layers security roles (privilege sets) over record ownership (user- or team-owned) inside business units — so access follows the org chart plus the role, down to individual records.

A Dataverse table is a structured business entity — like Account or Case — with typed columns, relationships to other tables, and security, logic, and auditing attached.

Choose Dataverse when the app needs table relationships, row-level security, auditing, solution ALM, or Dynamics 365 integration. Stay on SharePoint for simple team tools with flat data and list-level permissions.

Dynamics 365 is Microsoft’s family of cloud business applications: customer-engagement apps (Sales, Service, Field Service) running on Dataverse, plus finance, supply-chain, and commerce apps on their own stores.

Yes for customer-engagement apps — Sales, Customer Service, and Field Service run on Dataverse natively. Finance and supply-chain apps use their own stores with Dataverse integration, so verify per application.

Yes — through the Dataverse connector: trigger flows on row create, update, or delete in CE apps, and read or write records with the maker’s or service identity permissions.

Yes — in ladders: no-code configuration (tables, forms, views, business rules), low-code Power Platform extension (apps, flows, Copilot agents), then pro-code (plug-ins, custom APIs) for CE apps.

Environment variables store configuration outside solution logic — URLs, IDs, thresholds, switches — with a default value plus a per-environment current value, so Dev, Test, and Production differ without code changes.

Microsoft 365 is Microsoft’s cloud productivity platform — Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Exchange Online, and Microsoft 365 Apps — combined with identity (Entra ID), security, compliance, and administration.

Microsoft 365 migration moves users, documents, collaboration workloads, and related configuration into Microsoft 365 services.

Check eight things before moving data: source inventory, permissions and sharing, file/path restrictions, ownership, target information architecture, security and retention needs, migration tooling plus pilot scope, and communication with a validation plan.

Microsoft Copilot Studio is Microsoft’s platform for creating and managing custom agents with knowledge, actions, and instructions.

Microsoft Dataverse is Microsoft’s cloud data platform for storing and managing business data used by Power Platform and Dynamics 365.

Microsoft Entra ID — the renamed Azure Active Directory — is Microsoft’s cloud identity service: it signs users into Microsoft 365 and connected apps and enforces access with Conditional Access, MFA, and role controls.

Microsoft Graph is the unified API for Microsoft 365: one endpoint model to read and manage users, groups, Teams, SharePoint, mail, calendars, and more — governed by explicit permissions and consent.

Office 365 names the productivity-services subscription line (Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, Office apps); Microsoft 365 is the broader platform bundle that adds Windows, Entra ID, Intune device management, and security depending on the plan.

Power Apps is Microsoft’s low-code app platform with three paths: canvas apps for pixel-perfect task screens, model-driven apps generated from Dataverse data models, and Power Apps Code for pro-code React development.

Yes — SharePoint lists and libraries are first-class Power Apps data sources via the SharePoint connector, ideal for departmental apps. Plan for delegation limits on large lists and graduate to Dataverse when relational needs grow.

Yes — the SQL Server connector reads and writes tables and views, including stored procedures. On-premises databases need an on-premises data gateway; verify premium-licensing implications per scenario.

Power Automate is Microsoft’s cloud automation platform for creating workflows between apps, services, data, and APIs.

Yes — prefer a purpose-built connector first, use the HTTP action for direct REST calls, and package repeated integrations as custom connectors. Authenticate with Entra ID identities and handle errors explicitly.

Enterprise flows should use structured error handling with scopes, run-after rules, logging, notifications, and retries where appropriate.

Common causes include trigger conditions, connection issues, permissions, changed source data, environment settings, or unmatched trigger criteria.

Power Automate shines at approvals, notifications, SharePoint and Dataverse data sync, scheduled jobs, and Microsoft 365 glue work — repeatable processes owned by business teams, not integration platforms.

ShareGate is a third-party Microsoft 365 migration and administration product, popular for SharePoint and Teams moves, pre-migration assessment, reporting, and ongoing management tasks.

SharePoint can replace many document-management scenarios — libraries, metadata, versioning, permissions, search, retention, and approval workflows — but regulated records or specialized imaging needs deserve individual evaluation.

Yes. Copilot Studio can use supported SharePoint content as knowledge, subject to setup, permissions, and available capabilities.

Use a shallow folder structure for familiar browsing and metadata columns for filtering, views, search, and automation. Most successful libraries combine a few folders with consistent metadata.

A SharePoint list tracks structured records such as tasks or requests; a document library stores files with versioning, check-out, and document-focused metadata.

There is no universal duration: a small library moves in days while enterprise programs run weeks to months. Data volume, item count, versions, permissions, remediation, throttling, and validation depth set the timeline — not copy speed alone.

Validate counts, failures, metadata, versions, permissions, sharing, folder structures, links, and business-critical functionality.

SharePoint Online is Microsoft’s cloud platform for document management, intranets, collaboration, and information sharing.

SharePoint permissions control access to sites, libraries, lists, folders, and items, usually through inherited access unless unique permissions are required.

SPFx (SharePoint Framework) is Microsoft’s client-side development model for extending SharePoint, Teams, and Viva Connections with modern web technologies such as TypeScript and React.