CDS can be thought of in similar terms to a database. It is comprised of data objects called entities. Compared to a database, entities can be described in terms of database tables. Whereas database tables have the concept of columns, the corresponding object in an entity is called an attribute.
CDS has a number of standard entities that cover a lot of usage scenarios. Some entities, such as activities, are multidimensional as well. There are standard entities in several groups or categories, as listed here:
| Entity Type | Example Entities | Description |
| Customer | Account, Contact, CustomerAddress | Entities that are used for managing and referring to customer account information, such as individuals and addresses. |
| Activity | Email, Task, Fax, PhoneCall, ActivityParty, ActivityPointer | Entities that are used when users perform interactions or activities with customers, such as leaving phone messages or sending emails. |
| Annotation | Note | Captures note details... |