A major problem when building systems is migration, and the integration of data. To address the problems of incompatible data types, unknown data value ranges, and terminology differences, Microsoft has created a shared data language and specification for use by a wide range of business applications and processes. This specification is the Common Data Model (CDM).
The CDM is supported in the Common Data Service, Dynamics 365, Power Apps, Power BI, and Azure data services.
It is not simply a series of data types or a list of attributes, but is a set of schemas in standardized notation. In this section, we will look at the components of the CDM, the importance of metadata, and the Open Data Initiative.