web
You’re offline. This is a read only version of the page.
close
Skip to main content
Community site session details

Community site session details

Session Id :
Power Apps - Power Apps Governance and Administ...
Suggested answer

Best practices for handling multi-tenant scenarios in Power Platform (Managed Services)

(1) ShareShare
ReportReport
Posted on by 12

We’re currently exploring how to use Power Platform to deliver services in a managed services model across multiple clients.

The main challenge is around data segregation. The most straightforward option seems to be creating a dedicated production environment for each client. That works for compliance, but it introduces some major pain points in practice:

  • Maintenance overhead – every environment needs to be managed separately, which quickly drives up operational costs.

  • Release management – fixes and updates have to be deployed in every single environment, which adds complexity.

  • Initial setup – each new client requires cloning and configuring the solutions from scratch.

  • Central monitoring – if I want to track processes across all clients, I end up connecting to each Dataverse environment as if they were external systems, even though they all sit within the same infrastructure.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has faced this type of scenario:

  • How did you balance the need for strict data segregation with the cost and operational impact?
  • Have you found patterns, architectures, or tools that simplify this model while keeping governance and compliance intact?
  • Any lessons learned from real-world implementations would be extremely valuable.
Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!
I have the same question (6)
  • Suggested answer
    venturemavenwill Profile Picture
    927 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at
    Best practices for handling multi-tenant scenarios in Power Platform (Managed Services)
    Could you first clarify something? You mentioned in the title that you are handling a multi-tenant scenario but in the post you said that you are just trying to create a dedicated production environments. 
     
    Assuming that you actually mean environment, then there are many ways to manage multiple production environments. 
     
    1. Make sure the environments are managed environments. This allows you to implement custom rules on environment levels, automate environment maintenance using insights from PPAC together with Power Automate etc
    2. There are various automated deployment CI/CD tools available in managed environments as well. You may need to customize the deployment steps if you have multiple Prod environments for the same solution for different end users. 
    3. To make this work, you also have to make sure that your solution is reusable - so avoid hard coding URLs, use environment variables where customization is needed for each client etc. 
     
    Some organizations run thousands of environments and only have a dozen or so admins on the team. So setting up multiple environments shouldn't create too much extra effort for you. 
  • AntonioLamanna Profile Picture
    12 on at
    Best practices for handling multi-tenant scenarios in Power Platform (Managed Services)
    Hi 

    Thanks for your contribution!

    You’re absolutely right to point out the distinction between “multi-tenant” and “multi-environment.” To clarify: I haven’t implemented this model yet — I’m currently working on defining it. The goal is to deliver Power Platform solutions in a managed services model to external clients, each with specific compliance and data segregation requirements. While this isn’t a true multi-tenant setup like Azure AD B2C, the need for separate environments per client leads us to a configuration that effectively simulates a multi-tenant model.

    I really appreciate your suggestions, especially:

    • Managed Environments: We’re actively evaluating them to simplify governance and automate maintenance. If you’ve implemented custom rules at the environment level, I’d love to hear more about them!

    • Custom CI/CD: We’re exploring options using Power Platform Pipelines and GitHub Actions. Do you have experience with deploying the same solution across multiple environments in parallel?

    • Reusable Solutions: Totally agree. We’re already using environment variables and avoiding hardcoded values, but in some cases, client-specific customizations become complex. Have you found a good balance between reusability and flexibility?

    That said, we’re still facing several open questions:

    • Model efficiency: We’re starting to wonder whether Power Platform is truly suitable for a multi-client delivery model. It’s excellent for internal use and rapid development, but the architectural and operational complexity of an as-a-service setup seems hard to manage at scale.

    • Cost: Creating a dedicated environment for each client introduces significant costs — both in terms of licensing and operational effort. Even with automation, the model risks becoming unsustainable.

    • Licensing: It’s unclear how external users would access the apps:

      • Can app passes be used for external clients?
      • Is license reselling required?
      • Do external users need to already have Microsoft licenses (e.g., M365)? If so, we could only offer solutions to clients already in the Microsoft ecosystem, excluding those using Google Workspace or other platforms.

    Lastly, if you know of any tools or architectural patterns that help with centralized monitoring (e.g., aggregating logs or processes across multiple Dataverse environments), I’d be very interested in learning more.

    Thanks again for the exchange!

  • venturemavenwill Profile Picture
    927 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at
    Best practices for handling multi-tenant scenarios in Power Platform (Managed Services)
    @AntonioLamanna - regarding the management environment: It will be kind of hard to "share" governance rules because the question then becomes: which rules? Without more specific information to what your requirements are, it is difficult to share configurations that would be useful to you

    As for deploying across multiple environments in parallel: it is a feature in the Power Platform Pipelines. You would essentially just set up your pipeline steps for prod deployment to branch out from after the test environment. Theoretically it is the same with setting up the jobs in Github, though that is not my area of expertise. 
     
    I think the main part of your post though has to do with how to deliver digital services though, and you are right to question how suitable Power Platform is for your use case. Here are some considerations:

    1. Power Platform is a PaaS solution and not a SaaS solution. In other words, it doesn't offer an end solution per say, but offers the capabilities as a subscription basis to organizations. If you want to offer a service on Power Platform, you would need to create a customization first (for instance as a form of a managed solution, or a plugin, that can be installed in any user environment but require installation. To use the customization, you will also need a Power Platform license that gives the end user the capabilities they need to run your customization. If you have a solution that you would like to deploy to multiple channels, I would suggest consulting Microsoft or a Microsoft partner to discuss licensing requirements for your solution. 
     
    2. If your goal is, as you mentioned, a managed service where users all exist in one tenant, but each organization operating under their own environment, you have two choices: 1. You are the service provider, your admin team is in charge of their Azure AD identities, email, devices, teams, etc. You will to set up also information barrier to keep the users apart. The advantage of this method is that your users will be able to enjoy the full benefit of Power Platform. 2. You invite the external users as external guests to your app. Your client is responsible for their own licenses and you will then just have to make sure your clients are added to the proper permission groups. The disadvantage here is that they will have limited access to what they can do in Power Platform as guests. 
     
    3. If you want to create an app that will be access by multiple organizations and you want to limit the scope of your service to just offering the app to your client. You don't want to worry about managing their identities or licenses, then you should think about creating your own custom SaaS solution. 
     
    Microsoft suggests the Power Platform Well Architected framework for architectural recommendations for workloads in Power Platform. If you want to create an enterprise ready solution in Power Platform, it is definitely worth taking the time to study it. 

Under review

Thank you for your reply! To ensure a great experience for everyone, your content is awaiting approval by our Community Managers. Please check back later.

Helpful resources

Quick Links

Responsible AI policies

As AI tools become more common, we’re introducing a Responsible AI Use…

Tom Macfarlan – Community Spotlight

We are honored to recognize Tom Macfarlan as our Community Spotlight for October…

Leaderboard > Power Apps

#1
WarrenBelz Profile Picture

WarrenBelz 790 Most Valuable Professional

#2
developerAJ Profile Picture

developerAJ 473

#3
Michael E. Gernaey Profile Picture

Michael E. Gernaey 383 Super User 2025 Season 2

Last 30 days Overall leaderboard

Featured topics