Best Power Apps Data Sources Beyond Dataverse & SharePoint

Rethinking Your Power Apps Data Strategy  

In today’s low-code/no-code revolution, Power Apps has emerged as a go-to platform for building line-of-business apps. While Dataverse and SharePoint are valuable defaults, they’re not always the right fit for every scenario. Diverse data volumes, performance, licensing, or tech stack integration often push teams to explore alternative backends.  

This guide dives deep into over a dozen data sources—from relational and NoSQL to SaaS APIs and legacy systems—showing you how to choose and design for each. Whether you’re building enterprise-grade apps or lightweight tools, this guide equips you with the knowledge to pick wisely.  

Limitations of Dataverse and SharePoint  

Though convenient, Dataverse and SharePoint come with important caveats:  

• Licensing costs : Dataverse incurs premium licensing in larger environments.  
• Performance constraints : Dataverse and SharePoint slow down with large datasets or complex queries.  
• API limits : Throttling and delegation limits pose challenges with growing scale.  
• Modeling restrictions : SharePoint struggles with normalization and relational data.  

Understanding these limits is key to knowing when to switch.  

Structured Relational Databases  

SQL Server & Azure SQL  

Ideal for enterprise-grade, high-volume data, these are natively supported with robust querying, indexing, stored procedures, and gateways for hybrid cloud environments  

MySQL & PostgreSQL  

Fully viable with custom connectors or wrappers using Azure API Management, offering open-source flexibility and power.  

Oracle, DB2, SAP, AS/400  

Often accessed via on‑prem gateways or certified connectors. These are suited for legacy/enterprise integrations.  

NoSQL & Semi‑Structured Data Stores  

Azure Cosmos DB  

Microsoft’s flagship global-scale NoSQL service supports multiple APIs (SQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, Table) and integrates via connectors and virtual tables .  

Azure Table Storage  

A lightweight alternative that's cheap and fast for key-value workloads—best for simple, structured apps.  

MongoDB (Atlas)  

Access via API gateways or Mongo-specific connectors, ideal for schema-flexible applications.  

Firebase (Realtime DB, Firestore)  

Accessible through REST or custom connectors—great for mobile apps with real-time data feeds.  

• Excel on OneDrive/SharePoint : Great for small-scale tools and prototyping, but performance degrades quickly with increased size  
• Google Sheets : Use Power Automate or custom connectors to integrate non‑Microsoft environments.  
• CSV/flat files in Blob Storage or Dropbox : Ideal when paired with Logic Apps or Azure Functions for ETL workflows.  

External APIs & SaaS Connectors  

Connectors enable integration with platforms like:  

• Salesforce , ServiceNow – CRM/ITSM tools.  
• Jira , Zendesk , HubSpot , Trello – for issue tracking or marketing workflows.  
• Custom REST APIs – hosted internally and exposed via Azure API Management or Functions.  

These unlock integration with business systems and external data.  

Microsoft & Azure Services  

• Azure Blob Storage : For storing files used in media apps, with pre‑signed URLs.  
• Azure Synapse Analytics & Data Lake Gen2 : Power Apps can connect to data for advanced reporting and analytics .  
• Power BI Datasets/Dataflows : Serve read‑only data via Dataflows built in Power Query  
• Microsoft Graph API : Access Office 365 data, users, mail, calendar, Teams, etc.  

Legacy & On‑Prem Systems  

• On‑prem SQL/Oracle DB via Data Gateway.  
• SAP, IBM, AS/400, mainframes : Typically accessed through APIs or ETL middleware.  
• File Shares, FTPS : Used in hybrid workflows via Logic Apps.  

Choosing the Right Source: Evaluation Criteria  

Decide based on:  

• Data volume & complexity  
• Security & compliance  
• Real-time vs batch access  
• Licensing and operational cost  
• Developer and maintenance overhead  

Designing Scalable Data Architectures  

• Layer via API Management : Decouple Power Apps from underlying systems.  
• Blend data with Power Automate to aggregate across sources.  
• Handle caching/pagination to boost performance.  
• Enable governance using Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies.  
• Automate CI/CD pipelines for data flows, connectors, and infrastructure.  

Use Case Scenarios  

Future Trends in Power Apps Data Integration  

• Microsoft Fabric will unify data governance across lakes, warehouses, and Power Apps.  
• AI-driven connectors and Copilot enable even smarter integration.  
• Connector ecosystem expansion will continue, offering improved performance, complex query delegation, analytics, and auditing.  

Summary  

There’s no one-size-fits-all data source for Power Apps. Factor in dataset size, performance needs, licensing costs, technical resources, and future vision. With the rich ecosystem of relational, NoSQL, file, API/SaaS, and legacy sources, plus Azure services, you can architect a data strategy tailored to scale and evolve.   

Source: Beyond Dataverse and SharePoint: A Complete Guide to the Best Data Sources for Power Apps