A data entity is an abstraction over underlying tables, and a simplified projection of the schema, which is more conceptual in nature than the physical tables underneath. All business logic resides in the entity or in the underlying tables. Entities can expose both relational as well as aggregate data.

To summarize, data entities provide conceptual abstraction and encapsulation (denormalized view) of the underlying table schema to represent key data concepts and functionalities.

The following diagram shows the current normalized model for customer data in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations and the corresponding denormalized customer entity:

Listed here are the key highlights of data entities in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition:

• First-class citizen and defined as metadata objects
• In the database layer, data entities are represented as updatable views
• Serves multiple purposes such as OData services, recurring integrations, Office integration, data management, and Power BI