Managed solutions in Power Platform: what they are and how to use them

What are Managed Solutions in Power Platform?

Managed solutions are a key way to package and deploy applications within Microsoft Power Platform. In a nutshell, they’re designed to help you distribute apps, flows, tables, and other components in a secure, locked-down state—especially when moving projects out of development and into environments like production or testing. Once you import a solution as managed, you can’t just go in and tweak its components directly. This setup preserves the integrity of your solution and makes version control much simpler. It’s worth considering managed solutions as the go-to approach for moving business-critical features from development to live use, all while supporting structured application lifecycle management and keeping governance tight.

Managed solutions play an essential role in the Power Platform’s Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) framework. Thanks to managed solutions, organizations can promote their solutions smoothly through development, testing, and production in a repeatable and reliable way. These solutions can include everything from Power Apps and Power Automate flows to Dataverse tables, connection references, and environment variables. If your goal is to standardize, support, and maintain business applications and automation at scale, managed solutions offer a secure and scalable path forward.

It’s important to know that Microsoft itself recommends managed solutions for organizations aiming for enterprise-grade governance and compliance. By using managed solutions, your business can align with industry standards like ISO 27001 for information security, or your own internal IT governance rules. For instance, a financial services company might use managed solutions to make sure its Power Apps and workflows are deployed with strict change control and auditability, which is a big deal for reducing operational risk and meeting regulatory requirements.

Managed vs Unmanaged Solutions: Key Differences

Here’s a real-world scenario: during the application release process, a team might use an unmanaged solution in development to quickly build and test new features. When the app is ready for production, it gets exported as a managed solution. This ensures the production version is tamper-proof and only updated through formal deployment steps. That clear separation helps keep experimental work and stable operations from mixing, which is something every organization should keep in mind.

Partnering with a power platform consulting service enables you to maximize the capabilities of managed solutions within your organization. By leveraging expert guidance, you can ensure that all deployments are seamless, stable, and aligned with your business goals.

Benefits of Using Managed Solutions

• Consistent deployments: Ensures the same, verified solution is rolled out across all environments, reducing configuration drift and simplifying troubleshooting.
• Built-in version control: Upgrade, patch, or roll back solutions as necessary, minimizing downtime and maintaining stability.
• Enhanced governance: Only authorized changes are permitted, and all modifications are tracked through formal processes.
• Improved security and compliance: Blocks direct editing of components in production, reducing risks of accidental changes, data loss, or security breaches.
• Dependency management: Ensures all required components are present and properly configured during deployment.
• Support for layered customizations: Enables local, environment-specific customizations in the unmanaged layer without altering the core managed package.

For example, a global HR app can be deployed as a managed solution, while each regional office tweaks its own views or fields in the unmanaged layer. This way, you preserve global standards but still offer local flexibility.

When to Use Managed Solutions

Managed solutions make the most sense when:

• Stability, governance, or compliance is a priority.
• Deploying to production, user acceptance testing (UAT), or other non-development environments.
• Multiple teams are involved, or clear boundaries of ownership and responsibility are needed.
• Regulatory requirements or internal policies call for traceability, versioning, or rollback.
• Working with external vendors or partners, where protecting intellectual property and consistency is important.

For instance, in fields like healthcare or finance—where data integrity and audit trails are critical—managed solutions help organizations comply with regulations like HIPAA or SOX. They’re also valuable if you partner with Microsoft ISVs or external developers, as managed solutions protect intellectual property and ensure updates are delivered in a controlled way.

For ongoing development and experimentation, unmanaged solutions are still appropriate. Once development wraps up and you’re ready to share the solution more broadly, it’s time to export as managed for downstream deployment.

How to Create and Deploy Managed Solutions

• Build and test components in an unmanaged solution within a development environment.
• Export the solution as a managed package via the Power Platform admin center or automation tools. Exporting as managed applies your chosen managed properties and bundles all required components and dependencies.
• Import the managed solution package into your target environments. The system checks for dependencies, validates the solution’s structure, and locks the components.
• Use tools like Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions to automate deployment, ensuring consistency and reducing manual errors.
• Configure environment-specific settings:
  • Set up connection references
  • Define environment variables
  • Assign security roles

For example, a retail company deploying a managed solution for inventory management might use environment variables to point to different databases or APIs for development, testing, and production. Connection references need to be updated during deployment so connectors always reference the right data sources. Reviewing security roles is also crucial to make sure only authorized users can access sensitive features or information.

Managing Solution Properties and Customizations

• Managed solutions rely on managed properties to control what can be customized after deployment.
• Solution publishers set these properties during development, specifying which elements downstream teams can tweak (e.g., forms, views, table schemas, business rules).
• Customizations outside the managed solution go into the unmanaged layer.
• Power Platform’s solution layering model keeps these customizations separate from the managed core, making upgrades safer and helping you spot conflicts more easily.
• Tools like XRM Toolbox can help administrators examine solution layers and manage customizations efficiently.

This layered approach lets you protect your core business logic while still allowing flexibility. Teams can make necessary extensions or adjustments to meet specific operational needs without risking the stability of the overall solution.

For example, a multinational company rolling out a managed solution for CRM across all its subsidiaries can lock the core solution, but each subsidiary can add local fields or workflows in the unmanaged layer. If the main managed solution gets updated, Power Platform’s layering ensures local changes are preserved, and any conflicts are clearly flagged for resolution.

Deployment Strategies and Environment Management

• Set up separate environments for development, testing, UAT, and production, each with its own role and access controls.
• Use deployment pipelines (often automated with DevOps tools) to move managed solutions from development through to production.
• Pipelines can include:
  • Validation
  • Approvals
  • Testing
  • Rollback steps
• Configure environment variables and connection references for each environment so integrations and permissions are always accurate.
• Document updates, keep stakeholders informed, and have rollback options in place if issues arise.
• Maintain backup and recovery plans, as removing a managed solution deletes its components and may affect related data.

For example, a manufacturing company might use a deployment pipeline that exports a managed solution from development, runs automated tests in a staging environment, and requires business approval before going live. This approach helps make sure only validated, approved changes make it into critical business systems.

Troubleshooting Common Managed Solution Issues

• Understand solution layers, dependencies, and environment configurations.
• Common problems include:
  • Conflicts between managed and unmanaged customizations
  • Missing dependencies
  • Incorrect setup of connection references or environment variables
• Use built-in Power Platform tools and XRM Toolbox to analyze solution layers and dependencies.
• Deployment logs and validation messages are valuable for pinpointing why an import or update failed.
• Test solution updates in a staging environment before moving to production to spot compatibility issues early.
• Keep thorough documentation of your architecture, dependencies, and customizations to make troubleshooting easier and reduce downtime.

A typical scenario: you try to update a managed solution, but it fails due to a missing dependency, like a required table or connector. By checking the deployment logs, you can find out what’s missing, use XRM Toolbox to inspect solution layers, and resolve the issue by importing the needed dependency or adjusting your solution package.

Integration with DevOps and Automation Tools

• Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions are great for source control, build automation, and deployment pipelines tailored for Power Platform.
• These tools support continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD), so every change is tested and validated before hitting production.
• Automated pipelines mean less manual work, better governance, and clear traceability for each deployment.
• Infrastructure as code is another option for setting up and configuring environments, which helps keep deployments consistent.
• Integrate monitoring and observability tools to track the performance, usage, and health of managed solutions across all your environments.

For instance, an organization might use Azure DevOps to manage the source code for Power Platform solutions, trigger automated builds after changes are made, run unit and integration tests, and deploy managed solutions to different environments with approval gates. This approach not only speeds up delivery but also enforces compliance and quality standards.

Best Practices and Governance Considerations

• Establish clear governance policies for development, deployment, and ongoing maintenance.
• Assign roles and responsibilities, standardize naming conventions, and control environment access.
• Use source control to track every change.
• Set up automated pipelines to validate and approve changes before deployment.
• Backup and recovery plans should address the unique aspects of managed solutions, especially regarding data and component removal.
• Regularly review environment configurations, solution layers, and dependencies to keep your systems healthy and reduce risk.
• Provide thorough documentation and ongoing training to help your team manage solutions sustainably as your organization evolves.
• Implement audit trails and approval workflows for solution changes, following frameworks like ITIL or COBIT.
• Regular training for administrators and users will help make sure best practices are followed and that your organization can keep up with new Power Platform features and business needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between managed and unmanaged solutions in Power Platform?

Managed solutions are locked after import and intended for production or testing environments, ensuring governance and version control. Unmanaged solutions are editable and used for development and experimentation.

Can I customize a managed solution after deployment?

You can only customize components if the solution publisher has enabled specific managed properties. Otherwise, customizations must be made in the unmanaged layer.

How do I handle dependencies when deploying managed solutions?

Before importing a managed solution, ensure all required dependencies (such as tables, connectors, or flows) are present in the target environment. Deployment logs and tools like XRM Toolbox can help identify and resolve missing dependencies.

Why should I use DevOps tools with managed solutions?

DevOps tools like Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions automate deployment, enforce governance, and provide traceability, making it easier to manage updates, testing, and approvals across multiple environments.

What happens if I remove a managed solution from an environment?

Removing a managed solution deletes its components and may impact related data. Always review backup and recovery plans before uninstalling managed solutions.