Managed Environments in Power Platform

Introduction to Managed Environments

Managed Environments are an extension of the standard Power Platform environment model. Initially released in preview, these environments provide increased governance, administrative control, and transparency over app and flow development and usage activities. The goal is to give administrators tools to manage an ever-growing low-code ecosystem more effectively.

Traditionally, a Power Platform environment allows management of apps, flows, connectors, and Dataverse resources. With Managed Environments, Microsoft introduces a higher level of control, integrating reporting capabilities, sharing limits, and consistent security policies across the tenant or individual environment.

Main features

• Weekly Digest: a weekly summary providing administrators with an analytical overview of the environment’s activity, including apps, flows, active users, and unused resources.
• Sharing Limits: allows defining limits on the maximum number of users an app or flow can be shared with, and optionally disabling sharing through security groups entirely.
• Data Policies: provides a unified and consistent view of Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies, ensuring company rules are consistently applied across all managed environments.
• Premium Licensing: in a Managed Environment, every resource (app or flow) is considered premium; therefore, users must have an appropriate Power Platform license.

These features make Managed Environments an ideal choice for large organizations or anyone seeking greater control over platform adoption.

Weekly Digest: visibility and analytics

The Weekly Digest is an automated report sent to administrators of Managed Environments. It contains detailed information about:

• The number of apps and flows created or modified during the week.
• Active users and usage trends.
• Unused apps or flows.
• The most popular apps and most executed flows.

This tool supports proactive management, enabling administrators to quickly identify anomalies or optimization opportunities. Reporting integrates with the Power Platform Admin Center, offering a unified analytics interface.

Sharing Limits and distribution control

The Sharing Limits feature allows administrators to control how and with whom apps and flows are shared. This is critical to prevent uncontrolled proliferation of internal solutions, reducing the risks of “shadow IT.”

Administrators can:

• Set the maximum number of users an app can be shared with.
• Disable sharing with security groups or external users.
• Monitor the most frequently shared apps.

This approach ensures that platform adoption remains orderly, traceable, and compliant with corporate security policies.

Centralized Data Policies and DLP

Each Managed Environment allows centralized management of Data Policies. Organizations can define DLP rules that determine which connectors can be used and how data can be transferred across systems. These policies help protect sensitive data and prevent accidental or unauthorized data loss.

To learn more about DLP strategies, visit DLP Policies: concepts and groups.

Licensing and requirements

It’s important to note that in a Managed Environment all components are considered premium. This means users must have one of the following licenses:

• Power Apps per app or per user license.
• Power Automate Premium license.
• Dynamics 365 licenses including Dataverse usage.

A basic Microsoft 365 license is not sufficient; this ensures each user has full and compliant access to the available features.

Organizational benefits

Managed Environments represent a significant step forward in Power Platform governance maturity. They offer tangible benefits for administrators, developers, and IT leaders:

• Visibility: continuous monitoring of apps, flows, and users.
• Security: automatic enforcement of DLP policies and sharing control.
• Efficiency: reduced manual tasks through integrated reports and automation.
• Compliance: consistent enforcement of corporate policies across all managed environments.

Organizations adopting Managed Environments often combine them with tools like the Center of Excellence (CoE) Starter Kit to gain a complete view of their Power Platform ecosystem.