Managed and Unmanaged Solutions in Microsoft Power Platform – A Complete Guide

Introduction

Microsoft Power Platform-consisting of Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Pages, Power BI, and Dataverse—uses solutions to package, transport, and manage components across environments such as Dev → Test → UAT → Production. A solution ensures consistency, governance, and clean ALM (Application Lifecycle Management).

The two key types of solutions are:

• Unmanaged Solutions

• Managed Solutions

What is a Solution?

A solution is a container that includes components like:

• Dataverse tables

• Columns, forms, views

• Canvas and model-driven apps

• Power Automate flows

• Environment variables

• Custom connectors

• Security roles

• Power Pages website components

Solutions make your implementation portable, secure, and structured.

Types of Solutions

1. Unmanaged Solutions (Development Version)

The editable version of a solution—used in development/Sandbox environments.

Characteristics

• Fully editable

• Components can be added or removed

• Ideal for development

• When deleted, components remain

• Stored in the default solution layer

Used In:

• Development or POC purpose.

2. Managed Solutions (Deployment Version)

A locked, sealed version of the solution—used in Test and Production environments.

Characteristics

• Components cannot be edited

• Safe for production

• When deleted, components from the solution are also removed

• Supports version upgrades

Used In:

• Test/ UAT

• Production

Managed vs Unmanaged – Quick Comparison

Feature	Unmanaged	Managed
Editable	Yes	No
For Development	Yes	No
For Production	No	Yes
Delete removes components	No	Yes
Safe change control	Low	High
Allows direct customization	Yes	No

How to Create Managed and Unmanaged Solutions

Many developers misunderstood that you could create a managed solution directly. This is not possible. Power Platform only allows you to create unmanaged solutions. You get a managed solution only when you export it as managed.
When exporting a solution from DEV, you get two options:

Export as Unmanaged

• Used for backup or version control

• Editable in target environment

Export as Managed

• Used for deployment

• Protected and sealed package

Step 1: Create an Unmanaged Solution (Always starts as unmanaged)

1. Open: https://make.powerapps.com

2. Select your DEV environment

3. Go to Solutions

4. Click New Solution

5. Fill the details:

   • Name

   • Publisher

   • Version

6. Click Create

Every solution you create is ALWAYS Unmanaged .

Step 2: Add Components to Your Unmanaged Solution

Inside the solution, you can add:

• Tables

• Columns

• Apps (Canvas / Model-driven)

• Flows

• Views / Forms

• Environment variables

• Security roles

This is your development area .

Step 3: Export the Solution

When development is complete:

1. Open your solution

2. Click Export

3. Power Platform offers two export types:

Export as Unmanaged (Editable Version)

Use it for:

• Backup

• Sharing editable copy

• Source control

Export as Managed (Locked Version)

Use it for:

• UAT

• Production

• ISV distribution

4. Select Managed for production deployment

5. Download the ZIP file

Step 4: Import the Solution into Target Environment

In UAT or PROD:

1. Go to Solutions

2. Click Import

3. Upload your exported solution

4. Click Import

If it was managed , all components are locked.

Conclusion

Managed and unmanaged solutions play a crucial role in maintaining structure, integrity, consistency, and quality across the Power Platform environments. When used correctly, they provide a clean ALM process, safe deployments, protection from accidental changes, and ease of upgrade and maintenance.