Understanding Managed vs. Unmanaged in Microsoft Power Platform

Unmanaged Solutions

An unmanaged solution is a development-focused solution that is fully editable within a Power Platform environment. It’s primarily used in development environments, enabling developers to build, customize, and test components such as tables, apps, flows, dashboards, and more.

An unmanaged environment is a standard Power Platform environment without strict governance, giving makers maximum flexibility.

Key Characteristics

Fully editable: You can add, modify, or delete components directly.
Used for development and testing: Ideal for experimenting and creating new functionality.
Components are “loose”: They are part of the environment and can be freely changed.
Cannot directly become managed: Must be exported as managed to be deployed elsewhere.

Use Case:
Developers use unmanaged solutions to create and customize apps, flows, tables, and dashboards before deployment to production.

Example:

A developer builds a Customer Feedback app in an unmanaged environment.
They add tables like Feedback, Customers, and flows for notifications.
They test new features, modify forms, and adjust dashboards freely.

Managed Solutions

A managed solution is a locked-down, deployable version of a solution intended for production or distribution. It is exported from an unmanaged solution and imported into other environments, typically staging or production.

Key Characteristics

Read-only components: Cannot be edited in the target environment.
Stable for production: Ideal for end users to prevent accidental changes.
Supports clean uninstall: Removes all components without leaving leftovers.
Supports versioning and upgrades: Easy to maintain and update over time.

Use Case:
Once development is complete, the solution is exported as managed and deployed to production, ensuring stability and governance.

Example

The Customer Feedback app created in unmanaged is exported as a managed solution.
It’s imported into the production environment for all company users.
Users can submit feedback, but they cannot modify tables or flows, ensuring consistency.

Comparison Table

Feature	Unmanaged Solution	Managed Solution
Editable in environment	✅ Yes	❌ No (read-only)
Best environment	Development / Test	Production / Distribution
Deployment	Local to environment	Importable into other envs
Upgrades	Manual changes	Supports versioned upgrades
Clean uninstall	No (manual cleanup)	Yes (removes all components)

Important Note:

Managed Environment ≠ Managed Solution
- Managed Environment: Controls the entire environment, including policies and governance.
- Managed Solution: Controls solution components only.

Best-Practice Environment Strategy

Environment	Solution Type	Purpose
Dev (Unmanaged)	Unmanaged Solutions	Free experimentation, development
Test / UAT (Managed)	Managed Solutions	Validation, approvals
Production (Managed)	Managed Solutions	Strict governance, stable release

Step-by-Step Guidelines

Identify the Purpose:
- Development → Use Unmanaged
- Production → Use Managed
Understand Editing Ability:
- Unmanaged → Fully editable
- Managed → Read-only
Deployment & Maintenance:
- Unmanaged → Good for building and testing
- Managed → Good for deploying, upgrading, and clean uninstall
Remember the Flow:
- Build in unmanaged → Export as managed → Deploy to production

Conclusion

Unmanaged solutions and environments provide flexibility and freedom for development.
Managed solutions and environments provide control, stability, and governance for production.
Following this development-to-deployment flow ensures smooth solution lifecycle management in Power Platform.