GS521 – Managing Providers and Repositories in Globalization Studio

As you start working with Globalization Studio, you’ll notice every feature, configuration, and ER format is tied to a provider and a repository.

You might be wondering:

• “Should I use the Microsoft provider or create my own?”
• “What is a repository and why does it matter?”
• “How do I keep my environment clean when working across Dev, UAT, and Prod?”

This article answers those questions and helps you:

• Understand the difference between providers and repositories
• Set up your own provider (e.g. Contoso, Your Org)
• Work with Microsoft-delivered features without modifying them
• Keep features organized across environments

This builds on GS503 – Workspace Setup and supports ALM topics from GS508 – Application Lifecycle Management.

🧠 What Is a Provider?

A configuration provider is the “owner” of a feature, configuration, or ER format.

✅ Think of providers like authors. Microsoft creates the original, and you create your customized versions under your own provider.

📦 What Is a Repository?

A repository is where your features and ER configurations are stored.

There are two main types:

💡 You can have multiple repositories (e.g., Dev, UAT, Prod) all pointing to the same or different Dataverse solutions.

🪜 Step-by-Step: Creating Your Own Provider

1. Go to Workspaces > Electronic Reporting
2. Select Configuration Providers

3. Click New
   • Name: Contoso Ltd
   • Alias: CONTS

4. Mark it as Active

This allows you to start creating and owning your own features without touching Microsoft’s originals.

🪜 Step-by-Step: Connecting to Repositories

1. Go to Globalization Studio > Repository Settings
2. Choose repository type:
   • Microsoft Global Repository (for imports)
   • Dataverse Repository (for your work)
3. If using Dataverse:
   • Create or choose a Power Platform solution
   • Name it clearly (e.g., Contoso Compliance UAT)
   • Features created in this solution will follow ALM rules

📘 Refer to GS508 – ALM for details on exporting/importing solutions between environments.

🔁 When to Use Which Provider?

🧼 Never modify features directly under Microsoft’s provider. Always clone first under your provider, this keeps upgrades clean and traceable.

📁 Organizing Repositories for ALM

If you’re working across multiple environments:

This structure:

• Keeps environments clean
• Supports rollback if needed
• Enables team collaboration via Power Platform

🧾 Naming Tips and Best Practices

🧭 Related Articles

• GS503 – Connecting to Repositories
• GS505 – Creating Features from Scratch
• GS508 – ALM and Deployment
• GS510 – Reusing Microsoft Features

📘 Coming Up Next

In GS522 – Cloning, Extending, and Managing Feature Versions, we’ll show how to safely make changes to your live compliance features using versioning.
You’ll learn how to:

• Clone existing features
• Modify ER formats, pipelines, and applicability rules
• Deploy and test changes without impacting production
• Roll back versions cleanly if needed

📖 Continue reading: GS522 – Feature Versioning and Change Management →

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