GovernanceThe CoE Starter Kit: what it does and whether you need it

The CoE Starter Kit is a free, Microsoft-published collection of apps, flows and Power BI reports that inventories everything built on Power Platform in your tenant and helps you govern it. You probably need it if you have dozens of makers, several environments and no clear view of who owns what; you probably do not if you have a handful of makers and can get the same visibility from the Power Platform admin centre. It is powerful, but it is not a product with support, and it needs someone to own it.

At the time of writing (October 2026). Microsoft updates both the CoE Starter Kit and the Power Platform admin centre frequently, and features have been moving from the kit into the admin centre. Check the current kit documentation and release notes before you plan an install.

What the CoE Starter Kit is

CoE stands for Centre of Excellence: a small group responsible for making Power Platform safe and useful across an organisation. The Starter Kit gives that group tooling. It is built and maintained by a Microsoft team and published on GitHub, and it is itself made from Power Platform components: Dataverse tables, Power Automate flows, Power Apps and Power BI dashboards.

Importantly, it is a reference implementation. Microsoft does not provide formal support for it; issues are raised on GitHub. You install it, configure it and own it.

What is in the kit

The kit is organised into modules. Names and contents shift between releases, but the shape has been stable.

Most organisations get the bulk of the value from Core and selected Governance processes. Nurture and the backlog are useful when there is an active maker community to support.

What it costs to run

The kit is free to download, but running it is not free.

• Licences: the admin who installs and runs it needs premium Power Apps and Power Automate licensing, because the kit uses Dataverse and premium connectors. Users of the kit's apps may need premium licensing too.
• Power BI: viewing the dashboards typically needs Power BI Pro or equivalent for each viewer.
• Dataverse capacity: inventory data accumulates. Large tenants can consume meaningful storage.
• Admin time: installation, configuration, upgrades (Microsoft publishes releases regularly) and actually acting on what the kit shows you.

The last item is the one that decides success. A kit that nobody reviews is just another set of flows to maintain.

What the admin centre now does without the kit

Microsoft has been building governance features into the Power Platform admin centre, particularly for Managed Environments. At the time of writing these include:

• Inventory views of apps, flows and agents across environments.
• Usage insights and weekly digest emails for Managed Environments.
• Sharing limits for canvas apps and agents.
• Data loss prevention (DLP) policies for connectors.
• Recommendations and advisor-style guidance for admins.
• Maker welcome content shown when people start building.

Managed Environments are premium features: apps in those environments generally require premium-licensed users. For organisations already licensing users at that level, the admin centre may give enough visibility without the kit.

Do you need it? A quick decision guide

These thresholds are judgement, not rules. The real question is whether you can answer three things today: what exists, who owns it, and whether it is still needed.

How a sensible rollout looks

If you decide to install it, keep the first phase small.

1. Prepare

• Create a dedicated production environment for the kit, with Dataverse.
• Use a dedicated admin account with the right roles and licences, not a personal account.
• Agree who owns the kit and who acts on its findings.

2. Install Core

• Import the Core solution and configure the inventory.
• Let the first full inventory run, which can take a while in larger tenants.
• Publish the Power BI dashboard to the people who need it.

3. Act on the first findings

• Identify apps and flows with no active owner. Our guide to fixing ownerless flows covers what to do next.
• Find unused apps and agree an archive policy.
• Review connectors in use against your DLP policies.

4. Add governance processes gradually

• Turn on inactivity notifications and ownership checks one at a time.
• Tell makers what is changing before automated emails start arriving.

5. Keep it current

• Schedule upgrades. Running a kit several releases behind creates its own problems.
• Review the dashboard monthly and record decisions.

Common mistakes

• Installing everything at once. Makers get a wave of automated emails and stop reading them.
• Using a personal admin account. When that person leaves, the kit's own flows break.
• No owner. The dashboard looks impressive for a month, then nobody opens it.
• Never upgrading. Older versions can break as Microsoft changes the underlying APIs.
• Treating the kit as governance. It is tooling. Governance is the decisions you make with it: environment strategy, DLP, ownership and lifecycle.

Checklist: are you ready for the CoE Starter Kit?

• We have a named owner and a backup.
• We have a dedicated service account with appropriate licences.
• We have a production environment with Dataverse available for the kit.
• We have Power BI licensing for the people who will view the dashboard.
• We know which Governance processes we want first.
• We have agreed what happens to unowned or unused apps and flows.
• We have time scheduled each month to review and upgrade.

If several of these are unticked, start with the admin centre, DLP and an environment strategy. Our governance service and fixed-fee Health Check (see packages) are designed for exactly that first step.

Frequently asked questions

Is the CoE Starter Kit free?

The download is free. Running it needs premium licences for the admin account, Power BI licences for viewers, Dataverse capacity and ongoing admin time.

Is the CoE Starter Kit supported by Microsoft?

It is published and maintained by Microsoft, but it is not a supported product in the usual sense. Issues are raised through its GitHub repository.

Can small organisations use it?

They can, but many do not need it. With a few makers, the admin centre, DLP policies and a simple ownership register usually give enough control.

Does the kit work without Managed Environments?

Yes. The kit gathers its own inventory. Managed Environments add built-in features that overlap with some parts of the kit.

How long does installation take?

Core can be installed in a day or two for a straightforward tenant, but the first full inventory and acting on the findings take longer. Plan for a few weeks to get real value.

Key takeaways

• The CoE Starter Kit inventories and helps govern everything built on Power Platform.
• It is free to download but needs licences, capacity and, above all, an owner.
• The admin centre now covers much of what smaller organisations need.
• Install Core first, act on findings, then add governance processes gradually.
• Governance is the decisions, not the tooling. If you want a second opinion, see our support and governance services or book a call below.