Demystifying Dynamics 365 and Power Platform Licensing

My slides from Dynamics 365 Saturday London on 2019-01-19.

Presentation

D365_Saturday_London_-_Demystifying_D365_Power_Platform_Licensing

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Outline extract from PowerPoint

•Agenda •Licensing: why it matters & why it may seem complicated •Essential information sources •Dynamics 365 licensing: recent updates •Power Platform vs. Dynamics 365 •A few gotchas •About me •Jukka Niiranen •From Helsinki, Finland • •Microsoft MVP since 2013 •Blogging at survivingcrm.com •Tweeting at @jukkan •Working on the Microsoft Power Platform since 2005 J •Disclaimer: IANAL •I Am Not A Licensing expert •Everything in this presentation is based on: •Publicly available licensing documentation from Microsoft •My interpretation of them •If I’m wrong, it’s your problem •“Additional charges may apply” •Disclaimer 2: I’m an XRM guy •Customer Engagement, PowerApps, Flow, CDS are my domain •Even Power BI would be a bit of a stretch •Any questions specific to Finance & Operations, Talent, Retail, Business Central will be answered with a blank stare •Lack of licensing awareness can lead to: •To understand Dynamics 365 licensing today, you need to know these concepts: •Bigger platform = more licensing options •Former XRM now offered as an actual application platform product •Power Platform now powering all Dynamics 365 app customization •Office 365 ecosystem linked with business apps beyond OoB features •Connectors moving business data across 200+ other apps (with their respective license models) •Sources of complexity •There is no single Power Platform SKU •Access to PowerApps & Flow can be acquired through multiple different license types •The same CDS database can be used with multiple different licenses •App license requirements are based on features used and app complexity •When enterprise meets citizen developers •Different roles for different apps: •Dynamics 365: common business processes across the enterprise •PowerApps: tools for teams and small groups to better organize their work •PowerApps can reside in shared CDS with Dynamics 365, in separate CDS, outside CDS completely (canvas apps) •PowerApps was designed for viral adoption, Dynamics 365 for centralized planning and control •License & admin design for these 2 ends of the spectrum can be interesting… •Ways to get PowerApps & Flow licenses •Different ways how Microsoft teams communicate their licensing model

Dynamics 365 •A single, public facing Licensing Guide PDF document

PowerApps •Marketing and documentation pages here & there… •Microsoft Licensing Guides archive available via Licensing School •https://bitly.com/MSLicensingGuides •Archive of Microsoft’s licensing documents for various product lines •The Dynamics category alone includes 50+ documents for you to enjoy! •Recent changes in Dynamics 365 licensing •Dynamics 365 Professional vs. Enterprise •2 different tiers available for Sales & Customer Service apps •Sales: Enterprise €80.10, Professional €54.80 •Service: Enterprise €80.10, Professional €42.20 •Specific Enterprise features excluded from Professional apps •Restrictions on customization capabilities •Currently: max 15 custom entities •Previous restrictions no longer found in Licensing Guide: •Max 5 Business Process Flows •Max 15 custom workflows •Max 10 3^rd party application installs •Max 2 forms per entity •Instances & App Modules •Sales Pro & CS Pro are instance specific app modules •Enterprise licensed users may access these instances via these apps, but Professional users can’t access other apps or instances •App module can be extended with up to 15 custom entities •However, these entities should be “within the context of the app module” •Enterprise features not in Professional apps •Let’s talk about
Team Members •The challenge with the old licensing terms •Up until Spring 2018, there was no formal way to license Dynamics 365 CE as just a platform without any 1^st party apps from MS •Team Member license had limitations on what 1^st party app entities & features you could access •Global read rights to everything, restricted edit rights to core entities •However, usage of custom entities was unrestricted •With a price of ~10% of a 1^st party App license, you could build your own business apps and assign the users only a Team Member license •Team Members 2.0 •In March 2018, MS declared that PowerApps P2 now was the platform SKU for building your own model-driven apps •In October 2018 the Team Member license was redefined as a lot less powerful, standard apps only –type of a lite user •New restrictions described in the Licensing Guide: •“Entitles the user to light weight access through designated scenarios built into Team Members experience. The Team Members subscription does not provide access to custom applications and is not intended for scenarios beyond those listed in Appendix B.” •Same 15 entity limit as with Professional licenses •And one more thing… •NO ACCOUNTS!!!

Create/Update/Delete rights removed from Team Members, only Read remains •Team Members & custom entities •Team Members & existing customers •Team Members Grandfathering PDF available for download •For customers who had Team Member licensed prior to October 1, 2018 •Previous licensing terms still apply for ~1-3 years, until next subscription term ends •Professional vs. Team Member: a few gotchas •Create/read/update/delete Marketing Lists •Sales Pro: Yes. Team Member: No. •Associate a Marketing List with an Account or Contact •Sales Pro: No. Team Member: Yes. •Add or remove a Connection (stakeholder, sales team) for an Account or Contact •Sales Pro: No. Team Member: Yes. •App Modules and licensing •App Module was launched in 2016 with not much fanfare •Unified Interface in 2017 showed us why App Modules are essential •PowerApps & XRM platform merger in 2018 brought the App concept front & center (canvas apps, model-driven apps) •In the future, App Modules will be tied directly to the licenses, to technically enforce access rights to specific areas •Current licensing terms for Team Members & Professional licenses already restrict the number of custom entities per App, as well as referring to standard apps and custom apps •Apps available for Professional & TM licenses •Dynamics 365 for Marketing: how is it licensed •Per instance, not per user •Can request free Marketing app access license for users who don’t have other Dynamics 365 user specific license •Priced per marketing contacts in the database •Marketing activity includes any contact or engagement via Marketing emails, landing pages, forms, LinkedIn integration, events, surveys or custom channel •Bundled into Dynamics 365 Plans •10 Plan users = 2k contacts included •Less = paid Attach plan of 10k contacts available •Additional contacts available for purchase (5k & 50k) •Requires 1 unconfigured Portal for installation (free or paid) •Dynamics 365 AI for ”X” •3 new apps launched in Fall 2018 •AI for Sales: what’s included where •Let’s try & combine two platforms
into one •Dynamics 365 specific features
(i.e. not found in CDS environment) •Storage •Dynamics 365 CE •Default 10 GB per tenant, shared across all instances •Additional 5 GB per every 20 full users (i.e. not Team Member) •Additional database storage add-on available in 1 GB increments •PowerApps •Default 10 GB per tenant, shared across all CDS environments •Additional storage per each user: P1 = 20 MB, P2 = 200 MB •Add-ons for data storage & file storage(?) •Instances / environments •Dynamics 365 CE •Default: 1 production instance & 1 sandbox (Enterprise only) per tenant •No relation to licensed user count •Paid add-ons available for additional production & non-production instances •PowerApps •Default: 1 environment created per tenant •Every PowerApps P2 licensed user grants an entitlement to provision 2 environments into the tenant •Example: 100 users with PowerApps P2 license = 200 production environments! •Also available: free Community Plan •For individual development, includes CDS •Environment administration requires P2 •PowerApps Plans included with Dynamics 365 licenses •Embedded vs. Standalone canvas app •Comparison of Standalone PowerApps Plans •Common Data Service—entities •Restrected (premium) entities in PowerApps •CDS Connector flags the restricted entities with a ”diamond” and instructs on the required license for accessing them •The complexity trap •Users licensed based on PowerApps P1 •Data is managed in CDS •Uses a CDM entity like Contact that is leveraged across many apps •License requirement for all app users goes up from P1 to P2 if: •Power users creates/modifies XRM workflow to run in real time •Developer creates a plugin •Admin installs a 3^rd party app that includes either of these •Editing accounts •As we know, Team Members can now only view accounts •How about PowerApps P1 users? •Yes! They have CRUD rights to account via canvas app, since it’s not a restricted entity •Oh, but there are plugins registered for account entity by default… •Don’t worry: plugins added by MS solutions (Activity Feeds etc.) do NOT make the entity complex •Connector types •Standard: available to all PowerApps & Flow users •Premium: require paid license •Office 365 not sufficient •List of premium connectors accessible via Flow website: •https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/?filter=&category=premium •Custom & on-premises: requirement moving up from Office 365 to P1 •See post on Office retirement blog •Moving your PowerApps up to a higher Platform •CDS usage: effect on license cost per user •Scenario: •1000 users with Office 365 E3 (~€20,000/month) •PowerApps for Office 365 available to everyone •License cost of PowerApps canvas apps within Office 365: €0/month •First canvas app using CDS: ~€6/user/month •100 named app users in the organization = €600/month •100 unnamed potential users in the organization (all users) = €6000/month •Price per each organization wide canvas app in use: •1st app: €6000/month •10th app: €600/month •Model-driven app usage: effect on license cost •Same scenario, but now moving from CDS based canvas apps to model-driven apps •1000 users for N canvas apps using CDS: €6,000/month •1000 users for the 1st model-driven app: €34,000/month •Price difference in moving from PowerApps P1 to P2 = 5.7x •However, if the organization would be using Dynamics 365 Enterprise apps or plans, the marginal cost in licenses would be zero •Can I build my own Sales CRM app on CDS? •Before: •“You may not replicate a standard feature of Dynamics 365 without purchasing a license for the standard app” •Today: •“Go ahead!” •Closing thoughts •Knowing each license in detail isn’t necessary, but you should recognize the moving parts when designing solutions •As the Dynamics 365 enterprise apps & PowerApps citizen developer platform continue to converge, expect to see further adjustments to their licensing models •Dynamics 365 Community •Benefits •Participate and help build a pool of knowledge that’s accessible by members at any time! •Expand your network by engaging with peers •Involvement •Need help? Ask questions and join in on business or technical discussions in the forums •Share your expertise by hosting a blog or syndicating your existing blog •Recognition •Earn badges for participation and engagement •Become a Community Star and earn appreciation from peers •Join Today! •Get answers, find inspiration, connect with others •Free membership • •Any questions? Email us at [email protected] •Get Licensing Ready •Free training site for MS product licensing & programs •Tracks & exams for Dynamics 365 Online & on-premises •Training videos and PDF handouts •https://getlicensingready.com •Power Platform is the shared extension mechanism for both Office 365 & Dynamics 365 •It’s not about monetizing app creation •Microsoft’s intent with Power Platform is not to block the app makers from building the capabilities into their apps •Licensing is about the usage of the app & the complexity of the app •The design of the app determines what the cost of running it will be, based on services used in the final product •Conclusion: it’s safest to assume that whenever an app users an advanced feature, each end user will need to have the license for it (instead of just creator/admin/service account) •

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