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Dynamics 365 Community / Blogs / Microsoft Dynamics 365 Extensions / Microsoft Dynamics 365 Lice...

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Licensing: Common Challenges, Learning, and Key Takeaway

Sohaib Cheema Profile Picture Sohaib Cheema 46,610 User Group Leader
I have a few ongoing support calls with Microsoft on this subject. However, I want to share a recent learning experience and address a common confusion that exists at every level, whether you are a beginner or very experienced, due to Microsoft's frequent changes to their licensing guides.

Let’s learn from an example of what we went through.

We started testing the new Dynamics 365 Expense App. The guidance/documentation stated that every user who wants to use the app must have a Dynamics 365 Team Member License. Here is the link and screenshot.



I trusted the documentation and began testing, requesting that a few users be assigned the specified license. During testing, I accidentally observed that a user who wasn’t assigned the Team Member License was still able to use the app. Upon further investigation, I found that the user had a Customer Engagement Plan License assigned.

We raised a support call, and after several weeks of work, it was clarified that the Dynamics 365 Team Member License is the minimum required. However, if you have a higher-level license, you are already covered, and you do not need to purchase or hold the Team Member License along with a more expensive license.

When it comes to the licensing guide, the term "Multiplexing" remains confusing for technical people because they often think in technical rather than commercial terms. There is a difference between a license and a security role. A license is a commercial aspect, focused more on compliance, whereas a security role is a technical aspect that controls users’ access to the system or specific parts of the system.

If you are developing any integrations or using apps that connect two systems, you need to consider both the commercial and technical aspects. Commercially, you could be covered by another, more expensive license. Don’t fall into the trap of buying additional licenses if you are already covered by a higher-tier license.

Technically, different systems behave differently. For Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain, it doesn’t matter if a license is assigned or not; a user can use the system if the appropriate security roles are assigned within Dynamics. On the Customer Engagement side, I have seen Canvas apps fail to execute if a user does not have the required license assigned. This difference arises from how different systems are developed. Even if a system can technically function without a license, you must still remain compliant commercially. In my opinion, Microsoft or any other company would be less concerned with what you are doing technically, as long as you are compliant financially and following set standards.

As mentioned at the beginning, I have a few ongoing support calls with Microsoft. Once these are resolved, I will share my thoughts on the new learnings about the subject.

Finally, for all of us, it is important to accept that the licensing guide keeps changing, due to several factors, but mainly because Microsoft continues to re-structure the products. It is a challenging subject to keep up with, given the constantly evolving knowledge of licensing.

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