Understanding 2021 Dual Write Licensing

Caroline Mayou

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Licensing, Microsoft Dynamics 365

Understanding 2021 Dual Write Licensing

Licensing of dual write depends on the use of tables within Dynamics 365. A dual write integration will be of interest for any business looking to create bidirectional data flows between Dynamics 365 ERP and customer engagement applications.

Andrew Newman

July 27, 2021

Licensing for dual write is unique when compared to other Microsoft solutions. A typical Microsoft product license has a price per user per month. This is the case with tools included as part of Power Platform and Dynamics 365 applications. However, dual write licensing does not work in this manner, as it relates to the use of specific tables in Dynamics 365. This article will give a brief overview of dual write and the scenarios where dual write licensing is necessary.

What is Dual Write?

Dual write is a Microsoft integration that connects Dynamics 365 Finance, Supply Chain, Commerce, and Project Operations to Dataverse to create near real-time data sharing between finance and operations and customer engagement apps. It essentially allows you to create a holistic view of both your LCS and Power Platform environments. The solution is useful for businesses that need up-to-date financial information in Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain that accounts for even the most recent customer invoices. Dual write has native compatibility between Microsoft’s ERP and CE applications, making it the ideal solution to create a bidirectional flow of data between them. Customers are then able to interact with near-real time data through a Power Apps Portal, if your business supports one. The key value proposition of dual write is halving data entry due to bidirectional data sharing and elimination of human error that leads to inconsistencies between financial data in CE and ERP applications.

Is Dual Write Licensing Free?

In many scenarios, yes. There is no specific license required to enable dual write. If your business only uses unrestricted tables, you do not need to acquire additional licenses to use dual write. For quick background, tables are used to structure data that is commonly used by businesses in their applications. Dynamics 365 applications come with many tables out-of-box to meet the needs of most customers and reduce customization effort. Dual write is configured at the table level, as a result, if your business is interested in using restricted tables, you will need to acquire a specific Dynamics 365 license to sync those tables with Dataverse.

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Dynamics 365 Restricted and Unrestricted Tables

Unrestricted tables include all Microsoft Dataverse tables included as part of the Common Data Model. These tables can be used to create apps or flows by anyone with a Power Apps or Power Automate license. Conversely, there are restricted tables that require a Dynamics 365 application license. These could be licenses associated with Dynamics 365 Sales, Customer Service, Marketing, Project Operations, Field Service, or a more general plan encompassing these applications. For these model-driven and canvas apps, there are restricted tables that require a certain Dynamics 365 license to edit, delete, or create rows within such tables. If a flow or app only requires to read information in these restricted tables, a Dynamics 365 license is unnecessary and a Power Apps or Power Automate license will be enough.

There are two main reasons why a table will be restricted and therefore require a Dynamics 365 subscription. These are:

Advanced logic is used for the table, maintaining, and creating data in a specific manner inside of Dynamics 365.
Configuration data specific to a Dynamics 365 product is stored within the table and is typically not used outside of the intended application.

Restricted Tables That Require a Dynamics 365 License to Use Dual Write

Many common business processes require the use of restricted tables in Dynamics 365. If you intend to edit, delete, or create data within these restricted tables, specific Dynamics 365 licenses are required for dual write integration. These restricted tables are all available within multiple Dynamics 365 subscriptions or plans and are outlined below:

As is apparent in the table, the use of dual write with restricted tables requires a specific Dynamics 365 license or plan. Fortunately, if your business already has licenses for these applications, you will not need to spend extra for dual write. Businesses can implement dual write to realize near real-time bidirectional data sharing once they acquire licenses to edit these restricted tables. However, a dual write licensing does not include implementation. Most businesses will need to bring in external help during the implementation process. A Microsoft Partner, such as Avantiico can assist your business with this. We have experience with dual write integrations and can take care of the development work required to get you started!