Licensing Microsoft Dynamics 365. Can different license versions be mixed?

Anna Gajdowicz March 19, 2024

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From the perspective of customers, questions often arise regarding Microsoft Dynamics 365 products and how to integrate them. One frequently asked question concerns the possibility of mixing different license versions on a single tenant, such as combining Enterprise and Professional licenses. Is this allowed according to the licensing terms? Based on Microsoft’s licensing guide, we will answer this question and provide a few practical tips.

Overview

Licenses for some products, such as Dynamics 365 Sales, are available at different levels of functionality. When selecting the appropriate level for your business, you have three main licensing options: Sales Professional, Sales Enterprise, and Sales Premium, as well as a fourth option, Microsoft Relationship Sales (MRS), which combines Sales Enterprise with LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Detailed information about the Sales application plans can be found on the manufacturer’s website:

Source: Compare Sales Application Plans Microsoft Dynamics 365

It’s worth mentioning Sales Insights, which is an integral part of Sales Premium. Sales Insights conducts in-depth analysis of sales data, customer behavior, and market trends. With personalized insights generated by artificial intelligence, you can optimize your sales strategy and improve customer relationships. Importantly, Sales Insights can be purchased separately for the Sales Enterprise or MRS licenses. It is not available for the Professional version.

Source: Current Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide

Each type of Sales application is licensed per user. You can purchase licenses for users with full access and, if necessary, also obtain licenses for additional users.

Full user access licenses

Licensing for full users includes those whose work requires the complete functionality of Dynamics 365, whether the organization is large with Enterprise licenses or small with Professional licenses.

Additional user access licenses

There is also an option for licensing additional users, such as Team Members licenses. A Team Member user gains access to a specific set of functionalities within the permissions granted by the D365 Administrator. This means they can view selected data within the D365 environment but do not have the permissions to make decisions, such as changing the status of a sale or case. Team Members can be added to environments such as Finance, Supply Chain Management, Commerce, Human Resources, Project Operations, Sales, Customer Service, and Field Service. It is important to note the limitations of this license: due to their role, it does not provide access to custom applications and has limited table (entity) viewing capabilities. The recommended solution for key system users is, of course, a full user access license.

Conclusion

After discussing the product versions, we return to the fundamental question: Is it possible to mix different types of licenses, such as Enterprise, Professional, and Team Member? When choosing a full user access license that offers the essential functionality levels of the base license, you must decide whether to select Professional, Enterprise, or Premium, because these licenses cannot be mixed on a single tenant. This is due to each version offering different levels of functionality and capabilities. Sales Enterprise and Sales Premium include more advanced features (such as Sales Hub), which are not available in the Sales Professional version. Mixing these licenses could lead to inconsistencies in functionality.

This means that it is not possible to have, for example, 20 Professional licenses and 20 Enterprise licenses on the same tenant. Similarly, for D365 Customer Service, both licenses, Customer Service Professional and Customer Service Enterprise, can only be purchased for separate environments. However, what can you combine? You can add additional user licenses to the base license. If your business requires it, you can have 40 Sales Enterprise licenses and 5 Team Members licenses.

In summary, Microsoft allows for the selection of a single level of functionality for Dynamics 365 within a single tenant. This practice simplifies management, maintenance, and the efficient use of the Dynamics 365 platform. There is also the possibility of upgrading licenses if you determine that you need more advanced features.

How to purchase licenses

You can purchase licenses through certified reseller partners such as Atteli. If you need professional advice on Microsoft licensing, please contact us.

Licensing Microsoft Dynamics 365. Can different license versions be mixed?

You read:

Overview

Full user access licenses

Additional user access licenses

Conclusion

How to purchase licenses

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