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Introduction
The following licensing information for Dynamics 365 reflects our current understanding and is based on information released by Microsoft at their World Partner Conference July 2016. It should be noted that this may be subject to change at any time by Microsoft. In addition, it should be noted that pricing information is yet to be released.
Why the Change?
The benefits of the changes will be to allow users to licence only what they need e.g. Customer Service, without having to subscribe to a complete CRM/ERP plan. For those that do require access to multiple apps the plan approach will offer best value. This is a similar approach to that used for Office 365 where individuals Apps e.g. Skype for Business or SharePoint Online can be licensed individually, but eventually it becomes better value to subscribe to an Office 365 plan.
Editions
Dynamics 365 will be available in 2 editions, which are:
- Enterprise edition
- Business edition
Enterprise Edition
The Enterprise edition is available as follows:
- Plan 1 - Includes Sales, Customer Service, Marketing, Project Services, Field Services, Operations, Power Apps, Flow
- Plan 2 - As per Plan 1, but excludes the Operations app
- Team Member - Read only access to all app data and light touch features. The full details of what a Team Member can create or update have yet to be released.
Additionally, there is now an additional option to license users for one or more Apps e.g. Service only. This ensures that when a user only needs access to a specific element, the whole suite does not have to be licensed.
Business Edition
The Business Edition is only available in one plan and this will include Financials, Sales, Marketing apps. It should be noted that only the Financials element will be available at launch.
Volumes & Discounts
Microsoft are offering a discount structure, ensuring a lower cost per user based on the number of subscriptions purchased.
- Plan 1 - Minimum 20 users and no tiered discounts. Numbers do however count towards Plan 2 volume discounts.
- Plan 2 - No minimum purchase limit and tiered pricing discounts. Additional subscribers can be added at any time, but full discount only realised at time of renewal. The level of discounts and level that will apply have yet to be released.
- Team Member - No minimum purchase limit and tiered pricing discounts
Plans can be mixed and matched as necessary e.g. 20 Plan 1, 30 Plan 2 and 20 Team Members in a single deployment.
Device Licensing
A great new development is that a Device based subscription will be available with Dynamics 365. Until now this option was not available in the cloud. This is useful for shift workers, factory terminals etc.
Availability
The different plans will be available via a range of licensing models. It should be noted however that Dynamics 365 will not be available on Open, as Microsoft continue their push towards CSP based licensing. Additionally, only a select number of options will be available via the Microsoft online portal.
The Business Edition will only be available via CSP, whilst the Enterprise Edition will be available via EA, MPSA and CSP. Selected elements of the Enterprise Edition (Plan 1 and the Customer Engagement Apps) will also be available via the Microsoft Online Services Portal (MOSP). As such Operations and Plan 2 are not available via this channel.
Roll-out of Dynamics 365 will start with the business edition in the Autumn of 2016.
Existing CRM Online Customers
Existing customers will continue on their current plan until renewal. After this time, they will need to renew on a Dynamics CRM plan. As such a transition from Professional, Basic and Essential versions of Dynamics CRM Online will need to be considered.
Contact Us
C2 would be happy to assist clients looking for assistance on the forthcoming move to Dynamics 365. For more information about Microsoft Dynamics 365, please Contact Us today.