Demystifying Dynamics 365 Licensing
Finding a partner who can help you navigate Dynamics 365 licensing will help you make sense of the various options and features you have available to you in your systems and applications.
In this blog, we will focus on Dynamics 365 licensing models for first-party applications, including:
- Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys
- Dynamics 365 Sales
- Dynamics 365 Customer Service
- Dynamics 365 Field Service
- Dynamics 365 Project Operations
These apps are the core applications that are part of the Dynamics 365 suite. They are designed to address specific business needs and scenarios while automating tasks and making processes easier for you and your team. They also integrate with other Microsoft products like the Power Platform, Office 365, Teams, Azure, and Outlook. This combination allows you to unify experiences for your users and keep relevant information stored in a centralized location.
Dynamics 365 Licensing: Professional Level vs Enterprise Level
Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, understanding your licensing needs and how consolidating them can help you are two things you should keep top of mind.
The licensing model of Dynamics 365 depends on the level of functionality and customization that you need. There are two main levels: Professional and Enterprise. Professional is suitable for those who need the basic features of Sales or Customer Service, such as managing leads, opportunities, accounts, contacts, cases, and activities. Enterprise is suitable for organizations that need more advanced features, such as forecasting, gamification, field service, project service, and AI tools. The pricing of your licensing will also depend on various factors that we will detail below.
Now let’s explore licensing for each of the Dynamics 365 first-party applications:
Dynamics 365 Licensing for Customer Insights - Journeys
Dynamics 365 Customer Insights - Journeys (formerly Dynamics 365 Marketing), is a powerful and innovative application that helps you create and execute effective marketing campaigns, generate and nurture leads, and measure your results. It is licensed by the tenant, which means you pay a flat fee per month for the entire organization, regardless of the number of users. The pricing of Dynamics Marketing depends on two factors:
- The number of contacts or leads you want to market to
- The number of interactions or events you want to manage per month.
Here are the tiers of pricing available:
If you need more contacts or interactions, you can purchase additional capacity at $250 per 10,000 contacts or $50 per 100,000 interactions.
To qualify for Dynamics 365 Customer Journeys - Insights licensing, you need to own a minimum of 10 licenses of Dynamics Sales or Customer Service at the Professional or Enterprise level. If you do, you get 50% off the list price of Dynamics Marketing. This is cost-effective for small and medium businesses that want to leverage the full potential of Dynamics 365.
Licensing for Dynamics 365 Sales
Dynamics 365 Sales Licensing is a flexible and scalable solution that helps you choose the right product for your business needs. Whether you need a professional or an enterprise level, you can benefit from powerful features such as automation, integration, chat, and Viva.
Microsoft has recently announced some changes in the licensing model of Dynamics 365 Sales licensing. The changes affect the customers who use the Enterprise level of Sales or Customer Service applications, which are part of the Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (CE) portfolio. Organizations can access a lower price for the second application they purchase, as long as they have a minimum of 20 users for the first one.
Your organization would have to be using both Dynamics 365 Business Central and Customer Engagement to access this. So for example, if your business is using Business Central as your ERP system, you can access Customer Engagement applications for your CRM for only $20 a month instead of the full price of $65 or $95. This is a great opportunity if your business wants to integrate processes and data across different domains, such as finance, operations, sales, and service.
Dynamics 365 Licensing for Customer Service
Dynamics 365 Customer Service is an application that helps you provide excellent service and support to your customers, using various channels and tools. It is part of the D365 suite, which shares a common data model and platform, called the dataverse. This means you can easily integrate your customer service data and processes with other D365 applications, such as Sales, Marketing, and Business Central.
Dynamics Customer Service is also offered at the same two levels: Professional and Enterprise. Professional is suitable for organizations that need the basic features of customer service, such as:
- Managing cases
- Queues
- Entitlements
- Service level agreements
Meanwhile, Enterprise is suitable for those who need those features plus more advanced features, such as:
- Omnichannel
- Engagement
- Chatbots
- Knowledge management
- Field service.
The pricing for Dynamics 365 Customer Service depends on the number of users and the level of functionality. You can choose the level that best fits your needs and budget, and you can switch to a higher level at any time, as Microsoft allows you to upgrade your license.
The table below shows the pricing of Dynamics Customer Service per user per month:
The above cost list applies to organizations that already own a minimum of 20 licenses of another Dynamics 365 application at the Enterprise level. This means you can get a lower price for the second application you purchase if it is at the same or lower level as the first one.
Licensing for Dynamics 365 Field Service
Field Service is an application that helps you manage your field-based workforce, assets, and services.
Field Service is an enterprise-level application, which means it has more advanced features and functionality than the Professional-level applications. It also means it has a different licensing model than the other Dynamics 365 applications. You cannot add Field Service as an attached license to a Professional level application like Business Central However, you can add Field Service as an attached license to any other Enterprise level application, such as Sales, Customer Service, or Finance and Supply Chain. The attached license is a lower price than the full license, as shown in the table below:
The prices above apply to organizations already owning a minimum of 20 licenses of another D365 application at the Enterprise level. This means you can get a lower price for the second application you purchase if it is at the same or lower level as the first one.
Dynamics 365 Licensing for Project Operations
Project Operations, formerly called Project Service Automation, is an application that helps you manage your projects, resources, finances, and customer relationships. It is part of the D365 suite and is also integrated with the Dataverse, allowing you to easily integrate your project operations data and processes with other D365 applications, such as Business Central, Sales, Customer Service, and Field Service.
Project Operations is an enterprise-level application, which means it has more advanced features and functionality than the Professional-level applications. It also means that it has a different licensing model than the other D365 applications. You cannot add Project Operations as a standalone license, but only as an attached license to another Enterprise level application. The attached license is a lower price than the full license, as shown below:
The prices listed again apply to organizations that already own a minimum of 20 licenses of another D365 application at the Enterprise level. This means that you can get a lower price for the second application you purchase, as long as it is at the same or lower level as the first one.
Stoneridge Software is Your Licensing Partner
At Stoneridge Software, we have a sales team and a licensing team that is experts in helping you to develop the best licensing strategy for your business needs and budget.
We can help you with:
- Assessing your current licensing contract and ensuring that you are properly licensed
- Auditing your licensing usage and identifying potential savings or risks
- Exploring the new features and innovations that Microsoft offers and how you can use them to enhance your business
- Consolidating your licensing and simplifying your billing and management
- Answering your questions and guiding any Microsoft licensing topic, such as Azure, M365, or Power Platform
Dynamics 365 is a flexible and scalable solution that can meet the needs of any business, regardless of the size, industry, or complexity. By choosing the right license and level, customers can optimize their costs and benefits with D365 and the power of the cloud.
We are a Microsoft partner that can help you with all of your Microsoft licensing needs. Contact us today and let us help you get the most out of Dynamics 365.
Want More Information on Dynamics 365 Licensing?
Reach out to Stoneridge Software! Our licensing team is ready to assist you with whatever inquiries you might have about your licensing needs and consolidate your licensing so it's easy to manage.
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