Dynamics 365 Team Member License Enforcement, Guide and Alternatives

Dynamics 365 Team Member license limitations and its purpose have become important to know as they are being enforcement by Dynamics 365. Get to know the limitations and the purpose plus alternatives for the Team Member license using Power Apps Plans licensing.

The Team member license did never lose its superpower, Microsoft just detailed what was the intent for the Team member license.

Microsoft will start to enforce team member restrictions at a point in time in near future. Below I will go through how to check if you are within use rights of your existing Team member licensing and if not then I will try to explain what options you have.

But first for people that do not know the team member license for Dynamics, this is a cheap license that grants a user access to participate in a limited specific set of functionalities with read only to all data.

Checkup: Are U Dynamics 365 Team Member license enforcement compliant?

Do you have Dynamics 365 Team Member license in use? New report helps you stay within use rights entitlement, as admin, go to: https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com/analytics/d365ce/ -> Push Download->select “non-Conformant usage by users with Team members”

Remember to set Environment and “data range” before downloading the Report

This report will tell you if you are on the wrong side of license entitlement, my own pocket guide would be…if you cannot stay within a maximum of 15 additional entities (custom entities or “out-of-the-box”) in the team member app, look at a PowerApps license…. if Team members are writing to entities that are not allowed and are on the list of restricted entities for PowerApps… a Full Dynamics license is needed… read below to figure out why

Replacing Dynamics 365 Team Member license with Power Apps user license

Power apps licenses are a good replacement option from Team member licenses:

Biggest Advantages

• Offline capability is included https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/mobile-offline-for-power-apps/
• It has no Customization limitation
• PowerApps are less restrictive in term of what entities it may write data to. Power Apps have a concise list of entities it is not allowed to write data to (restricted entities) but all other may be full CRUD, Team member have a concise list of entity it is allowed to write to, but all entities not listed are only Read.
• use rights for additional Microsoft PowerApps apps and use of Power Automate.

Most important Disadvantages

Taking the Powe Apps option to connect to Dynamics data entities, you must build you own apps and cannot use Dynamics 365 first party apps, for most this would be a small task, but you should evaluate the cost before taking the option of replacing Team member licensing with a PowerApps license.

The Same entitlement for PowerApps and Team members licenses

• Access to Case
• Read all entities

As per nov. 2020 the Dynamics license guide have been updated to clarify that it is OK for a PowerApps users to read restricted entities but not write, update, or delete. for non-restricted entities, a PowerApps users may perform both Read, update, Create and update. 

The good news is that the restricted entity list is now no longer out of date and have been updated. Only a few essential Dynamics entities are left restricted so a lot of use cases can be handled by switching the Team member license to a Power Apps license.

While you are in this deep in understanding Dynamics 365 Team member vs Power Apps you must be ready to take the opportunity to prove that you know the latest PowerApps stuff by taking Power Apps fundamental certification PL-900 or prove that you are able to build Power Apps taking Power App Maker certification PL-100.

Dynamics 365 Team member upgrade to Full Customer Engagement Dynamics license

This is the safe but more expensive option and needed if Team members are writing to entities that are not allowed and are on the list of restricted entities for PowerApps.

The latest PowerApps licensing guide. 

Assignment of licensing can be automated Learn here how-to in less that 5 minutes.

Know what is allowed – Dynamics 365 Team Members licensing

You are looking at if you could downgrade some of you full Dynamics 365 users to a Team member? If so, below are a snapshot of the Licensing guide April 2020 and may be changed by Microsoft, so please check the latest Dynamics 365 licensing guide for the latest details on Team member use rights when you are up for a renewal or are a first-time buyer.

Team Members use rights

As writing this in April 2020 you are allowed with a Dynamics 365 team member license to access Dynamics 365 Mobile Client Application & Microsoft Dynamics 365 for iPad &
Windows & Dynamics 365 for Outlook and Dynamics 365 App for Outlook & Microsoft Dynamics 365 Web application

but no Offline capabilities.

but no access to Field service client

Customization limitation of 15 per app Additional entities (custom entities or “out-of-the-box” Common Data Service entities)

Team Members application module may be customized with maximum 15 additional entities (custom entities or “out-of-the-box”)

Dynamics 365 App for Outlook can be customized; however, usage must comply with use rights for users’ corresponding license and preapproved application scenarios

Team member users are only allowed to use the “team-member-apps-for-dynamics-365”. To get a closer look at them visit Jukka Niiranen’s excellent blog in the topic.

Preapproved application scenarios

Read

• All Dynamics 365 application data and Custom Entity data

Use

• Search and advanced find
• relationships & connections between records

Create, update, and delete:

• Contacts
• Announcements
• Activities
• Notes
• Calendar: share
• Personal Views
• Saved Views
• Word Templates

For Customer Service with Access via Team Members app module

• Create, update, and delete own Case and read Knowledge Articles

For Project Service Automation

Approve:

• • Time
  • Expense
  • Invoices

Submit

• • Time
  • Expense

Update

• • own Resource Competencies

In Dynamics 365 – Gamification, as a Spectator View, see results on leaderboards (web, mobile, and TV screens), and chats with participants. As a Fan, draft personal Fantasy Teams, earn points, badges, and trophies on team results.

There are no use rights for Microsoft PowerApps or Forms Pro with a Team Member license.

Visit Microsoft Team member FAQ at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/get-started/team-members-license