Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide

There’s an updated (June 2022) Dynamics 365 Licensing Guide.

There’s mention on page 1 of the new licences for either Digital Messaging OR Voice Channel to step-up to Digital Messaging AND Voice Channel, and there’s a bit of extra detail added on page 44 clarifying that preparing periodic financial statements for customers is not considered an outsourced business service.

Finally, on page 41 there are some changes to the Operations Database capacity entitlements. Firstly, initial capacity for the tenant is up to 60 GB from 20 GB. Secondly, there are increases to the accrued capacity per User SL for Operations-Activity and Operations-Device licences as well as for Finance, Supply Chain Management, Commerce, Project Operations, and Human Resources licences. There are some other minor clarifications too which you can find detailed in the Change Log on page 60.

Get this updated guide here: https://bit.ly/3NVe1vh.

Azure Cost Management update

Microsoft announce that Azure Cost Management is now Microsoft Cost Management due to recent expansions in its capabilities.

In October it started covering Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Windows 365, and Power Platform offers when acquired through the Microsoft Customer Agreement, and in January lightweight cost management capabilities were added to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3znHD0s.

Future Power Automate PAYG option

Microsoft announce the ability for ISVs to embed Power Automate inside of a SaaS application, and the future option to use a Pay-As-You-Go meter to support these embedded scenarios. We’ll hear more in July 2022 at the time of the Microsoft Inspire conference. In the meantime, find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3x3yzLs.

Extended Security Updates for Windows Server

Extended Security Updates are critical if you want to continue safely running Windows Server workloads on versions that are out of support. They’re free for customers running Windows Server in Azure and available to purchase through an EA for on-premises workloads.

Servers in Azure receive ESUs by default, and there’s an excellent article here (https://bit.ly/3LTxdrS) on how it works for on-premises servers where it’s not automatic and you need to register your servers.

If you’re running Azure Stack HCI then ESUs are free but you need to turn on Azure Benefits – and this article (https://bit.ly/3M4gX7s) is useful for explaining that process. If you’re new to Extended Security Updates, then this article is a good place to start: https://bit.ly/3NFed1C.

Power BI Report Server

The Power BI team announce a new version of Power BI Report Server. This product facilitates the distribution of interactive Power BI reports, traditionally within the boundaries of an organisation’s firewall. It’s not available to be purchased; the rights to install and use it are granted for customers who have active SA on SQL Server Enterprise Core licences, or Server Subscriptions for SQL Server Enterprise Core licences, or who have purchased Power BI Premium P SKUs.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3sZad3Y.

Public preview of SQL Server 2022

Microsoft announce the public preview of SQL Server 2022. As you’d expect there’s continued innovation across performance, security, and availability, and Microsoft describe it as “the most Azure-enabled release of SQL Server yet”.

You can find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3wOJqsu, with an overview of the new features and links to download the preview.

Preview of Power Pages

Microsoft announce the preview of Power Pages, the fifth product in the Power Platform family. In common with the other members of the Power Platform family it’s a low-code solution, and enables any user to create a secure website, but with advanced capabilities for customisation by professional developers as required. This new product extends the capabilities of the Power Apps Portals product which has historically been used to create external portals quickly and easily.

There’s a free 30-day preview available, and you can find the announcement article here: https://bit.ly/3lEZpUT.