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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Customer experience | Sales, Customer Insights,... / Create specific functi...
Customer experience | Sales, Customer Insights,...
Suggested answer

Create specific functionality/apps per Buisness Unit

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Posted on by CM-25030826-0 4
Hi all,
My company has several units (8) that are all in the financial and insurance field.
Some of them have very specific needs to perform their relationship management.
I want to create a business unit per unit in D365 Sales to assign records and users.
But I also want these business unit to share some functionality and have some specific functionality per business unit (screens, views, fields, flows, automations etc.).
Can this be done? What is the impact on management of my D365 Sales implementation (users, roles, Dataverse...)?
I have knowledge of the Modernized Business Unit features, but that focusses on user/security management.
Would love to hear your thoughts, thanks! 
Categories:
Dynamics 365 Sales
  • Suggested answer
    Daivat Vartak (v-9davar) Profile Picture
    Daivat Vartak (v-9d... 6,634 Super User 2025 Season 1 on at
    Create specific functionality/apps per Buisness Unit
    Hello CM-25030826-0,
     

    es, what you're aiming for – creating specific functionality and apps per Business Unit (BU) within a single Dynamics 365 Sales instance while allowing for shared functionality – is a common and achievable architecture. Here's a breakdown of how you can approach this, along with the implications for management:

    How to Achieve Specific and Shared Functionality per Business Unit:

    1. Leveraging Business Units for Data Segregation and Security:

      • Data Ownership: Assigning records (Accounts, Contacts, Leads, Opportunities, Custom Entities) to specific BUs ensures data ownership and control. Users within a BU typically have primary access to records owned by their BU.

      • Security Roles: You can define security roles that grant specific permissions within the context of a user's assigned BU. This allows you to control what users in each BU can see and do with records they own or have access to.

      • Teams: Utilize Teams within each BU to further control access and sharing of records.

        •  

    2. Creating Specific Functionality per Business Unit:

      • Model-Driven Apps: This is the most effective way to provide tailored user experiences. You can create separate Model-Driven Apps for each BU. Each app can include:

        • Specific Entities: Include only the entities relevant to that BU.

        • Tailored Forms: Design forms with fields and layouts specific to the data and processes of each BU. You can use security roles and form-level security to further control field visibility within a form.

        • Customized Views: Create views that are relevant to the specific needs and reporting requirements of each BU.

        • Business Process Flows (BPFs): Design BPFs that align with the unique sales or relationship management processes of each BU. You can use security roles to control which BPFs users can access.

        • Canvas Apps (Embedded or Standalone): For highly specific UI requirements or integrations, you can embed Canvas Apps within Model-Driven Forms or create standalone Canvas Apps that are relevant to a particular BU. You can control access to these apps through security roles and sharing.

        • Automations (Power Automate Flows): Create Power Automate flows that are triggered by or specific to the data and processes within a particular BU. You can use conditions within flows to execute different logic based on the owning BU of a record.

          •  
         

    3. Sharing Functionality Across Business Units:

      • Common Entities: Identify entities that are relevant to multiple BUs (e.g., Contact, Account). These can be included in the Model-Driven Apps for the relevant BUs.

      • Shared Views: Create global views that can be accessed by users across all BUs if the data access permissions allow.

      • Common Fields: Design fields that are used across multiple BUs at the entity level. You can control their visibility and behavior on specific forms within each BU's app.

      • Shared Power Automate Flows: Build flows that are generic enough to be used by multiple BUs. You can use conditions within the flow to handle BU-specific logic.

      • Common Security Roles (with BU-Level Scope): Create base security roles that grant common permissions but ensure the scope is set to "Business Unit" so that users primarily interact with data within their own BU.

      • Component Sharing via Solutions: Package shared components (entities, fields, views, flows) in unmanaged solutions that can be imported into your production environment. You can then reference these shared components when building BU-specific apps and customizations.


        •  

      4.  

    Impact on Management of Your D365 Sales Implementation:

    • Users:

      • Users will be assigned to a specific Business Unit. This determines their primary data ownership and the scope of their security roles.

      • Managing users involves assigning them to the correct BU and appropriate security roles (which might be a combination of shared and BU-specific roles).

        •  

    • Roles (Security Roles):

      • You'll likely have a set of base/shared security roles with Business Unit-level scope, granting common access.

      • You'll also create specific security roles for each BU to grant access to their unique entities, forms, views, and processes. Careful planning of security roles is crucial to maintain data security and appropriate access.

        •  

    • Dataverse:

      • The underlying Dataverse will contain all the data for all BUs. The Business Unit assignment on records will be key for data segregation and security.

      • You'll need to carefully design your entities and fields to accommodate both shared and BU-specific data requirements. Consider using prefixes or naming conventions for BU-specific fields if needed.

        •  

    • Solutions:

      • Managing customizations will involve using solutions. You might have a base solution for shared components and separate unmanaged solutions for the specific customizations of each BU. This allows for easier deployment and management of changes.

        •  

    • Power Automate:

      • Managing flows will require clear naming conventions and potentially separate solutions for BU-specific and shared automations. You'll need to consider how triggers and actions relate to specific BUs.

        •  

    • Model-Driven Apps:

      • You'll manage multiple Model-Driven Apps (one or more per BU). This means managing their sitemaps, components (entities, dashboards, etc.), and user access (based on security roles).

        •  

    • Complexity: Implementing and managing this type of multi-BU setup will inherently be more complex than a single, undifferentiated organization. Careful planning, clear naming conventions, thorough testing, and good documentation are essential.


      •  

    Modernized Business Units:

    As you mentioned, Modernized Business Units primarily focus on simplifying the security model and user management within a multi-BU structure. While they streamline user and team assignments and role inheritance, they don't directly address the creation of BU-specific functionality (screens, views, flows). You'll still need to leverage the customization capabilities of Dynamics 365 Sales (Model-Driven Apps, forms, views, flows) in conjunction with the Modernized BU features to achieve your goals.

    Best Practices:

    • Start with a Clear Plan: Define the specific needs and processes of each BU. Identify what functionality can be shared and what needs to be unique.

    • Naming Conventions: Establish clear and consistent naming conventions for all your components (entities, fields, views, apps, flows) to easily identify which BU they belong to or if they are shared.

    • Security Role Matrix: Create a matrix that maps BUs to the required security roles (both shared and BU-specific) to ensure proper access control.

    • Solution Management Strategy: Develop a robust solution management strategy to organize and deploy your customizations effectively.

    • Iterative Approach: Implement the solution in phases, starting with one or two BUs and then expanding. Get feedback from users in each BU to refine the functionality.

    • Documentation: Thoroughly document your design, configuration, and security model.

      •  

    By strategically combining Business Units for data segregation and security with the customization capabilities of Dynamics 365 Sales and the power of Model-Driven Apps, you can effectively create a tailored and manageable CRM solution for your diverse financial and insurance units. Remember that careful planning and a well-defined governance model are crucial for long-term success.

     
    If my answer was helpful, please click Like, and if it solved your problem, please mark it as verified to help other community members find more. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me.
     
    My response was crafted with AI assistance and tailored to provide detailed and actionable guidance for your Microsoft Dynamics 365 query.
     
    Regards,
    Daivat Vartak
  • Suggested answer
    Holly Huffman Profile Picture
    Holly Huffman 5,917 on at
    Create specific functionality/apps per Buisness Unit
    Good morning, afternoon, or evening depending on your location!
     
    Yes, your approach can absolutely be implemented in Dynamics 365 Sales, but there are a few important considerations for structuring business units while ensuring both shared and specific functionality. Here’s a breakdown of how you can achieve this and the impact on management:
     
    1. Business Unit Structure & Sharing Functionality
    • Business Units: You can create separate Business Units (BU) per financial/insurance unit, ensuring users and records are assigned accordingly.
    • Security & Permissions: The Modernized Business Unit feature indeed focuses on user security, allowing users to access multiple BUs without reassignment, which is beneficial.
    • Common Functionality: Features like tables, views, dashboards, automation flows, and model-driven apps can be shared across BUs via teams, security roles, and Dataverse permissions.
    • Specific Functionality: Customizations per BU—like distinct fields, forms, business process flows—can be configured based on security roles, apps, or different solutions per BU.
    2. Impact on Management
    Users & Roles:
    • Users may belong to multiple Business Units, but their primary BU determines default record ownership.
    • Teams and roles can be leveraged for access control across shared and specific functionalities.
    • Security roles need careful design to restrict and grant access where needed.
    Dataverse Structure:
    • Tables will be accessible across Dataverse, but Business Units will define ownership and security boundaries.
    • Ensure correct table permissions (read, write, delete, append, etc.) for entities shared across BUs.
    Automation & Workflows:
    • Power Automate & workflows can be BU-specific OR shared across units.
    • If business process flows (BPFs) differ per BU, segmenting them through security roles or app modules is a viable approach.
    Applications (Model-driven & Canvas apps):
    • You can build multiple model-driven apps per BU, tailoring experiences for specific needs while sharing global components.
    • Canvas apps may be helpful for certain custom workflows or external user interactions.
    Best Practices for Implementation
    1. Leverage Teams & Security Roles to define access across BUs rather than just the BU hierarchy.
    2. Standardize common features in a shared solution layer, then extend BU-specific functionalities through additional solution layers.
    3. Monitor performance & maintainability—highly customized setups may increase long-term complexity.
     
    Please note: I teamed up with CoPilot AI to research and craft the best response to your question!
    Hope this helps some!

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