Which PowerApps plan do I need for model-driven apps and CDS for Apps?
Last month we announced a host of new capabilities and updates to PowerApps, including a preview of model-driven apps.
I’m excited to share that today we are making the ability to build model-driven apps in PowerApps generally available! This is a significant milestone for us and the beginning of an exciting journey ahead.
In this post I’ll take you through the updates to the PowerApps business model that accompany GA and explain which PowerApps license is needed for model-driven apps and the new capabilities in the Common Data Service for Apps.
As a background to these changes I wanted to quickly share the licensing principle we’re using for PowerApps: The more advanced business logic an app uses, the higher license it will require.
Platform licensing approach
- Canvas apps connecting to common Microsoft and 3rd party services can be created and run with any PowerApps license, including those included with Office 365 subscriptions (i.e. none of the new functionality is included in the Office 365 PowerApps plans)
- PowerApps Plan 1 is for team wide business apps that use basic server-side logic in CDS for Apps or premium connectors and are not extending Dynamics 365 data or processes.
- PowerApps Plan 2 is the main platform plan, it’s required to build powerful LOB apps for mobile and web. It provides the full power of CDS for Apps to build powerful standalone model-driven apps and extend Dynamics 365 with custom LOB apps.
Before we dive into the changes it’s important to note that we’re adding new capabilities to existing plans, and that everything currently included in plans today will continue to be included!
Let’s start with a quick recap of the capabilities included in plans today that are not specific to the new features we’re adding.
- All plans can create and run canvas apps that use standard connectors
- Plan 1 or Plan 2 is required to create and run apps that use premium connectors
- Plan 1 or Plan 2 is required to access CDS
- Plan 2 is required to create and manage CDS instances
- Microsoft Flow is included in all plans
Next, on to the new capabilities we’re adding.
Creating and using Model-driven apps
- Creating or running Model-driven apps requires a PowerApps Plan 2 license
- PowerApps Plan 2 is required to use Business Process Flows in model-driven apps
New CDS for Apps capabilities that can be used with canvas apps or model-driven apps
The license required for canvas apps that use CDS entities is dependent on the complexity of the server-side logic capabilities the entity is using:
- Business rules and non-real time workflow can be used with PowerApps Plan 1. Canvas apps can now include server-side defaulting, validation and async workflow execution, all much requested features from canvas app makers!
- CDS for Apps Real-time workflows (i.e. workflows that are synchronously executing on entity operations) and code plug-ins all require PowerApps Plan 2
The license required to run an app is determined by the entity that has the “highest” license requirement. For example, a single entity that uses code plug-ins is sufficient to have the entire app that uses it require PowerApps Plan 2. As developers change the entity logic it may change the license requirements for an app after it’s been published. We’ll provide in-product support for makers to understand the license an entity requires and provide reporting in the admin center to help understand which apps require which license. We’ll start next week by clearly marking restricted entities in Canvas Studio, so you don’t have to memorize the list :-).
PowerApps and Dynamics 365 Data
- Dynamics 365 users will continue to have access data they have rights to use through their Dynamics 365 license, including through the Dynamics 365 connector in PowerApps & through Microsoft Flow
- PowerApps Plan 2 gets full CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) access to any Dynamics 365 entities and forms in CDS for Apps except for a small number of restricted entities. Those entities have crucial business logic that is core to the value that the specific workload provides and therefore will require the appropriate workload license for full CRUD access. Restricted entities will be read only from a PowerApps Plan 2 license, so their data can still be displayed in a model-driven app or canvas app
- Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Plan, Unified Operations Plan and Dynamics 365 plan include PowerApps Plan 2 plus unrestricted access to all entities (including restricted entities described above)
- Most individual Dynamics 365 app licenses now include PowerApps Plan 2 rights that include creating and running stand-alone PowerApps. These licenses also allow unrestricted access to entities specific to their workload
- APIs and services that are provided as part of a specific workload like Dynamics 365 for Sales that are not attached to an entity will continue to require the specific workload license to be used. For example, PowerApps Plan 2 does not include the rights to use Relationship Insights from Sales
Microsoft Flow
- Flow mirrors the same entity access rights as PowerApps. Flow Plan 1 can access all non-Premium entities, and Flow Plan 2 can access all entities, but Premium Restricted entities will be read-only.
- Flow rights that are included in PowerApps plans provide the same rights to access entities through Flow from within an app. For example, entity access rights from Flow Plan 2 and PowerApps Plan 2 are equal
- Business Process Flows are also included in Flow Plan 2
Below are a few links to handy reference docs, and I hope this post helps you understand what license you and your users will need to use the new capabilities.
Learn more
- PowerApps Pricing Page it also has a nice table summarizing the capabilities included which each license
- PowerApps docs page on what determines the license level needed for an entity. This also has some examples.
- The list of restricted entities and which workload license/plan they require for full CRUD access
Thank for you continued engagement and support. Exciting times ahead for PowerApps! Let us know in the comments if you have questions.
Cheers,
Frank
