Optimizing ERP Security Configuration and Licensing within Microsoft Dynamics 365

Boost visibility, streamline role management, and enhance compliance  

In today’s digital landscape, managing security, roles, and licensing within ERP systems is increasingly complex. As organizations scale, the need for robust governance, efficient user management, and cost-effective licensing strategies becomes paramount. To address these challenges, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is introducing a set of new capabilities in our ERP portfolio. These new capabilities enhance security and governance, offering significant benefits to IT professionals and business leaders alike. 

A critical aspect of the upcoming security features is how they will help prepare for compliance certifications, including Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). With regulatory standards becoming more stringent, achieving compliance is essential. More than ever, companies need to mitigate risks associated with fraud, reporting errors, and security breaches. As new AI technologies are adopted, security becomes even more top of mind. Robust governance frameworks safeguard sensitive data and ensure ethical AI deployment. The enhanced governance features will ensure that you can maintain rigorous control over financial processes, role management, and security protocols. These features provide visibility and a transparent audit trail, significantly easing the certification process. Additionally, they reduce the likelihood of non-compliance, protecting your organization from financial and reputational risks. 

“Bringing additional transparency and simplicity to our ERP customers for managing security, licensing and roles is a critical step in helping organizations meet their compliance and governance goals while saving costs.” – Georg Glantsching, VP, Microsoft Dynamics

Bringing new features to customers faster

Microsoft is delivering advanced security and role management features which will empower organizations to apply precise role management, advanced audit capabilities, and comprehensive license optimization tools, while maintaining a seamless user experience in Microsoft Dynamics 365. This ensures that you can access these critical features faster, enhancing security and operational efficiency. 

Simplify role management while reducing costs

We’ve listened to our customers and are introducing advanced features to the Dynamics 365 ERP portfolio, focusing on security management and licensing. This capability will simplify role management, providing you with tools to create, manage, and optimize roles within the ERP environment. The precise role and duty management feature, powered by tailored automations, allows organizations to define duties based on specific processes or tasks. This ensures role access aligns accurately with each team’s operational needs, leading to more accurate control over access permissions. Cost savings are driven by ensuring that licenses are scoped to each user’s specific needs. By refining role management in this way, these advanced features ensure organizations can scale with confidence while optimizing both governance and cost efficiency. 

Ensure compliance with role-based access control

Another critical feature is the segregation of duties (SoD) validation. This control mechanism ensures no single system user controls all aspects of any critical business process, reducing fraud and error risks. System administrators will be able to easily define incompatible tasks, ensuring that critical operations are not compromised. This feature is essential for leaders aiming to meet stringent regulatory requirements and maintain high levels of internal security. With integrated SoD validation, your business can minimize exposure to risk and better prepare for audits or regulatory reviews. 

Gain greater control with advanced security features

The new features coming to Dynamics 365 will include several advanced security controls giving system administrators greater visibility and control over their environments. The role audit trail will provide a non-removable history of permission changes, making it easier to track and audit role modifications over time. Security versioning and snapshot capabilities will allow security snapshots at specific points, enabling easy comparison or restoration if needed. The temporary role assignment feature will be invaluable for managing employee absences, allowing roles to be reassigned while maintaining strict control over access. These capabilities will provide peace of mind for business leaders that require agile, yet secure, role management. 

Control elevated privileges and secure sensitive data

A critical addition to the upcoming security features is the Elevated privilege management. (This is often referred to as super user privilege management (SPM) or ‘FireFighter’ in ERP world.) It provides the ability to manage and monitor elevated privileges for super users or administrators requiring temporary critical system access. Significantly reduce the risk of misuse or security breaches by restricting elevated access to specific, time-limited periods and tracking all super-user activities. This advanced control ensures only authorized personnel have access to sensitive systems, when necessary, further enhancing compliance and internal governance. 

Optimize costs with detailed licensing insights

The upcoming license report based on the new licensing model allows organizations to see exactly what license levels are applied to each user, calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO), and validate license accuracy. This report, alongside others like role components with license indicators and duty components with license indicators, provides a comprehensive view of license usage, helping optimize license costs effectively. These tools empower better licensing management, ensuring customers only pay for what they need and maximizing the value of their ERP investments. 

Looking ahead: the future of ERP security

As Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP portfolio evolves, these new features mark a significant step forward in ERP security and governance. For system administrators, these tools will provide enhanced control, reduced risk, and greater efficiency in managing complex ERP environments. Integrating these features into daily operations ensures ERP systems are secure and aligned with latest industry standards and best practices. 

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to innovate, enhancing the Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP portfolio. We look forward to delivering tools that empower you to excel in today’s dynamic business landscape.