Microsoft launches read-only Teams access to Dynamics 365 Business Central, seeks roadmap input

Microsoft has opened a new avenue of read-only access to Dynamics 365 Business Central data, launching its Teams interface for Microsoft 365 users without an ERP license.

“We have made it possible for a user in Microsoft Teams to access Business Central records without a Business Central license,” explained Microsoft product manager Mike Borg Cardona at the Directions EMEA 2022 event. Those new users, who are licensed only for Microsoft 365, will get a special read-only view of the ERP data, shared with them in a Teams chat or channel by a licensed Business Central user, with specific limits on the type and format of the information they see.

Microsoft first introduced this capability in preview in October 2020. Governance of data in this new scenario will be a priority, Borg Cardona said, and Business Central admins will maintain control over who gets access and to what data.

Customers who have updated to Business Central Online version 21.1, which became available in the last few days, can enable the feature. Once available, admins can begin planning for the types of data and views that they want to make available via Teams chat or specific channels.

Read-only Teams access is designed for giving people specific views of data, like a particular segment of purchase orders or item data. Permissions are critical when preparing for new read-only Teams users to begin viewing Business Central data, Borg Cardena told the Directions EMEA audience. Permissions will determine which records these users can access. And permissions are enabled by the administrator on a specific environment. Organizations can choose which users should have access on which environments and stage their rollouts as needed. More complex scenarios, like limiting access to a specific subsidiary on a specific instance, will also work.

Teams interfaces for read-only Business Central data will begin with the Teams desktop application and the browser interface. Support for the Teams mobile app is coming, Microsoft representatives told the Directions EMEA audience. They also reminded partners that the read-only limited view of Business Central data is technically enforced. Borg Cardona explained:

We understand there's a lot of newness for this. And when people collaborate, they are naturally going to try different things…to get data out of [their] system and get it into the conversation. So we felt the right thing to do was to enforce it. It's also going to give guidance early on so people can learn what the limitations are, what the boundaries are.