Moving Beyond User Groups to Hierarchical Permission Sets in Dynamics 365 Business Central

As part of the 2024 Wave 2 update (rolling out between October 2024 and March 2025), Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is introducing a significant change to its permissions framework. User Groups, a long-standing feature, are being deprecated and replaced by new functionality related to both Security Groups and Permission Sets. This shift aims to streamline user management, improve flexibility, and provide better alignment with modern enterprise requirements.

If your organization relies on User Groups, it’s essential to understand the available conversion options and the implications of this change to ensure a smooth transition.

What’s Changing with User Groups?

User Groups are being automatically disabled in the 2024 Wave 2 update. They will no longer be a part of the Business Central permission structure. Instead, Microsoft recommends utilizing:

1. Security Groups: These allow dynamic permissions that automatically apply to all users (new and existing) within the group.
2. Permission Sets: These grant granular control over the specific permissions initially assigned to individual users.

Options for User Group Conversion

To prepare for the new permissions framework, you can convert existing User Groups using the following approaches for each User Group that is being deprecated, when selected to do so, the conversion will:

1. Create and Assign New Permission Sets
   • Create a new Permission Set that mirrors the permissions previously granted by the group.
   • Assign this Permission Set to individual users who were part of the User Group.
2. Direct Assignment of Permissions
   • Assign the permissions granted by a User Group directly to the individual users within that group.
   • This approach avoids the need for creating new Permission Sets but may be less scalable for large teams.

Tip: Before enabling the new permission structure, if you select the “Create and assign new permission sets” option, you may want to delete any unassigned or unused User Groups. This will help to avoid converting User Groups that are no longer in use to simplify the transition. This is not necessary if you select “Direct Assignment of Permissions.”

License Configuration vs. Security Groups

Understanding the difference between License Configuration and Security Groups is crucial as you transition: