Skip to main content

Understanding Managed and Unmanaged Solutions in Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365, Microsoft's robust suite of business applications, boasts a myriad of features that can be customized to cater to the specific needs of any business. A vital concept to grasp when working with Dynamics 365 is the difference between managed and unmanaged solutions. This blog post aims to clarify these two types of solutions, providing a comprehensive analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Unmanaged Solutions

Unmanaged solutions act as a dynamic development environment, enabling direct alterations and additions to system components. They are often employed during the development and testing phase of a customization project but are equally effective when implemented in production instances, particularly for internal organizational operations.

Pros of Unmanaged Solutions:

  1. Flexibility: Unmanaged solutions provide a high degree of adaptability, permitting developers to modify system components, introduce new elements, or discard those that are no longer necessary.
  2. Streamlined Testing: The process of testing and debugging components becomes significantly simplified with unmanaged solutions, as immediate adjustments can be made, and their effects observed in real time.

Cons of Unmanaged Solutions:

  1. Risk of Errors: The enhanced flexibility also carries the risk of potential complications. Unintentional modifications or deletions of components can occur, potentially leading to issues on a system-wide level.
  2. Lack of Layering: Unmanaged solutions do not support layering, which can result in conflicts when multiple developers are working simultaneously on a project.

Managed Solutions

A managed solution is a finalized, locked package that can be distributed and installed across various environments. It is essentially an unmodifiable version of an unmanaged solution. Managed solutions are most suitable for the distribution of completed customizations or applications, especially when these solutions are being sold to external clients.

Pros of Managed Solutions:

  1. Protection of Intellectual Property: Managed solutions safeguard the intellectual property of the developers or the organization that created them, as they are sealed and cannot be directly modified.
  2. Convenient Distribution: Managed solutions can be easily distributed and installed across different environments, making them an excellent choice for delivering final customizations or applications.
  3. Supports Layering: Unlike unmanaged solutions, managed solutions support layering, allowing the simultaneous installation of multiple solutions without conflicts.

Cons of Managed Solutions:

  1. Limited Flexibility: Managed solutions offer less flexibility due to their sealed nature. Any necessary modifications would require an update from the developer and a subsequent reinstallation.
  2. Dependency Concerns: Managed solutions may create dependencies. Components within a managed solution cannot be deleted if they are being referenced by another solution.

In conclusion, the choice between managed and unmanaged solutions in Dynamics 365 largely depends on your specific needs. If you are developing, testing, or implementing internal operational changes, an unmanaged solution provides the flexibility needed for easy modifications and testing. Conversely, if you are distributing or selling a finalized customization or app, a managed solution offers intellectual property protection, convenient distribution, and supports layering. Understanding these differences and selecting the appropriate solution type is crucial for optimal use of Dynamics 365.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Validating User Input In CRM Portals With JavaScript

When we are setting up CRM Portals to allow customers to update their information, open cases, fill out an applications, etc. We want to make sure that we are validating their input before it is committed to CRM.  This way we ensure that our data is clean and meaningful to us and the customer. CRM Portals already has a lot validation checks built into it. But, on occasion we need to add our own.  To do this we will use JavaScript to run the validation and also to output a message to the user to tell them there is an issue they need to fix. Before we can do any JavaScript, we need to check and see if we are using JavaScript on an Entity Form or Web Page.  This is because the JavaScript, while similar, will be different.  First, we will go over the JavaScript for Entity Forms.  Then, we will go over the JavaScript for Web Pages.  Finally, we will look at the notification JavaScript. Entity Form: if (window.jQuery) { (function ($) { if (typeof (entityFormClientVali

Dynamics Set IFrame URL - D365 v8 vs. D365 v9

While doing client work, I came across a problem with setting an IFrame URL dynamically.  The underlying issue was that the sandbox instance is on v8 of Dynamics 365 and production is on v9 of Dynamics 365.  The reason for this was because this client was setup around the time that Microsoft rolled out v9.  Anyways, JavaScript that I wrote to dynamically set the URL of the IFrame wasn't working in the v9 instance.  This was because of changes that Microsoft made to how IFrames are loaded on the form and also changes to JavaScript. Here is my v8 setup: JavaScript runs OnLoad of contact form.  This works because of how IFrames are loaded in v8.  You can also run it on either a tab change (hide / show) or OnReadyStateComplete event of the IFrame.  Depending on your setup you will need to choose which is best for you.  For me in this case it was the OnLoad event. Here is the JavaScript: function OnLoad() { //Get memberid var value = Xrm.Page.data.entity.attri

SCRIBE Software Acquired By TIBCO

On June 6th, 2018 Scribe Software was acquired by TIBCO.  Below is the announcement I and other partners received in an e-mail with links to the press release. "We are pleased to announce that on June 6, Scribe Software was acquired by TIBCO Software. This milestone reflects the increasing strategic importance that Scribe’s product line has with IT organizations and presents great opportunities for Scribe’s partner community. In the short term, there will be no immediate impact to how you conduct business with Scribe. Your sales and support contacts will all remain the same. Over time, we expect that the combination of Scribe’s best-in-class iPaaS with TIBCO’s enterprise product portfolio, which includes messaging, application integration, API management, and analytics offerings, will provide significant capabilities and opportunities for Scribe’s partner community. To learn more about the opportunities that lay ahead, read the  press release ..."