Microsoft has constantly been releasing new applications for Dynamics 365, just check out the apps released on Microsoft App source https://appsource.microsoft.com, and you can find the list of new apps being released periodically. Since the acquisition of FieldOne, Microsoft has been investing a lot in the Field Service capabilities and features for Dynamics 365 (formerly CRM) Online, on App source you will find apps like Connected Field Service and Glympse integration for Dynamics 365 created by Microsoft. Microsoft has kept its promise to support the legacy FieldOne on-premise clients and provide this app for it’s on-premise customers. With the December 2016 Update for Dynamics 365 Online update, it has made it possible to download and install Field Service for Dynamics 365 on-premise installations.
The requirement for using Field Service online is to license the Field Service app as a Dynamics 365 online subscription and then use the dual rights licensing feature to install it on premise with an existing Dynamics 365 server installation. In matters of licensing, you can either use the Field Service app license or the Enterprise (Plan 1 or Plan 2) license.
As part of the Field Service on-premise installation, you will be required to provide office 365 Global administrator credentials and a Dynamics 365 AD administration (on premise) user credential. I haven’t validated whether the installation process checks to verify whether an Online Field Service subscription exists or not but as part of my further testing the on-premise installation I will find out soon.
Microsoft has added a lot of features to the Field Service capabilities, but the following will be unavailable for the on-premise installation:
- Resource Schedule optimization (add-on service to Field Service to enhance the resource scheduling and automating some of the resource scheduling processes)
- Connected Field Service (Cloud based integration that connected Field Service to Azure IoT suite through the IoT connector)
- Office 365 Exchange integration (the sync of bookings to users’ Outlook calendar)
- Power BI (This use of Power BI for on-premise CRM installations can be setup, but it is not as simple as the Online configuration.)
- Portal capabilities for Dynamics 365 (As part of the Enterprise licensing plan the portal is available to setup but with the on-premise installation you won’t be able to set up the portal capabilities of Field service)
- Voice of customer (The unavailability of this feature for on-premise installation is regardless of the Field Service app)
- Integration with Glympse (The additional feature of Glympse integration for use in Field Service is also unavailable for on-premise installations)
I believe even with the unavailability of the above features for on-premise installations the Field Service availability for on-premise installations will be a great feature for service industry customers that are restricted to on-premise installations.
