Create and manage business units

Introduction:

Business units play a crucial role in organizing and managing the operations of an organization within Microsoft Power Platform. Whether you are a Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultant or a business user, understanding how to create and manage business units is essential. This article will guide you through the process, using insights from Microsoft documentation, to help you effectively structure and streamline your business units within the Power Platform ecosystem.

1. Understanding Business Units:

Business units in Microsoft Power Platform are logical containers that represent different divisions, departments, or regions within an organization. They provide a framework for managing security, customization, data access, and user roles. Each business unit functions as an independent unit, with its own set of users, teams, security roles, and customizations.

2. Creating a Business Unit:

To create a business unit, follow these steps:

1. Access the Power Platform admin center.
2. Select ‘Environments’ and choose the desired environment.
3. Navigate to the ‘Business Units’ tab and click on ‘New’.
4. Provide the necessary details such as name, parent business unit (if applicable), and description.
5. Save the changes to create the business unit.

3. Managing Business Units:

a. Modifying Business Units:

• To edit a business unit, locate it in the ‘Business Units’ tab of the Power Platform admin center, click on it, and make the required changes.
• Ensure to review and understand the implications of modifying the parent business unit, as it affects the security roles inherited by child business units.

b. Managing Users and Teams within Business Units:

• Users and teams can be created and assigned to specific business units to enable collaboration and streamline operations.
• Within the ‘Users’ tab of the business unit, click on ‘New’ to create a user or team.
• Assign users and teams to relevant security roles for appropriate access privileges.
• Use hierarchies and team-based access control to ensure efficient management of teams within the business unit.

c. Configuring Security Roles:

• Security roles define the level of access and functionality available to users within a business unit.
• Within the ‘Security Roles’ tab of the business unit, click on ‘Manage Roles’ to customize or create security roles.
• Assign security roles to users and teams as per the required access privileges.
• Use the ‘Privileges’ tab to define specific permissions for each security role.

d. Setting Up Business Unit Hierarchy:

• Business units can be organized using a hierarchical structure for better management.
• Navigate to the ‘Business Units’ tab and modify the ‘Parent Business Unit’ field to set up the hierarchy.
• This hierarchy aids in role inheritance, data sharing, and establishing relationships between business units.

4. Best Practices for Business Unit Management:

a. Plan before creating business units:

• Analyze the organizational structure and design business units accordingly.
• Consider the need for multiple business units or sub-business units to reflect different divisions, departments, or regions within the organization.

b. Optimize security roles:

• Define security roles with appropriate access levels for data security and user functionality.
• Regularly review and update security roles to align with changing business requirements.

c. Leverage hierarchies effectively:

• Establish parent-child relationships between business units to enable efficient data sharing, inheritance of security roles, and customization changes.

d. Train and educate users:

• Ensure users understand how to navigate and operate within their designated business units.
• Educate teams on the functionalities available within their security roles.

Conclusion:

Managing business units within Microsoft Power Platform is crucial for organizing and securing data access, customization, and user roles within an organization. This article provided an overview of creating and managing business units, including modifying units, configuring security roles, setting up hierarchies, and best practices for effective business unit management. By implementing these guidelines derived from Microsoft documentation, you will be equipped to establish a well-structured and efficient business unit framework using Microsoft Power Platform.