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In this “Business Units in Power Platform” article, we will learn how to create a custom business unit and how to manage business units following Microsoft standards and best practices. We will also learn what business units are in the Power Platform environment, what business units are in Teams in Power Platform and while managing security roles, and many more. Let’s begin the article now.
Introduction to Power Platform Admin Center and Business Units
Microsoft Power Platform is an integrated environment designed to help businesses develop solutions, automate workflows, and analyze data efficiently. For organizations using Power Platform, especially in large environments, structuring access, managing security, and maintaining a streamlined operational flow are essential. This is where Business Units come in. In the Power Platform Admin Center, Business Units play a significant role in managing and controlling access to resources, allowing organizations to create a secure and organized environment. In this article, we’ll explore what Business Units are, why they’re essential, and how to set them up for maximum benefit.
What is a Business Unit in Power Platform?
In the Power Platform Admin Center, a Business Unit is essentially a partition within your organization that allows you to separate users, data, and processes. Business Units provide a way to logically structure an organization’s data and resources, defining who can access what within the platform. This setup is particularly valuable for companies with various departments or teams, each with distinct responsibilities, data access needs, and security requirements.
Purpose and Benefits of Using Business Units
1. Security and Access Control: Business Units allow organizations to enforce role-based access control at a granular level. Each unit can have unique permissions, ensuring sensitive information is only accessible to relevant users.
2. Structural Organization: Business Units create a logical grouping for users and data. For example, a global company can create Business Units for regions or departments like Sales, HR, Finance, and IT, providing each with tailored permissions and resources.
3. Streamlined Management: Business Units make it easier to manage users, roles, and data across teams. By segmenting different organizational parts into Business Units, administrators can assign roles, monitor access, and enforce security policies more efficiently.
Key Features of Business Units in Power Platform
Access Control: In Power Platform, security roles and privileges can be assigned at the Business Unit level, making it easy to control access based on department or team requirements. Security roles define what actions users can perform and what data they can access.
Data Separation and Role Management: Business Units are integral for data separation. Each Business Unit can control the scope of visibility and permissions for its members, reducing data exposure and enhancing data governance.
User and Team Assignment: Administrators can assign users and teams to specific Business Units. This assignment ensures that individuals only access data and features within their assigned unit, reducing the risk of accidental data exposure.
How to Create Business Unit in Power Platform Admin Center Environment
Setting up Business Units is straightforward but requires strategic planning. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Login to your Power Platform Admin Center.
Navigate to your environment where you want to create a custom business unit by following the below navigation.
Go to “Environments” from the left side panel, then, open your desired Power Platform. Environment.
Click on the “Settings” menu.
Expand the “Users + permissions” section.
Click on the “Business units” link.
Then, you can see all your active business units. Various views in business units are as below:
- Active Business Units
- Business-Associated View
- Inactive Business Units
To create a new business unit, click on the “+ New business unit” menu from the top.
Basically, there are two sections to fill up to create a new business unit; these are as below:
- General: Only the “Name” and “Parent business unit” are mandatory.
- Addresses: Optional
Enter your business unit name.
Parent business units will be auto-selected; however, you can replace selection with your own if you have multiple parent business units.
Rest all parameters are optional and self-explanatory data entry information; you can fill in the details if you want. It is always recommended to have all the details filled up for governance purposes and usability.
What is parent business unit?
A parent business unit is the primary or top-level business unit within a hierarchical structure in the Power Platform. It serves as the overarching unit under which other child business units are created. The parent business unit can manage and control security settings, permissions, and resources for all its child units, ensuring consistency across the hierarchy. In this setup, child business units inherit certain configurations and permissions from the parent, which simplifies administration and helps maintain security standards across an organization.
Click on the “Save” button.
I can see that my new business unit has been created successfully; now you can use this business unit while you are creating a new team in Power Platform and creating a new security role in Power Platform.
From this screen, you can manage your business unit, like performing the following management activities:
- Change Parent Business Unit
- Enable and Disable Business Unit
- Delete Business Unit
- Reassign Business Unit Records: Using this, you can move records to a new business unit.
My newly created business unit has not yet been enabled, let’s enable it.
Select your business unit. Click on the “Enable” radio button.
You will get the below confirmation message:
“Activate business unit
Are you sure you want to activate the selected 1 Business Unit(s)?
This will set the Business Unit and all of its associated business units to the Active state.”
Click on the “Enable” button.
Then, your new business unit will be enabled.
Use Cases and Examples of Business Units
Let’s look at some practical applications to see how Business Units are used in organizations.
Example 1: Multinational Companies – A company with offices in multiple countries could set up Business Units by region (e.g., Americas, EMEA, APAC) and further sub-divide by country or department.
Example 2: Healthcare Organizations – In healthcare, Business Units can help separate patient data across departments like Radiology, Cardiology, and Pediatrics, ensuring data is secure and accessible only to relevant professionals.
Example 3: Education – Universities can use Business Units to separate departments like Admissions, Academics, and Finance, assigning different levels of data access based on department functions.
Best Practices for Managing Business Units
1. Plan for Growth: Before creating Business Units, outline a structure that can adapt as the organization scales. This preparation will prevent future restructuring and maintain data consistency.
2. Maintain Clear Security Roles: Assigning security roles at each Business Unit level is essential. Define roles carefully and avoid assigning excessive permissions to avoid security risks.
3. Regular Audits: Conduct regular audits to ensure each Business Unit only has access to relevant resources and users are assigned appropriately. Audits help maintain data governance and security compliance.
YouTube Video Demo: Create Business Unit in Power Platform
Conclusion
Thus, in this article, we have learnt about what a business unit is in the Power Platform admin centre and how to create a new business unit in the Power Platform environment, along with their use cases.
Business Units in the Power Platform Admin Center offer a robust solution for organizations looking to enforce security, structure, and efficiency in their operations. By leveraging Business Units, companies can assign targeted access, improve collaboration, and keep data safe across departments. This feature is indispensable for businesses that require secure, controlled, and well-organized environments, particularly as they scale. Integrating Business Units into your Power Platform environment effectively will lead to better data management and a more secure digital workplace.
FAQs: Business Units in Power Platform Admin Center
1. What is a Business Unit in Power Platform?
Answer: A Business Unit in Power Platform is a partitioned section of an organization used to manage access, data, and resources. It helps create structured, secure environments where users only access relevant information based on their role or department.
2. What is the purpose of a Business Unit?
Answer: The primary purpose of a Business Unit is to enable role-based access control, streamline organizational data management, and logically separate departments, teams, or regional branches within the Power Platform environment.
3. What is a Parent Business Unit, and how does it work?
Answer: A Parent Business Unit is the top-level business unit in a hierarchy. It oversees child units, provides centralized control over security and permissions, and allows configurations to be inherited by the child units, ensuring consistency across the organization.
4. Can I create multiple Business Units in a single environment?
Answer: Yes, you can create multiple Business Units in a single environment to structure and secure data access across different teams, departments, or locations within an organization.
5. What is the difference between a Business Unit and a Team?
Answer: A Business Unit is a broader organizational structure used to separate data and manage access, while a Team is a group within a Business Unit that shares specific tasks or responsibilities. Teams can span across Business Units but are often assigned to a single unit to streamline access control.
6. How does data access work within Business Units?
Answer: Data access within Business Units is controlled through role-based permissions. Users in a Business Unit have access only to the data and resources assigned to their unit, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and enhancing data security.
7. How do I assign users to a Business Unit?
Answer: Users can be assigned to a Business Unit through the Power Platform Admin Center. Go to the Security settings, select Business Units, and then assign users or teams to the desired unit. This assignment controls what data and resources the user can access within that unit.
8. Can Business Units be restructured later?
Answer: Yes, Business Units can be restructured as needed. However, it’s advisable to plan your Business Unit hierarchy carefully from the start to avoid extensive changes, as restructuring may impact data access and permissions.
9. Do child Business Units inherit permissions from the Parent Business Unit?
Answer: Yes, child Business Units inherit certain permissions and configurations from the Parent Business Unit. This inheritance streamlines security settings across the hierarchy, ensuring consistency in access control and management.
10. What are best practices for setting up Business Units?
Answer: Best practices include defining a clear hierarchy based on organizational structure, planning for future growth, assigning role-based permissions carefully, and conducting regular audits to ensure users only have access to relevant resources in their Business Unit.
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