Describe the difference between managed and unmanaged solutions

Introduction:

In the world of Microsoft Power Platform, solutions play a vital role in managing customization and configuration tasks. When it comes to the role of a Power Platform Functional Consultant, having a solid understanding of managed and unmanaged solutions is crucial. In this article, we will explore the difference between these solution types, as outlined in Microsoft’s official documentation.

Managed Solutions:

A managed solution is a unit of deployment that contains customizations, configurations, and components tailored to address specific business requirements. Here are the key features and characteristics of managed solutions:

1. Packaging of Customizations: Managed solutions are packaged in a way that enables a more controlled deployment process. The functional consultant can include various components, such as entities, fields, forms, workflows, and more within a managed solution.
2. Securing Intellectual Property: One of the primary benefits of managed solutions is the ability to protect intellectual property. By default, all components in a managed solution are read-only, meaning they cannot be modified or deleted by users of the target environment. This ensures that the solution’s implementation remains intact and safeguarded against unauthorized changes.
3. Seamless Deployment and Version Control: Managed solutions provide a streamlined deployment process. Functional consultants can import a managed solution into a target environment, ensuring that all customizations are deployed in an organized and controlled manner. Additionally, managed solutions support version control, allowing consultants to update or roll back to previous versions, if needed.
4. Limited Customization Flexibility: Once imported, the customizations within a managed solution cannot be directly modified. To make changes to a managed solution, the consultant must clone it and create a new unmanaged solution. This limited customization flexibility ensures stability and prevents unintentional changes that could impact system integrity.
5. Dependencies with Other Solutions: Managed solutions can have dependencies on other solutions within the same environment. These dependencies establish a relationship between solutions, allowing for a more modular approach to customization and deployment.

Unmanaged Solutions:

Unmanaged solutions, while different from managed solutions, serve a similar purpose in customizing the Power Platform. Let’s explore the key characteristics of unmanaged solutions:

1. Flexibility for Customization: Unlike managed solutions, unmanaged solutions offer greater freedom to modify components directly within the solution. Power Platform Functional Consultants can modify entities, forms, dashboards, workflows, and other customizations directly within the unmanaged solution.
2. Real-Time Customization: Changes made to an unmanaged solution are immediately reflected in the environment in which it resides. This real-time customization capability allows consultants to experiment, iterate, and adapt solutions rapidly.
3. No Intellectual Property Protection: Unlike managed solutions, unmanaged solutions do not have built-in protection for intellectual property. All components and customizations within an unmanaged solution can be modified or deleted by users having the necessary privileges in the environment.
4. Simplified Collaboration: Unmanaged solutions facilitate collaboration by allowing multiple consultants to work on the same solution simultaneously. As changes made to an unmanaged solution are propagated in real-time, consultants can collaborate efficiently without import/export processes.
5. Dependencies on Managed Solutions: While managed solutions can have dependencies on other solutions, unmanaged solutions can depend on managed solutions. This means that consultants can create an unmanaged solution that references components from one or more managed solutions, enabling the reuse of existing customizations.

Conclusion:

Understanding the differences between managed and unmanaged solutions is essential for Microsoft Power Platform Functional Consultants. Managed solutions provide a secure, controlled, and versioned deployment process, ensuring the stability of implemented customizations. In contrast, unmanaged solutions offer greater flexibility for real-time customization but lack built-in intellectual property protection. By leveraging both solution types, consultants can strike the right balance between control, flexibility, and collaboration while working with the Power Platform.