Microsoft platform

Microsoft licensing and prerequisites

A practical guide to the Microsoft services and use rights that may be needed, with the baseline separated from optional workflow, app and reporting choices.

Managers & licensing admins6 min readDesign-time validation

Baseline Microsoft tenant requirements

Orbit is deployed within the customer’s Microsoft cloud tenant. Each user needs an assigned Microsoft 365 licence that includes SharePoint Online. The customer also provides a Microsoft Entra app registration, approved delegated permissions, an authorised SharePoint site and the tenant policies that govern access.

Microsoft Graph is an API surface, not a substitute for service licensing. Access follows the signed-in user’s service entitlements, tenant permissions and the scopes consented to the application.

RequirementBaseline positionValidation owner
SharePoint OnlineRequired for the standard live data backendMicrosoft 365 licensing administrator
Microsoft Entra IDRequired for sign-in and application consentIdentity administrator
Microsoft Graph / SharePoint RESTDelegated permissions required for enabled featuresIdentity + application owner
Static hostingRequired, but not a Microsoft licence unless a Microsoft hosting option is selectedPlatform owner

Power Automate and approvals

Orbit workflows that use SharePoint and Approvals use standard connectors. The appropriate entitlement is determined per design and flow: Microsoft 365 can provide limited seeded Power Automate rights for standard-connector scenarios, while user, Process and capacity-based licensing can apply in other cases.

Premium or custom connectors require eligible premium use rights, documented in-context rights or a qualifying Process/capacity model. Flow ownership, run context, guest users, connector classification and environment governance all affect the correct answer.

  • SharePoint and Approvals are listed as standard connectors by Microsoft.
  • Approvals use Dataverse behind the service; initial provisioning and tenant settings can affect rollout.
  • Outlook, Teams and the Power Automate action centre can be approval surfaces for eligible users.
  • Treat inbound email, background flows and shared-mailbox use as explicit solution-design items.

Optional Microsoft services

Dataverse, Power Apps and Power BI are not baseline requirements for the standard Orbit portal. They become licensing considerations only when the chosen implementation adopts them.

ServiceWhen it enters scopeTypical licensing question
DataverseOptional Power Platform solution data or capabilitiesWhich users, environments and capacity are required?
Power AppsA companion canvas/model-driven app is adoptedAre premium/custom connectors or gateways used?
Power BIDashboards are distributed to service stakeholdersWho publishes and consumes, and is qualifying capacity available?
Entra premium capabilitiesSelected Conditional Access or identity governance design requires themWhich policies and user populations are in scope?

Licensing validation checklist

RME Solutions Technology does not include Microsoft licences with Orbit unless expressly agreed. Before production, the customer’s licensing administrator should validate the intended solution against current Microsoft terms and its own agreement.

  • User population and Microsoft 365 service plans, including SharePoint Online.
  • Delegated and app-only permissions plus administrator-consent policy.
  • Every Power Automate flow, owner, run context and connector classification.
  • Any Dataverse, Power Apps, Power BI, gateway or custom-connector use.
  • Capacity, environment governance, guest access and data-residency requirements.
  • A review trigger for Microsoft licensing or architecture changes.

Sources and deeper reading