Dynamics 365 Contact Center: A Step-by-Step Guide Installation and Licensing



Many of us have been exploring Dynamics 365 Contact Center using the trial environment, which is great for initial testing and familiarisation. However, when it's time to move into a real-world scenario particularly within a sandbox or production environment, there are important setup steps to follow.

One common challenge is understanding the licensing model. With recent updates to Dynamics 365 licensing, it can be confusing to determine which licenses are required for different use cases and roles.

In this blog, I’ll walk through the key steps for installing D365 Contact Center in a sandbox environment and share some clarity on the current licensing options to help you plan your deployment more confidently.

  1. Dynamics 365 Licensing:

    • Dynamics 365 Contact Center (for both voice and message channels) 

    • Dynamics 365 Contact Center Voice (for voice channel)

    • Dynamics 365 Contact Center Digital (for digital messaging channel)

    • You can get Contact Center and Customer Service Capabilities by getting Dynamics 365 Customer Service Premium

  2. Azure Subscription (only for Voice channel):

    • Since Nuance being acquired by Microsoft, having an Azure Communication Services (ACS) for telephony integration is a must.

    • An application User to integrate between ACS and D365.

  3. Environment Setup:

    • A Dynamics 365 environment

    • Region selection must be supported by Contact Center capabilities. (Regional Availability)

  4. Admin Access:

    • Global Administrator or Power Platform Administrator or Dynamics 365 Service Admin role is required to perform installations.

  5. Telephony Integration Details (if applicable):

    • Session Border Controller (SBC) setup if direct routing is needed. (Voice Channel Setup)

    • MS Teams phone (preview)

Installation Steps:

  1. Navigate to Power Platform Admin Center:

  2. Install Contact Center for D365 Customer Service:

    • Under Customer Support > Channel, Go to Manage in Manage Channel 


    • Tick which channel want to install and click Save. Generally it will take 4-8 hours depending what channel you are installing.




  3. Voice Channel Setup:

    • Under Customer Support > Channel > Accounts, Go to Manage in Phone Numbers

    • There are two options to add phone numbers:

      1. Directly puchase in D365 and it will puchase in ACS


      2. Through Direct Routing in ACS (I will have another blog to have it more details)










    • Connect to Azure Communication Service
      • Connect using a new Azure resource
      • In the site map of Customer Service admin center, select Channels in Customer support. The Channels page appears.
        • Select Manage for Phone numbers.
        • Select Get started. The Connect to Azure Communication Services dialog opens.
        • Select Create new resource, and then enter the following details.
          • Azure subscription: Select a subscription from the dropdown list.
          • Azure resource group: Select an existing resource group or select Create new, and then enter a name for a new resource group.

  4. Configure Omnichannel Settings:

    • Launch the Customer Service Admin app.

    • Set up workstreams, queues, and agent presence.

    • Configure channels: chat, SMS, social, and voice.

  5. Agent Experience Setup:

    • Under Support Experience > Workspace, go to Manage in Experience Profile

    • Add CSR (Customer Service Representative) to one of the profile. This is to control what the CSR will see in D365 Customer Service Workspace. (They need to be added here, otherwise the agent's presence will not work)

  6. Testing and Validation:

    • Create test users and simulate sessions.

    • Verify routing, analytics, and channel performance. 

Conclusion: With these steps, your Dynamics 365 Contact Center should be up and running. Be sure to review Microsoft documentation for updates and advanced configurations. Proper planning and prerequisite checks will ensure a smooth deployment.




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