Product Configurator for Business Central works with both the cloud and on-premises deployment models of Business Central. The core configuration engine, including the BOM Designer, Bulk Configuration Builder, and Rule Builder, behaves the same way regardless of how Business Central is hosted. Companies do not need to choose one deployment model over the other to gain access to the app’s configuration features.
Getting Started on Cloud Versus On-Premises
On the cloud version of Business Central, Product Configurator installs directly from the Business Central extension marketplace, which makes it straightforward to trial in a sandbox environment before committing to a production rollout. An on-premises deployment follows the same installation pattern used for other Business Central extensions in that environment, which typically means working with a Microsoft Dynamics partner to add the extension to the on-premises database. Once installed, the setup process, meaning defining configurator item categories, options, option choices, and any rules, is the same on both deployment types.
What Stays Consistent Across Both Environments
Because Product Configurator is built as a native Business Central extension rather than a separate application, the item categories, options, choices, Rule Builder logic, and generated bills of material and routings work the same way whether Business Central runs in the cloud or on a company’s own servers. A configuration built and tested on one deployment model carries over conceptually to the other, since the salesperson’s experience in the BOM Designer and the production planner’s view of the resulting item do not change based on hosting.
Licensing Applies the Same Way Regardless of Hosting
Product Configurator is licensed per company rather than per individual user, and that licensing model does not change based on deployment. Whether a company runs Business Central in the cloud or on premises, the same subscription covers an unlimited number of users configuring products, and a Business Central Team Member license is enough for someone whose only task is building a quote through the configurator. Creating new items outside of what the configurator generates, or converting a quote to an order, still follows Business Central’s normal licensing requirements for those actions.
Relevant Tools
Product Configurator is the Insight Works app discussed here. It adds configure, price, quote functionality directly inside Business Central, turning a salesperson’s option selections into a standard Business Central item complete with its own bill of materials and routing, on either the cloud or on-premises version of Business Central.
Whether a company runs Business Central in the cloud or maintains an on-premises installation, Product Configurator is available and behaves consistently on both, so the deployment model itself is not a limiting factor in adopting a configure, price, quote workflow inside Business Central.