MC679737 – Business Connectivity Services (BCS) retirement (archived)

Product:

Power Apps, SharePoint

Platform:

Online, World tenant

Status:

Change type:

Admin impact, Retirement

Links:

Details:

SharePoint has a long history of helping users work with external data inside the SharePoint user experience. As SharePoint has evolved into a cloud-first service, so too have the options for customers that wish to integrate with external data sources. To simplify these options and provide the best experience for these scenarios going forward, Microsoft is announcing its plan to retire Business Connectivity Services (BCS) in Microsoft 365 and focus on Microsoft Power Apps as its replacement technology.
[Key points:]
Major: Retirement
Timeline:
October 2, 2023: Retirement announcement and customers can proactively set a property to block Business Connectivity services features within their tenant.
October 30, 2023: Microsoft will begin blocking Business Connectivity Services features based on the tenant property set by the customer.
January 8, 2024: Microsoft will block Business Connectivity Services features in new Microsoft 365 tenants by default, as well as in tenants who haven't used the feature since October 30, 2023.
September 30, 2024: Business Connectivity Services is fully retired in Microsoft 365.
Action: Review and assess impact.

Change Category:
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Scope:
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Release Phase:

Created:
2023-10-07

updated:
2024-08-10

Task Type

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Direct effects for Operations**

- Impact on IT Operations
- Disruption of existing workflows that rely on Business Connectivity Services (BCS) for external data integration.
- Roles impacted: IT Operations Managers, System Administrators
- Increased workload for IT teams to assess and implement alternative solutions (Power Apps).
- Roles impacted: IT Support Staff, Application Developers

- Impact on IT Services
- Loss of functionality for external lists, external columns, and external content types, leading to potential data access issues.
- Roles impacted: Service Managers, Application Owners
- Need for reconfiguration of existing services that depend on BCS, which may lead to temporary service outages.
- Roles impacted: IT Service Desk, Network Administrators

- Impact on IT Users
- Users will experience disruptions in accessing external data, which may hinder productivity and operational efficiency.
- Roles impacted: End Users, Business Analysts
- Training requirements for users to adapt to Power Apps as a replacement for BCS, leading to a learning curve and potential resistance to change.
- Roles impacted: Training Coordinators, Change Management Teams

- Impact on IT Administrators
- Increased complexity in managing data connections and integrations as BCS is phased out, requiring additional training and knowledge of Power Apps.
- Roles impacted: IT Administrators, Database Administrators
- Potential for increased support tickets and user inquiries regarding the transition, leading to resource strain on IT support teams.
- Roles impacted: Help Desk Technicians, IT Support Managers

- Dependencies and Interdependencies
- Integration with other Microsoft 365 services (e.g., Dynamics 365, SQL Server) may be affected, requiring a comprehensive review of all dependent applications.
- Roles impacted: Application Architects, Integration Specialists
- The need to evaluate and possibly redesign business processes that rely on BCS, which may have downstream effects on other IT services and user workflows.
- Roles impacted: Business Process Analysts, Project Managers

For further details, you can refer to the official Microsoft support article on the retirement of Business Connectivity Services: [Support update for Business Connectivity Services in Microsoft 365](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/support-update-for-business-connectivity-services-in-microsoft-365-6c8c8e6e-8c9a-4b2b-9c8e-8c8e6e8c8e6).

Opportunities**

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Potentional Risks**

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