With the release of Dynamics AX 2012 just around the corner, discussions about the new and improved features abound. Data security is always a hot topic in today’s digital world but the release of AX 2012 certainly creates a splash in this area.
Microsoft has highlighted the following improvements with regard to data security:
- Role-based security
- Server-enforced security
- Extensible data security framework
- Flexible authentication
What this means for you:
Role-based security means data security is much easier to manage. In AX 2012, users are assigned to roles based on the duties and responsibilities they have and access is granted based on those roles. This change puts an end to the tedious and time-consuming process of assigning users based on application objects. Once set up, role assignments can easily be updated based on the business data.
Server-enforced security means authorization is performed on the server rather the client, consistently enforcing permissions on protected fields regardless of the type of client. The server sends the client only the information that the user has been granted access to, resulting in increased data security.
The extensible data security framework provides data security that is based on effective dates, as well as improved filters for data security.
AX 2009 did not offer the facility to use data security based on effective date. In AX 2012 administrators can specify whether users have access to past, present, or future records with different levels of access. As appropriate, users can have access to past records as well as access to create and edit current records.
The new framework can also be used to create data security policies based on data contained in a different table. For example, in previous versions you could not filter sales lines by customer location because those were stored in different tables, but the new framework makes that possible. Data security policies are enforced at the server regardless of the type of client used to access the data.
Flexible authentication means authentication of users by methods other than Active Directory allowing external users to access Dynamics AX without a required domain account.
by Solugenix,
