Hi,
Upgrading from D365 Customer Service Professional to Customer Service Enterprise is primarily a licensing and feature entitlement change, not a replacement of your existing Dataverse environment or custom applications.
Your existing data, custom tables, fields, relationships, model-driven apps, plugins, workflows, Power Automate flows, dashboards and integrations remain in place. You are not normally “swapping out” your current apps for a new Enterprise app. Instead, you assign the Enterprise licenses, ensure the required first-party apps/solutions are installed or updated, and then enable/configure the additional Enterprise and omnichannel capabilities as needed.
That said, this should still be treated as a controlled production change because you have critical operations, custom plugins, integrations and 60 users.
Recommended step-by-step approach
1. Review licensing and target capabilities
Confirm exactly what you are moving to:
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Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise for all 60 users
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Whether you also need Dynamics 365 Contact Center / digital messaging / voice / specific channel entitlements
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Whether you need add-ons or third-party subscriptions
Omnichannel capabilities are not simply “auto-configured” because a license changes. They must be configured in Copilot Service admin center, which is the current administration experience for Customer Service and omnichannel configuration.
2. Create a full inventory before upgrade
Before making changes in production, document:
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Installed Dynamics 365 first-party apps and solution versions
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Custom model-driven apps
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Custom tables, columns and relationships
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Plugins and custom workflow activities
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Classic workflows and Power Automate flows
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Business rules, SLAs, routing rules and queues
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Security roles and teams
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Integrations, service accounts and connection references
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Email/mailbox/server-side sync configuration
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Reports, dashboards and Power BI dependencies
This gives you a baseline if something behaves differently after the license/application update.
3. Test in a non-production copy
If possible, refresh a sandbox from production and perform the upgrade validation there first.
In the sandbox:
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Assign Customer Service Enterprise licenses to test users.
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Confirm the Customer Service first-party apps/solutions are installed and up to date.
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Open Copilot Service admin center.
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Enable or configure the required omnichannel capabilities (e.g. turning on unified routing, enabling more channels than email-to-case, turn on Copilot capabilities, configure experience profiles, supervisor reports, etc.)
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Validate existing apps and business processes. Note! If you're currently running operations in a custom MDA, you have two options; adjust the app (e.g. upgrade it to a multi-session app) and enable Copilot in that MDA OR move all users in Copilot Service Workspace. I would recommend the latter.
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Test integrations and plugins.
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Run regression tests for case creation, assignment, email, routing, SLA, dashboards and reporting.
You do not need to exchange all existing apps as part of the license upgrade, but Customer Service workspace is the strategic agent experience for modern Customer Service and omnichannel scenarios. If the current solution is based on Customer Service Hub or older app patterns, plan a controlled migration of navigation, forms, dashboards, productivity features and agent experience to Customer Service workspace.
Historical data such as cases, accounts, contacts, activities and custom table records should remain in Dataverse. The upgrade should not delete or migrate your operational data.
Security roles, custom dashboards, reports, integrations and customizations should also remain, but they still need to be regression-tested because additional first-party solutions and new features may introduce new tables, privileges, forms, app modules or dependencies. Also note that running the omnichannel platform both requires the Omnichannel Agent, -Supervisor, and -Admin roles, as well as linking these (or if you make custom copies) security roles to agent, supervisor and admin personas in Copilot Service Admin Center.
4. Plan production deployment
Even though the license assignment itself should not require major downtime, I would still use a maintenance window for a production environment with critical operations.
Recommended production plan:
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Communicate change window and expected impact.
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Confirm backup/restore point and rollback plan.
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Assign Enterprise licenses.
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Install/update required first-party apps if needed.
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Enable/configure required features in Copilot Service admin center.
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Publish customizations.
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Run smoke tests.
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Validate integrations.
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Have business users perform UAT checks.
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Monitor for plugin, flow, email and routing errors.
Expected downtime is usually low for the licensing change itself, but app/solution updates, publishing, configuration and testing can affect users. For a critical production environment, use a planned maintenance window rather than doing it casually during business hours.
Answers to the specific questions
Will the upgrade require removing the Professional app and installing the Enterprise app?
Normally, no. You should not think of this as removing one app and replacing it with another. The environment and custom apps remain. You assign Enterprise licenses and make sure the required Customer Service applications/solutions are available and updated.
However, if you are still using older app experiences, you should plan to move agents to Copilot Service workspace.
Will custom model-driven apps continue to function?
Generally yes. Custom model-driven apps should continue to work because they are Dataverse app customizations, not tied only to the Professional license. Still, test them because app access, security roles, forms, plugins and dependencies can behave differently once new features and roles are introduced. They might not be able to adopt all new omnichannel capabilities, so again, think about moving usage into CSW.
Are custom fields, tables and relationships preserved?
Yes. Custom Dataverse schema and data remain intact.
Will plugins, workflows and flows continue to operate?
Generally yes, but regression testing is required. Pay attention to plugins or flows that depend on security roles, app modules, queues, case routing, email processing, or integrations.
Is all historical data preserved?
Yes. The upgrade is not a data migration.
Are security roles maintained?
Existing roles remain, but you need to add new privileges for omnichannel capabilities, see above.
Do integrations require reconfiguration?
Not solely because of the license upgrade, but if you're adopting new channels (e.g. SMS, WhatsApp, voice, etc), new/adjusted integrations are needed.
Which omnichannel features are automatically enabled?
None. The license gives entitlement, but channels and omnichannel behavior must be configured. Workstreams, channels, queues, routing, capacity, presence, etc. + experience profiles, Copilot capabilties are configured in Copilot Service admin center.
Are there extra licensing requirements?
Potentially yes. Digital and voice channels require the digital and voice-add on license or the full Premium License. For Copilot or other AI assisted features you'll need to purchase Copilot credits as those services are consumption based.
What about Copilot?
You'll get many Copilot features pre-built in the omnichannel platform and included in your license. However, usage is consumption based and billing is against pre-paid message/credit packages or pay-as-you-go bill plans.
In summary: the upgrade should preserve your existing environment and customizations. The main work is licensing, confirming first-party app/solution availability, enabling/configuring Enterprise and omnichannel capabilities in Copilot Service admin center, and performing disciplined regression testing. For a critical production environment, test in sandbox first and use a planned maintenance window for production rollout.
Good luck!
