Defining Dynamics 365 Marketing Security Roles

Every organization today operates on data — from customer details and marketing analytics to sales opportunities and campaign performance. With such critical data flowing through your systems, security and access control are essential to ensure that sensitive information stays confidential and compliant.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing is one of the most powerful tools for managing customer engagement, events, and campaigns. But as with any enterprise platform, it handles large volumes of sensitive business and customer data. This is where Dynamics 365 Marketing Security Roles come in — they determine who can see, edit, or manage what across your organization.

This article explores what security roles are, how they function in Dynamics 365 Marketing, and how to configure and manage them effectively to safeguard your marketing environment.

What are Security Roles in Dynamics 365?

In simple terms, a security role in Dynamics 365 defines what a user can do within the system. It governs data access, permissions, and operations, ensuring each user has the appropriate privileges for their responsibilities.

Think of it as setting boundaries:

• A marketing executive may view contact details but not edit them.
• A marketing manager may access campaign insights across business units, but not modify system-wide configurations.
• A system administrator has full control, including creating and managing roles for others.

By defining these roles, Dynamics 365 Marketing enforces structured data governance, minimizes unauthorized access, and strengthens compliance with internal and external regulations.

Why Dynamics 365 Marketing Security Roles Matter?

Security roles are not just technical configurations — they’re a core part of your marketing governance strategy. Here’s why they matter:

• Data protection: Prevents unauthorized users from accessing or modifying sensitive marketing and customer information.
• Operational efficiency: Ensures every user sees only the data relevant to their job, reducing confusion and accidental edits.
• Compliance: Helps meet legal and regulatory standards such as GDPR or PIPEDA (Canada).
• Accountability: Enables audit trails to track who accessed or changed data.
• Scalability: Supports large marketing teams with clear hierarchies and standardized permissions.

Security Access Levels in Dynamics 365 Marketing

In Dynamics 365, security access levels determine the scope of data visibility and control. The main access levels include:

1. Global Access

Users with Global access (also known as Organization-level access) can view and manage all data across the entire organization. This level is typically reserved for administrators or senior executives.

2. Deep Access

Deep access allows users to access records within their own business unit, including all child units below it. For example, a regional marketing director could view all campaigns managed by teams under their region.

3. Local Access

Users with Local access can access data only within their assigned business unit — ideal for department-level marketing roles.

4. Basic Access

Basic access is limited to records owned or created by the user. This level is perfect for individual contributors or interns managing their personal campaigns or leads.

5. None

None means no access — used when a user should not view or modify certain data types.

Understanding Privileges in Dynamics 365 Marketing Security Roles

Every security role is defined not only by what data users can access but also what they can do with it. These actions are called privileges, and they are consistent across all Dynamics 365 apps.

Each privilege can be combined with an access level, creating a granular and flexible security structure.

Core Dynamics 365 Marketing Security Roles

Dynamics 365 Marketing provides several out-of-the-box security roles to help teams get started quickly. These roles can be customized based on your organization’s structure and needs.

1. Core Marketing Roles

These roles cover day-to-day marketing functions and include:

• Marketing Professional: Access to campaign management, lead nurturing, and analytics.
• Marketing Manager: Higher-level permissions to oversee campaigns and data across teams.
• Marketing Services User: Internal system user role that should never be deleted, as it performs background processes.
• Lead Score Modeler and Viewer: Roles focused on viewing and managing lead scoring models.

Each role is tailored to balance access and responsibility while maintaining data security across the marketing environment.

2. Event Management Security Roles

Event-related data in Dynamics 365 Marketing is managed through specialized roles:

• Event Administrator: Full access to manage events, sessions, speakers, and logistics.
• Event Planner: Create and edit event details, manage registrations, and track attendance.
• Event Management S2S Inbound: A system-to-system integration role for event-related automation.

3. LinkedIn Lead Gen Security Roles

These roles handle permissions for LinkedIn lead generation activities:

• LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms Administrator – Manages LinkedIn integration setup.
• LinkedIn Lead Gen Salesperson – Views and manages LinkedIn leads.
• Project Owner (Surveys package) – Oversees survey responses tied to marketing activities.

How to Assign Dynamics 365 Marketing Security Roles

Before assigning any security role, the user must have an active Microsoft Dynamics 365 license. Once licensed, the process follows a logical flow:

1. Create or identify the user in the system.
2. Assign appropriate security roles from the admin center.
3. Adjust privileges if needed (you can copy and modify existing roles).
4. Test the configuration to ensure the user only accesses intended data.

Tip: Only users with sufficient privileges — typically System Administrators — can assign or modify security roles for others.

Remember: Dynamics 365 doesn’t allow users to assign privileges greater than their own. That’s a built-in safeguard against privilege escalation.

Customizing Dynamics 365 Marketing Security Roles

While the default roles cover most use cases, your organization may need custom security roles. For example, you may want a “Regional Campaign Manager” role that allows access to specific geographic campaigns only.

To create a custom role:

1. Copy an existing role similar to the one you want.
2. Rename and modify its privileges (read, write, create, etc.).
3. Define its business unit scope (Global, Deep, Local, or Basic).
4. Test and deploy it to relevant users.

This flexible model allows marketing administrators to fine-tune access without compromising data integrity.

Best Practices for Managing Dynamics 365 Marketing Security Roles

To maintain a secure, efficient environment, consider these best practices:

1. Follow the principle of least privilege: Give users only the access they truly need.
2. Review roles regularly: Especially after organizational changes or new campaigns.
3. Use teams strategically: Assign team-level roles for group projects instead of giving broad individual access.
4. Avoid deleting default roles: Roles like “Marketing Services User” are essential for system functions.
5. Document your security model: Keep a record of who has which role and why.
6. Test after changes: Always validate permissions after editing or creating custom roles.
7. Integrate with hierarchy security: If you use Dynamics 365 CRM organization-wide, combine role-based and hierarchy security for better oversight.

Role-Based and Hierarchy Security in Dynamics 365

Role-Based Security

This is the core mechanism in Dynamics 365. It ensures that users are granted permissions based on roles tied to job responsibilities, not individuals. It’s a scalable model that adapts as your team grows.

Hierarchy Security

Hierarchy security complements role-based security. It allows managers to view or edit records owned by their subordinates, without needing direct access to everything in the system. This is ideal for organizations with layered marketing or sales structures.

When combined, these models create a secure, flexible, and auditable environment across your Dynamics 365 Marketing application.

Common Challenges When Managing Security Roles

Even experienced admins face challenges in configuring Dynamics 365 Marketing security roles properly. Some of the most frequent include:

• Overlapping privileges that grant unintended access.
• Custom entities without clear role definitions.
• Integration users (like Power Automate or LinkedIn) needing specific permissions.
• Scaling issues as teams expand across multiple business units.

A clear governance policy and periodic audits help prevent these problems and maintain robust security.

Protect Your Marketing Data with Gestisoft

Managing Dynamics 365 Marketing Security Roles is crucial to keeping your organization’s customer data secure, compliant, and efficient. But misconfigurations can expose your business to unnecessary risk.

At Gestisoft, our certified Dynamics 365 consultants help you:

• Audit and optimize your existing security structure
• Set up custom roles tailored to your marketing operations
• Implement best practices for compliance and scalability

Ready to strengthen your Dynamics 365 Marketing security?Book a consultation with Gestisoft today and get expert guidance on setting up your security roles the right way.