Understanding Dynamics 365 database storage capacity

Filing cabinets are now artifacts (at least we hope so!). Over the past decade, most of our business, administrative and personal activity has transitioned to the online space.

With the increasing digitization of information and limited storage capacity on computer hard drives for documents, photos, videos and other data, online data storage is more important than ever before.

The Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform is a comprehensive portfolio of business applications that can help you simplify and manage day-to-day tasks, boosting the efficiency of your business operations.

One of the best features of Microsoft Dynamics 365 is its robust and secure database that provides all the Dynamics 365 storage capacity your organization needs to keep running smoothly. Whether you’re storing customer records, sales data or project files, Dynamics 365 storage capacity ensures scalability, flexibility, and reliability.

To help you best use your space, here is a guide to Dynamics 365 Database Storage Capacity.  

How Dynamics 365 Storage Capacity Works?

With Microsoft’s new self-service function for its Power Platform products, employees no longer have to rely on IT teams or Power Platform administrators to purchase and install business applications for their computers. They can make self-service product purchases online or via in-app prompts.

As a result, employees are now responsible for managing their own Dynamics 365 storage capacity — ensuring that database, file, and log storage allocations are balanced to support their day-to-day activities without interruptions.

New users of Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Field Service, Dynamics 365 Marketing, and Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation are automatically entitled to three types of storage: relational data (database), attachments (file), and audit logs (log).

Dynamics 365 storage capacity allows customers to store and manage company definitions, data, files, attachments, photos, and videos, while also recording data changes over time for later analysis and reporting. This database storage capacity is at the core of how businesses can organize and optimize their operations within the Dynamics 365 ecosystem.

In addition to supporting a wide variety of data types, Dynamics 365 storage capacity helps reduce the need for businesses to constantly free up space. It provides the flexibility to create new environments when capacity limits are reached, ensuring scalability without disruptions.

Dynamics 365 clients can also scale more easily with the platform’s purpose-built storage management solutions, leveraging Dynamics 365 storage capacity to handle new business scenarios, applications, and integrations as their data needs evolve.

How To Find Out Your Dynamics 365 Storage Capacity?

Microsoft’s new self-service function also gives employees the ability to view their individual Dynamics 365 storage capacity — quickly and easily. Keeping tabs on your available space ensures better data management and alerts you when it’s time to clean up or expand your storage.

Here's how:

1. Sign into the Power Platform admin center with your admin or end user login info.
2. From the "Resources" menu, go the "Capacity" tab and click on "Summary."
3. Go to the "Storage capacity by source" section and select "View self-service sources."

The following screen will depend on your user type. If you are signed in as a Power Platform admin, you can view all licenses purchased by employees and the storage capacity associated with each one. You can use the drop-down menu and search bar in the corner to filter or search for specific licences and add-on licences more efficiently.

If you are signed in as an end user, you will only see the license and storage capacity information for the licenses you have purchased. If no licences have been purchased, the capacity from self-service user licenses page will be blank.

Once you know your Dynamics 365 Database’s storage capacity, you can monitor your storage needs and free up or purchase storage, whenever necessary.

How To Free Up Your Dynamics 365 Storage Capacity?

Whether you’re approaching full capacity or simply want to clean out your database and remove unnecessary data, it’s incredibly easy to free up your Dynamics 365 storage capacity. The platform gives you flexibility to decide what to delete based on data type, ensuring that your cleanup aligns with your organization’s specific storage needs.

Start by reviewing all your customer engagement applications — including Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Field Service, Dynamics 365 Marketing, and Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation — and removing any duplicate or outdated information. This proactive maintenance ensures optimal performance while keeping your Dynamics 365 storage capacity available for what really matters.

All those slightly different versions of the same document can quickly add up. Attachments, in particular, tend to consume a significant portion of your Dynamics 365 storage capacity. Fortunately, you can filter attachments by type — such as email attachments, email messages with attachments, or notes with attachments — and swiftly delete what’s no longer needed.

Use the Advanced Find function to locate specific attachments and perform bulk deletions to remove many at once. Make sure to delete all logs, duplicate jobs, records, and bulk emails, which can easily clog up your Dynamics 365 storage capacity and slow system performance.

Lastly, you can remove all unnecessary tables and columns with a Relevance search. None of this data is critical—it often ends up forgotten in the dusty corners of your database. By cleaning up unused data, you can free up valuable Dynamics 365 storage capacity without sacrificing essential business information. Sometimes, optimizing your system isn’t about buying more space—it’s about making the most of the capacity you already have.

How Much Extra Dynamics 365 Storage Capacity Will Cost You?

If you’ve carefully reviewed all the data in your database and are still running low on space, you can easily purchase more storage to increase your Dynamics 365 storage capacity. Microsoft allows organizations to expand their available capacity as their data needs grow — ensuring your business continues to operate smoothly without interruptions.

Keep in mind, though, that the self-service function does not apply in this case. Only Microsoft 365 Global or Billing administrators are authorized to purchase additional Dynamics 365 storage capacity licenses.

If you are an end user, you’ll need to consult your company’s designated administrators. Before purchasing extra storage, it’s important to review your current Dynamics 365 storage capacity to determine your needs. This step can be completed by both admins and end users by following the same process mentioned earlier.

You can purchase add-on licenses based on the type of storage you require:

• Increased file storage capacity is available through add-on licenses starting at $2 per month.
• Licenses for additional log capacity begin at $10 per month.
• Licenses to expand your overall data storage capacity start at $40 per month.

You can choose the number of licenses for each storage type and set your preferred payment frequency. Once the purchase process is complete, you’ll instantly see your new Dynamics 365 storage capacity reflected in the Power Platform admin center by navigating to the “Capacity” page.

Although it’s unlikely you’ll ever run out of Dynamics 365 storage capacity, purchasing additional storage has never been easier or more cost-effective — thanks to Microsoft’s large starting allocation and practical tools for optimizing your data usage.

Still Not Sure If You Need More Storage ? Let Us Help You

Let Gestisoft help you better understand your Dynamics 365 database storage capacity

Although most software today is engineered to be as user-friendly as possible, it can be difficult to make sense of every component and function — and ensuring you are optimizing its services.

Gestisoft’s seasoned expert team helps many companies implement and manage Microsoft’s ERP and CRM applications. Our overcaffeinated consultants work tirelessly to resolve the issues you’re facing, helping you better understand and harness the power of Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Gestisoft can offer you helpful tips for freeing up additional storage or compare licences to help you choose the one that best meets your storage needs.

Do you need expert help with your Dynamics 365 database storage capacity? Get in touch with us today.