Forum Discussion
Flow - System Account?
Hi all,
My understanding is that to use Flows a person must have the appropriate licence and the flow is connected to that user.
Is it possible to setup Flows using an anonymous or system account that aren't tied to one user? E.g. if I was to set up an approval flow for our accounts team, I don't want it tied to an individual member and I don't want it tied to my account?
Hi,
Unfortunately it´s requiring a license but Flow-license is free to use.
If you don´t want it to be on your account you need to have a licensed system-account.
It also depends on what you want to do, if you need to have connections towards sharepoint, mail etc you´ll also need a license for Exchange, sharepoint etc.
10 Replies
Question- We have a Flow that sends outbound emails using the account of the user who created the flow. What would happen if the person leaves the organization, how will the outbound emails o when the mailbox is no longer active? I know that in the 'Send Email' action a "From" account can be specified for sending an email, but is it a good practice to do so or should we have a dedicated account(with an attached mailbox) for flows?
The information I am seeking-
1. In terms of best practice, should we be creating a dedicated service account for flows? If yes, should the flows created by users be shared with this service account so they can be managed using one account?
2. What license should be assigned to the service account, E3 or E5?
3. Should this account be assigned the global admin privileges?
Thank you.
anka - For people that have left the company the GA can use the PowerShell cmdlets to update the Powerapp or Flow owners.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/powerapps-powershellAdditionally you can use the Admin Maker Connectors:
https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/new-connectors-for-powerapps-and-flow-resources/
I think Flow is meant to be for end users to create workflows on their own with little coding knowledge, anytime I come across a business process type workflow that can't depend on a single user I usually build the process out in flow and then export to Logic Apps or I look to D365 for a business process workflow. I think there are new features coming out with the CDSv2 but I could be mistaken there.
Generally what I do is create a Flow service account in Office 365. Something like flowadmin@yourdomain. I give that account the appropriate licenses necessary, then create all Flows on that account.
This is a good question. What would Microsoft recommend as a best practice? In my situation I have a Flow that I created. It's basically scheduled to run about 4 or 5 times a day that will grab an excel document and email that document. Not a document that I really care about but a business process that needed to be set up to send the spreadsheet out to a client through out the day. The issue I have is that that document shows up in my Most Recommended Documents section on the Office.com site and the site always shows up as a frequent site. Which then kind of takes away from documents or sites that I really care about. What would be a good way to handle that so that it's not showing up in my recent docs or frequent sites? Anyone have the same issue?
Yes Rich Koneval that's my point. I can setup flows but they're not necessarily personal to me and should be able to run even if was to leave the company.
If they're designed for personal use that's fine but it leaves a gap for other automation/data collection.
- sbuccimsft
Microsoft
DaithiG as far as the "what if I leave the company" scenario, these are Flows you should share with someone else so they move under Team Flows.
- I’ve tested with a global admin account and if you have the flow license on that user you can set up flows, you could even connect it to SharePoint.
However, I don’t know how Microsoft looks at the licensing for that sharepoint connection, if it’s an unsopported set-up. Hi,
Unfortunately it´s requiring a license but Flow-license is free to use.
If you don´t want it to be on your account you need to have a licensed system-account.
It also depends on what you want to do, if you need to have connections towards sharepoint, mail etc you´ll also need a license for Exchange, sharepoint etc.
