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Nikhil Sarpatwari
Nikhil Sarpatwari

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Custom Workflow Activities in the Modern Dynamics 365 World: Are They Still Useful?

#dynamics365 #dataverse #powerplatform #microsoft

Custom Workflow Activities in the Modern Dynamics 365 World: Are They Still Useful?

When designing solutions in Dynamics 365 CE, we often reach for tools like plugins, Power Automate flows, or Azure Functions. But there's one lesser-talked-about option that still packs a punch: Custom Workflow Activities — especially when used purely as reusable, backend C# logic packaged within a plugin assembly.

Let’s unpack what they are, why they’re still useful, and where they fit in a cloud-first Power Platform architecture.

What Are Custom Workflow Activities?

A Custom Workflow Activity is a class that extends CodeActivity and is deployed as part of a plugin assembly. These activities aren’t tied to event triggers like traditional plugins. Instead, they act like callable backend functions — clean, modular, and testable.

In modern projects, they can be invoked via:

  • Custom APIs
  • Plugin logic orchestration
  • Internal job scheduling or server-side orchestration

Why Use Custom Workflow Activities Today?

Here’s where they continue to provide value in contemporary Dynamics implementations:

Scenario Why Custom Workflow Activity?
Encapsulating complex logic Clean, reusable code
Shared business rules across multiple entry points Centralized and DRY
Transactional consistency Operates within Dataverse transaction pipeline
Avoiding cloud integration overhead No need for external calls or auth
Advanced server-side calculations or validation C# precision with full SDK support

They’re essentially building blocks that help modularize backend logic — making large plugin assemblies more maintainable and easier to test.

When Not to Use Them

While still useful, they’re not always the right choice. Avoid them if:

  • Your solution is low-code only and owned by citizen developers
  • You need easy API-level access (consider Custom APIs instead)
  • You want to reduce .NET dependency and stick to Power Fx or flow-based logic

Real-World Use Cases

  • Access Management Logic – A custom workflow activity was used to encapsulate security role assignment logic that could be reused in different plugin operations and API layers.
  • Invoice Calculation – A complex pricing engine was written as a custom activity and reused across multiple entry points (plugin and on-demand API).
  • File Conversion & Metadata Tagging – One client used custom activities to transform and tag uploaded files before storing them in Azure Blob via a plugin.

Why I Still Use Them

As a Dynamics 365 CE developer working in enterprise environments, I’ve found Custom Workflow Activities to be:

  • Lightweight
  • Robust
  • Ideal for abstracting business logic

They’re a great alternative to duplicating logic across plugins or making external HTTP calls from within Dataverse operations.

#Dynamics365 #PowerPlatform #Dataverse #CustomAPI #PluginDevelopment #SolutionArchitecture #Microsoft365 #ModernDev #LowCode #ReusableCode

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