The cloud deployment option enables the deployment of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. There has been an unprecedented adoption of cloud ERP systems by mid-sized and large organizations. Cloud deployment is the preferred and recommended option, as Microsoft is committed to its cloud first approach in business applications, and continues to invest more in cloud services.

The following are the key highlights of cloud deployment:

• Fully managed by Microsoft's cloud service
• Subscription pricing—pay per user per month
• System of intelligence
• Scale-out as needed with the help of Microsoft's support team
• ExpressRoute as an add-on

The following diagram depicts the idea of a cloud deployment model, where the application—as well as the configuration and customization, telemetry, and diagnostics, and business data—are all in the cloud. Microsoft is a data trustee and manages the environments. The customer and partner do not have direct access to the production infrastructure but can access ALM, telemetry, and diagnostics data through LCS. The customer and partner have full access to the development, build, and sandbox environment, and can log in to the environment using a remote desktop:

Specific scenarios where cloud deployments are desirable include the following:

• An organization desires to move their operations to the cloud completely to save on-premises infrastructure cost and maintenance.
• An organization has already been using Office 365 or Dynamics 365 products, such as customer engagement, and wants an integrated view.
• You'd like to innovate faster and utilize the power of the cloud with Microsoft cloud services, such as Power BI, machine learning, and the internet of things (IoT).