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Editions and Feature Flags

Host Admin

DataCentral provides Host Administrators with fine-grained control over which features and capabilities are available to individual Tenants. This is managed through the use of Editions and Feature Flags.

This system is essential for SaaS providers or large enterprises that want to offer tiered pricing models (e.g., Basic, Pro, Enterprise) or selectively roll out new features to specific customers.

1. What is an Edition?​

An Edition is a named bundle of settings and feature flags that standardize a Tenant's setup.

Instead of manually configuring dozens of individual settings every time you create a new Tenant, you simply assign them an Edition (like "Standard Edition" or "Premium Edition"). The Tenant instantly inherits all the permissions defined in that bundle.

Common Edition Controls​

Editions typically control the following aspects of a Tenant's experience:

  • Allowed Authentication Methods: Can users in this Tenant log in with Entra ID (Azure AD), User Pass, Mobile ID, or a combination?
  • Allowed Azure Configurations: Is the Tenant permitted to configure their own dedicated Service Principals, or must they use the Host's shared credentials?
  • Feature Access: Are advanced features like Action Tasks, DAX Query Tasks, Slideshows, or custom branding available to this Tenant?
  • User Limits: Does this Edition impose a maximum number of active users?

2. Managing Editions​

Host Administrators can create, modify, and delete Editions from the Host Administration portal.

  1. Navigate to Administration > Editions.
  2. Click Add Edition to create a new bundle.
  3. Provide a descriptive name (e.g., "Gold Partner Tier").
  4. Toggle the specific features and limits you want to apply to this tier.
  5. Click Save.

Once an Edition is created, you can assign it to a new Tenant during provisioning, or change an existing Tenant's Edition at any time to upgrade or downgrade their capabilities.

3. Feature Flags​

While Editions bundle settings together, Feature Flags are the individual toggles that control access to specific functionality.

DataCentral uses feature flags extensively to manage the platform's capabilities.

Granular Control​

In some cases, a Host Administrator may need to override an Edition's settings for a specific Tenant. For example, a "Standard Edition" Tenant might request access to a premium feature like Custom Branding for a short trial period.

The Host Administrator can edit that specific Tenant's configuration and manually toggle the "Custom Branding" feature flag to On, without having to move the Tenant to a completely different Edition.

New Feature Rollouts​

DataCentral also uses feature flags internally to safely deploy new platform updates. A new feature might be deployed to the production environment but hidden behind a feature flag. The Host Administrator can then enable the flag for a small group of "Beta" Tenants to test the functionality before rolling it out globally.