Describe the problem/error/question
Hi, I’m currently doing agent development using sdk’s like Microsoft 365 Agent SDK but I was thinking to use n8n for flow automation since it has many integrations and can be self-hosted etc.
I will provide a scenario for clarity:
Company X, builds an agent solution for company A. Let’s say an HR bot that can retrieve vital information about internal business processes. Using Microsoft 365 Agent SDK company X is able to have a nicely integrated in the 365 environment i.e. Teams, etc. However to automate certain flows, maybe create or update a document, or send a message in a Teams channel, company X would use n8n this.
Below I’d like to know in which case I need a license and if I missed a setup that doesn’t require one.
Setup:
n8n is self-hosted as part of the offering the customer (company A) uses their own accounts to access the n8n instance(s) but they are charged for the creation of the flow by company X. They will be charged for the custom software built with whatever SDK, in this case microsoft 365 agent SDK, which does integrate with n8n as well as other internal systems. The agent will be sold through private offering on Microsoft marketplace in which the customer (company A) can purchase it, which in turn will deploy the resources in the cloud. It will NOT include n8n, that resource will be separately hosted in their cloud. Maybe with assistance of company X but not as part of the product offered through the private offering.
Understanding:
In this case n8n is just another internal system company X connects with. Fee for creation of a workflow is allowed. N8n is only used internally inside company A
Setup:
n8n is sold as part of the solution through the private offering as part of a ‘blackbox’ resource that will be deployed inside company A’s cloud. The customer has the access to configure things like environment variables, in which they are able to set the credentials to use their own n8n accounts. There will be a general charge for the entire offering but instances are exclusively used for internal use by the customer using their own n8n accounts. The charge for the creation of a workflow is included in the offering
Understanding:
Not entirely sure here since there are multiple types of private offerings that can be done as a microsoft partner. There is the possibility to charge customers for the resources used directly in combination with a fixed license fee. Meaning the customer pays for the infrastructure on top of a fee for the use of the program. I feel like n8n remains self-hosted but it is not entirely clear to me if there is any violation here. It’s only used internally by the customer, it just spins up as part of their infrastructure through the resource in the offering.