Microsoft is changing the way Microsoft Dynamics 365 updates will be delivered: major cloud updates will be deployed twice a year in April and October to provide new capabilities and functionality to all Dynamics 365 users. These updates will be backwards compatible, while regular performance updates will be rolled out throughout the year as before, ensuring business continuity for organizations.
Whereas customers were able to skip a cloud release, they will no longer be able to do so, as all users will now be required to migrate to the latest version with each new release. For this reason, all users will have to be on the new version before January 31, 2019.
What does this mean for your organization?
This new continuous update deployment will bring several benefits to users and organizations using Dynamics 365:
- Organizations will enjoy up-to-date features and optimized performance. A cloud-based solution ensures immediate access to new functionalities, but organizations sometimes delay their migration to new versions. By ensuring that everyone is using the latest version, users will be able to take advantage of the latest features and capabilities as they are released.
- The learning curve will not be as steep for your users. You will face less resistance to change within your organization. Users will have a much easier time adapting to the new features and interface changes with each new update, instead of having to contend with many significant changes at once.
- Costs and downtime will be kept to a minimum. In the long run, skipping updates does not save you time or money. In fact, the longer you wait, the harder it becomes, as the migration path of the previous versions still has to be followed. Migrating with each update will ensure that the process is as smooth as possible every time.
- Microsoft will be able to offer better support and an improved platform to all users. Having all users on fewer versions will help Microsoft improve their features, performance and support, as their resources will be focused on a single platform.
- New capabilities and third-party products can be tested ahead of time to avoid system disruptions. Partners and customers will be able to test capabilities and major updates in a sandbox environment in advance. Partners will be able to better prepare their products for general availability, while organizations can validate updates before the update release to avoid any disruption.
This continuous update deployment will make it important to follow best practices and use as many features out of the box as possible to ensure smooth migrations. That said, organizations will be able to accelerate their digital transformation in a consistent and predictable manner, overall increasing reliability and performance. For more information, please .
By JOVACO Solutions,
