Navigating the ever-evolving landscape of Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform can be exhilarating for businesses eager to optimize their operational efficiency with the latest technology. Twice each year, Microsoft rolls out what's known as a "Release Wave"—a major update that spans from April to September and October to March of the subsequent year. This blog will unpack what a Release Wave entails, how your organization can gain early access to these features, and the strategic benefits of staying ahead with Microsoft's latest offerings.
What is a Release Wave?
The Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform release plans describe new features releasing bi-annually, from April to September and October to March of the following year. Each release wave introduces significant innovations that enable organizations to transform their business processes. The release includes hundreds of new features across Dynamics 365 applications such as Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Finance, Supply Chain Management, Customer Insights and many more. This year, notable updates are also expected in Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Financial Services, Sustainability, and Nonprofit sectors.
What is Early Access?
For each major release, you can opt in for early access updates approximately two months before the major release is automatically enabled in your region. For example, for a wave 1 major release planned to be automatically enabled starting in the first week of April, you'll be able to opt in for early access updates in early February. Similarly, for a wave 2 release planned to be automatically enabled starting in the first week of October, you can opt in for early access updates in early August.
The update status in your environment is set to "ON" by default; therefore, when the release wave is available, the update will automatically take effect. System admins can monitor the mandatory update date and schedule the update for a time when users are offline to avoid system interruptions.
Early access updates are available for all types of environments, including trial, sandbox, and production. However, it is best practice to enable the updates in trial or sandbox environments before production environments.
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