Article

Microsoft updates Dynamics 365 cloud release planning

by Jason Gumpert
Editor, MSDynamicsWorld.com

Microsoft is moving to standardize its policies around managing updates to Dynamics 365 cloud application across the product line, setting baseline expectations around the timing of new releases, sandbox previews for new features, and guidance for existing cloud customers who have been allowed to lag on their updates until now.

Major release note publications, which began with the Spring 2018 release wave, will continue as a standard practice, according to Mo Osborne, Corporate Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Business Applications Engineering at Microsoft in a new blog post. The release notes for the October 2018 update will be published on July 23 during the Business Applications Summit.

Osborne has been at Microsoft for less than a year, having served previously in CIO, COO, and chief procurement officer roles at EY and JP Morgan Chase, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Some of the key points shared in the post include:

  • All Dynamic 365 applications will now aim for two major releases per year, in April and October, that offer new capabilities and functionality. As Osborne explains, "These updates will be backward compatible, so your apps and customizations will continue to work post update. New features with major, disruptive changes to the user experience are off by default. This means administrators will be able to first test before enabling these features for their organization."
  • Regular performance and reliability improvement updates will continue to be deployed throughout the year. Microsoft is phasing deployments over several weeks following safe deployment practices and monitoring updates closely for any issues.
  • Customers running D365 for Customer Experience v8.2 should plan to update to the latest ...

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About Jason Gumpert

As the editor of MSDynamicsWorld.com, Jason oversees all editorial content on the site and at our events, as well as providing site management and strategy. He can be reached at jgumpert@msdynamicsworld.com.

Prior to co-founding MSDynamicsWorld.com, Jason was a Principal Software Consultant at Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), where he implemented solutions, trained customers, managed software development, and spent some time in the pre-sales engineering organization. He has also held consulting positions at CSC Consulting and Monitor Group.

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