How to Take Full Advantage of Biannual Dynamics 365 Updates

Twice a year Microsoft unveils new features and updates for Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform. Designed to improve operational efficiency and support growth, these new capabilities help businesses save time, streamline workflows, scale their operations, and stay agile without infrastructure changes. Plus, many updates include critical security patches and compliance features that ensure business solutions are protected and aligned with industry regulations.

That being said, with the constant influx of new functionalities, it can be challenging for organizations to keep up and fully utilize these enhancements. In this piece, we’ll explore some of the strategies we utilize with our clients for making the most of these biannual updates.

Before we get into the most effective strategies for handling the biannual wave release updates, it’s important that you understand the specific challenges that most often arise.

• Compatibility Issues: Updates may cause compatibility issues with existing customizations, third-party integrations, or legacy systems, leading to potential disruptions in business operations.
• Testing and Deployment: Businesses often struggle to test updates adequately in a non-production environment before deploying them, which can lead to unexpected errors or system downtime.
• User Adoption: Training employees and ensuring they understand how to use new features effectively can be challenging, leading to underutilization of valuable capabilities.
• Time and Resource Constraints: Frequent updates require continuous monitoring, testing, and deployment efforts, which can strain IT teams and divert resources from other critical business functions.
• Managing Change: Regular updates can create resistance to change within the organization, as employees may prefer familiar processes over learning new workflows.
• Performance and Stability Risks: Deploying updates without proper validation can lead to performance degradation, data inconsistencies, or system instability, which can affect day-to-day business operations.

First and foremost, the importance of a thorough analysis of new features before implementing updates cannot be stressed enough – which is why our team has developed a specific approach to ensure businesses get the most out of the biannual Microsoft releases.

The steps outlined below are undertaken every time when preparing a new release deployment.

1. Review Microsoft release notes: Our team thoroughly reviews and analyzes these release notes to fully understand the functionality of the updates and which ones are the most relevant to your business.
2. Conduct an impact assessment: The new updates are evaluated according to how they will positively benefit your existing customizations, workflows, and integrations. Our consultants will work with our clients to evaluate how these updates and features align with their business goals and current workflows.
3. Communication: To ensure you’re always in the know, update summaries are created to share key features, potential impacts, highlight benefits, and any other necessary preparation or work required.

To help businesses further build their understanding, we release a webinar series twice a year highlighting the new releases we think will be most impactful and helpful to workflows.

2024 Wave 1 Release Webinar – Business Central

2024 Wave 1 Release Webinar – Copilot for Business Central

2024 Wave 1 Release Webinar – Dynamics 365 Sales

2024 Wave 1 Release Webinar – Dynamics 365 Customer Insights

2024 Wave 1 Release Webinar – Dynamics 365 Customer Service

Prior to any official deployment, new features are always tested in a sandbox environment to avoid conflicts with existing configurations and system errors during implementation.

• Test key processes: Testing is conducted on essential business processes, customizations, and third-party integrations to verify their functionality.
• Identify and resolve issues: Errors, performance issues, or disruptions during testing are documented and addressed before to moving to production.
• Optimize workflows: Our consultants will identify opportunities to replace outdated customizations with built-in features from the update.
• Schedule deployment: To minimize operational disruption, deployment is planned during off-peak business hours. All stakeholders will be informed of the deployment timeline to ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Monitor deployment: Our team will closely monitor the deployment in the production environment to quickly identify and address any hiccups or downtime.

User training is crucial when it comes to maximizing the benefits of newly released features. Tailored training sessions can help users understand how to leverage new functionalities to improve their daily operations and drive efficiency. By prioritizing user training, we help our clients not only facilitate a smoother transition to new features but also empower their teams to embrace the full potential of Dynamics 365, ultimately leading to improved productivity and growth.

To fully leverage the long-term benefits of these Dynamics 365 Wave Releases, organizations must focus on adapting their workflows and continuously evaluating their business processes. This proactive approach ensures that companies remain agile and can maximize the value derived from each update.

Organizations should consistently assess their current workflows to identify areas for improvement. By integrating new features into existing processes, businesses can enhance efficiency and optimize operations. We work closely with our clients’ teams to explore how the latest functionalities can be utilized to streamline tasks and improve overall performance.

Establishing a feedback loop is crucial for the ongoing evaluation of business processes. This involves gathering feedback from end users regarding the new features and any challenges they encounter after the update. This insight helps our consultants identify overlooked issues and highlights opportunities for further optimization.

Additionally, it’s important to plan for the next release well in advance. By keeping a running log of our clients’ needs, areas for improvement, and feedback on the latest updates, we can streamline future updates and ensure a smoother transition to new features. This approach not only fosters a culture of continuous improvement but also positions our partners to take full advantage of the evolving capabilities within Dynamics 365 over the long term.

These biannual release updates for Dynamics 365 offer significant advantages that can transform your business operations, enhance efficiency, and drive growth. By leveraging new features and continuously evaluating your workflows, your organization can stay ahead in today’s competitive landscape. However, navigating these updates can be complex, and that’s where having an experienced partner becomes invaluable. Adhering to best practices when dealing with these updates is key, but nothing will substitute for the guidance provided by an experienced Dynamics 365 partner. Having the right partner that is truly invested in your long-term success is the only way to fully harness the potential of Dynamics 365, ensuring that you adapt seamlessly to changes and optimize your business processes for sustained growth.

If your business is interested in learning more about how the Catapult team can support your Dynamics 365 solution and help you get the most out of your investment, get in touch today.