What is a Wave Update

What Business Central wave updates are, how they roll out, what changes, and how to prepare.

Microsoft’s long‑term goal for Dynamics 365 Business Central is to make it the default cloud ERP for small and mid‑sized businesses (SMBs)—by turning it into a continuously evolving, AI‑assisted, industry‑ready business platform.

Business Central is the long‑term successor and consolidation point for all SMB ERP on Microsoft’s platform.

A wave update is a scheduled release cycle during which Microsoft ships a bundle of new capabilities over several months rather than all at once.

Instead of big, disruptive upgrades, Microsoft delivers continuous innovation in planned waves.

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When Do Waves Happen?

Microsoft runs two major waves per year:

• Wave 1 (April-September)
• Wave 2 (October - March)

Each wave:

• Is announced in advance
• Has release plans published months ahead
• Rolls out gradually, not all on day one

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How the Rollout Works (Step‑by‑Step)

1

Public Announcement & Release Plans

Before a wave starts, Microsoft publishes release notes, feature lists and early previews

These plans explain:

• What’s coming
• When features are expected
• Whether features are preview or GA (generally available)

This allows organisations and product teams to plan changes, training, and comms.

2

Early Access & Preview Features

Some features are released first as private preview, public preview and early access.

This is how Microsoft:

• Reduces risk
• Gets real-world usage data
• Adjusts before full rollout

3

Staggered Deployment (Phased Rollout)

Microsoft does not update everyone at the same time.

Instead:

• Tenants are updated in batches
• Regions may receive updates at different times
• Some users see features weeks before others

4

Feature Controls & Admin Settings

Admins usually retain control over:

• Whether some features are enabled
• When users see UI changes
• Whether previews are allowed

5

Automatic Adoption (Evergreen Model)

Unlike old “upgrade projects” you cannot skip waves indefinitely, features eventually become mandatory and deprecations are announced well in advance

Microsoft follows an evergreen SaaS model:

• Continuous improvement
• Backward compatibility wherever possible
• Long notice periods for removals

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What Gets Updated in a Wave?

A wave can include:

• New features
• Performance improvements
• Security enhancements
• UI/UX changes
• API and platform capabilities
• Feature deprecations (with warnings)

Not every tenant gets every feature—some depend on:

• License type
• Region
• Product SKU
• Admin configurations

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Why Microsoft Uses Wave Updates

Microsoft uses waves to:

• Reduce disruption
• Deliver innovation faster
• Allow customer feedback before GA
• Avoid “big bang” upgrades
• Keep the platform secure and modern

Waves balance predictability with continuous delivery.

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What You Should Do

Best practices

• Review release plans at the start of every wave
• Identify features that impact users or processes
• Decide which previews to test early
• Plan communications and training
• Monitor Message Center and admin notifications
• Liaise with the Support Desk to plan the wave's testing and rollout.

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Release Notes & Update Resources

What’s New in Business Central

Latest features by release wave: What's new and planned in Business Central

Major / Minor Update Cycles

Update schedule for major and minor updates that are rolled out in between Wave updates Update Rollout Timeline