Microsoft Release Waves Explained — How Business Central Gets Updated Twice a Year
In today’s video, we’re taking a deep dive into Microsoft Dynamics 365 Wave Releases and telling you everything you need to know about them. If you’re new to Dynamics 365 or want to stay up-to-date with the latest features and capabilities, then this video is for you. So, what exactly are Wave Releases? They’re a series of updates and enhancements to the Dynamics 365 platform that are released twice a year – in April and October. These updates are designed to enhance the user experience and improve the functionality of Dynamics 365, providing users with new features and capabilities to help them work more efficiently. Whether you’re a business owner, IT professional, or just a Dynamics 365 user, this video will provide you with a comprehensive overview of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Wave Releases. So, sit back, relax, and let’s get started!
If you are new to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central — or if you have clients asking why their system suddenly looks different or has new features — the answer almost always comes back to one thing: release waves.
Microsoft follows a structured, twice-yearly release cycle for Business Central and the broader Dynamics 365 and Power Platform ecosystem. Understanding how this works is essential for anyone implementing, managing, or consulting on BC. This post explains the release wave model, what it means in practice, and how to stay ahead of it.
What Is a Release Wave?
A release wave is a scheduled bundle of new features, enhancements, and platform updates that Microsoft ships to Business Central (and other Dynamics 365 products) on a predictable twice-yearly cadence.
There are two release waves per year:
- Wave 1 — generally available from April, with early access from February
- Wave 2 — generally available from October, with early access from August
Each wave contains hundreds of updates across the full Dynamics 365 and Power Platform portfolio. For Business Central specifically, a typical wave includes new functional features, UX improvements, performance enhancements, developer tools, and occasionally significant platform changes.
Microsoft publishes a full Release Plan for each wave — a detailed, publicly available document listing every planned feature, its target release date, and whether it is generally available, in preview, or coming to a specific cloud tier.
The Release Plan — Your Early Warning System
The Release Plan is published several weeks before early access opens, giving partners, consultants, and customers advance visibility of what is coming. It is one of the most valuable resources in the BC ecosystem and is freely available at aka.ms/BCReleasePlan.
Each feature in the Release Plan is categorised by:
Release status:
- Generally Available (GA) — fully released and on by default, or administrator-enabled
- Public Preview — available for testing but not yet production-ready
- Coming Soon — planned for the wave but not yet available
Enablement type:
- Enabled for users automatically — the feature is on from day one of the wave, no action required
- Enabled for users by default, can be disabled — on by default but an administrator can turn it off
- Enabled by administrators, makers, or analysts — off by default; requires deliberate opt-in
Understanding the enablement type is critical for managing client expectations and planning training. A feature that is enabled automatically will appear in your client’s environment on the wave release date whether they are ready or not.
Early Access — Testing Before It Goes Live
Between the Release Plan publication and the general availability date, Microsoft opens an Early Access period. During Early Access, you can opt specific sandbox environments into the upcoming wave to test new features before they reach production.
This is an important part of the release management process for any serious BC implementation. Early access gives you:
- Time to test new features against your client’s customisations and extensions
- Opportunity to identify breaking changes before they hit production
- A window to prepare training materials and user communications
- Ability to validate that ISV apps and custom AL extensions still function correctly
To enable Early Access on a sandbox, go to the Business Central Admin Centre, select the environment, and opt it into the upcoming release wave. Microsoft typically opens this option in February (for Wave 1) and August (for Wave 2).
Enabling Early Access on a production environment before the general availability date is not recommended — and in most cases is not reversible within the wave cycle.
What Happens on General Availability Day
When a release wave reaches general availability — typically the first Friday of April or October — Microsoft begins rolling it out to production environments. The rollout is not instantaneous across all tenants; Microsoft stages it over several weeks, meaning your client’s environment may update slightly before or after a neighbouring tenant.
From this point:
- Features marked enabled automatically are live in production
- Features marked admin-enabled are available to turn on
- The new version number is reflected in the Help & Support page inside BC
Microsoft does not typically allow tenants to opt out of a wave once it reaches general availability. Updates are mandatory for cloud (SaaS) environments. This is one of the fundamental differences between BC cloud and BC on-premises — on-premises customers control their own update schedule within Microsoft’s support lifecycle, while cloud customers are always kept current.
Cloud vs. On-Premises Update Cadence
For Business Central online (SaaS), updates are automatic and managed by Microsoft. Minor updates (hotfixes and non-breaking changes) are applied monthly. Major release waves are applied twice yearly. Customers can schedule the maintenance window for updates but cannot skip them.
For Business Central on-premises, the model is different. Microsoft releases the same major wave versions, but customers and partners control when they upgrade. On-premises environments must stay within Microsoft’s support lifecycle — typically the current version and one version back — but the timing of upgrades is in the hands of the customer and their partner.
This distinction has significant implications for consulting engagements. On-premises clients may be running versions that are one, two, or even more waves behind current, requiring a planned upgrade project. Cloud clients are always current, which simplifies support but requires proactive release management.
Minor Updates — The Monthly Cadence
In addition to the twice-yearly major waves, Microsoft ships minor updates to Business Central online on a monthly basis. These are smaller releases containing:
- Bug fixes and stability improvements
- Security patches
- Performance enhancements
- Occasionally, small feature additions that are low-risk
Minor updates are applied automatically to cloud environments. Microsoft notifies administrators in advance via the BC Admin Centre and by email. Administrators can reschedule the update window within a defined range but cannot decline the update entirely.
The combination of monthly minor updates and twice-yearly major waves means Business Central online is a continuously evolving platform. For partners and consultants, staying current with release notes and update communications is not optional — it is part of the service.
How to Stay Ahead of Release Waves
1. Subscribe to the Release Plan early As soon as Microsoft publishes the Release Plan for the upcoming wave (typically January for Wave 1, July for Wave 2), read through the Business Central section. Identify features that will affect your clients and flag them for review.
2. Enable Early Access on sandboxes For every active client, ensure you have a sandbox environment available and opt it into Early Access as soon as it opens. Use this window to test, validate extensions, and prepare training.
3. Communicate proactively with clients Do not let clients discover new features by surprise on go-live day. A short pre-wave communication — “here is what is changing in April/October and what it means for you” — builds trust and reduces support calls.
4. Watch for breaking changes Each Release Plan flags features that may affect existing customisations or integrations. Pay particular attention to API changes, page structure changes, and any AL platform updates that could affect custom extensions.
5. Build wave review into your service model If you are managing a portfolio of BC clients, build a twice-yearly release wave review into your standard service offering. Review the Release Plan, test in Early Access, communicate to clients, and deliver targeted training. This is a natural recurring touchpoint that adds genuine value.
6. Follow the BC community and blogs The official Microsoft Learn documentation, the Dynamics 365 blog, and the broader BC partner community (Yammer groups, LinkedIn, BC TechDays content) provide commentary, deep dives, and practical guidance on each wave that goes beyond the formal Release Plan.
Key Dates at a Glance
| Milestone | Wave 1 (approximate) | Wave 2 (approximate) |
|---|---|---|
| Release Plan published | January | July |
| Early Access opens | February | August |
| General Availability | April | October |
| Monthly minor updates | Ongoing | Ongoing |
Exact dates vary slightly each year. Microsoft publishes confirmed dates alongside the Release Plan. Always verify against the official documentation for the current cycle.
Why This Matters for Consultants
The release wave model is one of the things that makes Business Central consulting genuinely different from working with more static software platforms. BC is not a system you implement and leave — it evolves twice a year, every year, and your clients rely on you to help them navigate that.
The partners who do this well turn release waves into a competitive advantage: they communicate early, they test thoroughly, and they deliver training that helps clients get value from new features rather than being surprised by them. The partners who do not do this well find themselves fielding reactive support calls and losing client confidence.
Understanding the release wave model — and building a practice around it — is one of the marks of a mature Business Central partner.
Written for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central consultants and implementers. Need help managing Business Central updates and release waves for your organisation? Get in touch with Navseal.
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