Wiise Updates & Releases
Monthly releases
Wiise releases new features on a monthly release cadence. These typically occur on the third Thursday of every month to minimise disruption to end of month and other critical activities.
Release notes for Wiise features can be found here.
Patches and hotfixes
Wiise has in place a Service Level Agreement to ensure business continuity for our customers. All critical patches and hotfixes are communicated as a priority to implementation partners to ensure business continuity and compatibility for any customisations.
Microsoft Business Central Updates
Wiise is built on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform. To ensure that Business Central remains up-to-date, secure, and feature-rich, Microsoft employs a structured release management strategy. This strategy includes both major and minor releases, each serving distinct purposes and following specific schedules.
Full details about Microsoft Business Central updates can be found here.
Major Releases
Major releases are substantial updates that occur twice a year, typically in April and October. These updates introduce new features, significant enhancements, and improvements to existing functionalities.
Key Characteristics
- New Features: Major releases include new modules, capabilities, and integrations to extend the functionality of Business Central.
- Performance Enhancements: Improvements in system performance, scalability, and reliability.
- User Experience Improvements: Updates to the user interface and user experience to make the system more intuitive and efficient.
- Backward Compatibility: Efforts are made to ensure compatibility with previous versions, but businesses are encouraged to test customizations and integrations thoroughly.
Rollout Process
- Preview Phase: A few months before the official release, a preview version is made available. This allows partners and customers to test new features and prepare for the update.
- General Availability (GA): The new version is officially released and made available to all users.
- Upgrade Window: Currently, businesses typically have 60 days to schedule and perform the upgrade.
Minor Releases
Minor releases, also known as cumulative updates (CUs), are monthly updates that focus on delivering incremental improvements and critical fixes. These updates ensure the system remains secure, stable, and efficient.
Key Characteristics
- Bug Fixes: Resolution of issues and bugs reported by users or identified by Microsoft.
- Security Updates: Patches for vulnerabilities to protect against security threats.
- Minor Enhancements: Small improvements to existing features based on user feedback and usage data.
Rollout Process
- Monthly Cadence: Minor releases are scheduled and deployed monthly.
- Automatic Updates: These updates can be automatically applied to cloud environments, minimizing disruption to business operations.
- Testing and Validation: Businesses are encouraged to test updates in a sandbox environment before applying them to the production system.
Best Practices for Managing Microsoft Releases
To ensure any customised features or code remain compatible with Wiise and Business Central, support and implementation should follow the following protocols.
- Stay Informed: Subscribe to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central release plans and update notifications to stay informed about upcoming releases and changes.
- Test Thoroughly: Use sandbox environments to test major and minor updates against customised code, extensions and integrations so that they continue to function correctly.
- Plan Upgrades: Schedule upgrades during periods of low activity to minimize disruption. Ensure all stakeholders are aware of the update timeline and potential impacts.