Introduction

In finance and operations apps, the process of staying current involves two key concepts: updates and upgrades.

• Updates - Are regular, incremental releases delivered by Microsoft, typically on a monthly schedule as part of the One Version strategy. These updates include bug fixes, security patches, regulatory changes, and minor feature enhancements. They are generally low-risk, automatically applied to cloud environments (unless deferred for up to three cycles), and require minimal effort to implement—though you are still encouraged to perform regression testing to ensure customizations and integrations continue to work as expected.

• Upgrades - Are major version changes that involve significant architectural, functional, or platform shifts—such as migrating from Dynamics AX 2012 to Dynamics 365 Finance. Upgrades require more extensive planning and preparation, as they may introduce new data models, UI changes, and the deprecation of older features. This process often includes refactoring customizations, migrating data, and training end users on new capabilities. While updates help organizations stay current with minimal disruption, upgrades are more complex and can fundamentally change how the system is used and maintained.