This page describes the release policies for our Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management solutions.
D365 Finance & Supply Chain Release Policy
Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&SCM updates are backward compatible with ISV solutions.
Microsoft maintains a policy of binary backward compatibility for D365 F&SCM (see this page for more details). This means that you can deploy the latest update of D365 F&SCM without changing or recompiling the ISV solution.
Microsoft aims for D365 F&SCM quarterly updates to be both binary and functionally compatible, ensuring updates do not disrupt existing ISV solutions or vice versa.
Update Policy
The One Version policy from Microsoft (located here) requires customers to update their production environment quarterly to the latest D365 F&SCM update. Microsoft allows skipping one update on the quarterly schedule for D365 F&SCM.
To support this scenario, STAEDEAN strives to create updates for its solutions that are backward compatible with older versions. The updates are designed to remain compatible with up to two previous versions.
Note that it may happen – despite the best efforts of Microsoft and STAEDEAN – that a new D365 F&SCM update is not backwards compatible with a STAEDEAN solution. In this case, STAEDEAN indicates the minimum required D365 F&SCM version for each of its solutions. Please note that this minimum required version could be older than what Microsoft considers their oldest version.
If your environment is not managed by Microsoft, but you have your own managed environment, forced updates to the latest version do not apply. This could lead to a situation where your versions are no longer actively supported.
Therefore, we strongly recommend following Microsoft's minimum upgrade schedule of two updates per year for both D365 F&SCM and all ISV solutions.
Please note that the STAEDEAN Life Sciences product is an exception to the general policy on backwards compatibility. Due to strict regulatory requirements in the life sciences sector, we dedicate significant effort to validating our solution against a specific version of Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. Therefore, we strongly recommend that all customers keep their STAEDEAN Life Sciences and Microsoft Dynamics 365 versions closely aligned to ensure compliance and system integrity.
Release cycle for STAEDEAN solutions
STAEDEAN releases new versions of software four times a year, though this schedule may not apply to all STAEDEAN products.
The frequency of updates may increase in response to market demands or technical needs. We adhere to Microsoft's established guidelines for backward compatibility and consistently ensure that our current software remains fully functional with the latest Microsoft versions. The target date for the next STAEDEAN updates is listed in the Release Information overview, located here.
STAEDEAN delivers new features, extensions, or fixes only on the most current update. All updates are cumulative and therefore contain all changes to date. Even changes released with a priority hotfix are included in the next planned release. This way, STAEDEAN guarantees the unbroken chain of cumulative updates and releases.
STAEDEAN is committed to avoiding introducing breaking changes in its solutions. However, STAEDEAN updates may potentially affect customizations made on top of STAEDEAN solutions. STAEDEAN will continue to enhance tooling to further reduce this risk. If a STAEDEAN change affects customizations, STAEDEAN will collaborate with the customer to resolve the issue based on its severity.
More information on releases, versions, and compatibility can be found in the links above. If there are delays in the delivery of updates or if special exceptions apply to a particular product, this information will be provided on our website.
