Upgrade to a new version vs. always having the latest updates?
A few years ago, Microsoft software versions were supported for around 3-4 years, nowadays the lifecycle of major software vendors’ products has shrunk significantly. Today, companies may feel secure only if they are always running on a fresh software version that has already been updated with patches and legislative changes. DynaGo ensures a seamless version change for its customers.
Starting with Business Central version 15, Microsoft began enforcing an 18-month lifecycle
Briefly, this means that a major release comes out every 6 months, and at the end of 18 months after the version is released, that version is no longer supported by Microsoft. Based on this, those working with an on-premise, thus installed version, can use one version for 1.5 years, and then they will have to switch to a newer version. For those using SaaS versions, the timeframe is even stricter and shorter, as they have to use not only all major versions, but also the updates (releases) between major versions. They usually have only a few weeks to do this, but in accordance with the terms of service, Microsoft will automatically do it for them.
The change in the software vendor’s Lifecycle policy and the shortening regarding the lifecycle of different versions has been possible due to the technological change introduced at the same time as Business Central. The Modern Lifecycle approach is the standard approach used by Microsoft for their products. Microsoft Modern Lifecycle Policies address updates to Microsoft products that have faster innovation cycles, including Business Central. The new Extension Technology allows the implementation of specific enhancements into the system without affecting the core code set of the system. The result is that – instead of the previously used complete version changes, also called „code upgrades”, – in that case, only the system’s core is replaced with the new version, so that customer-specific enhancements can run intact event at the new version. But the system can only run properly if one condition is respected: costumer-specific developments and customisations should be carried out according to Microsoft development specifications, so that they facilitate the smooth running of version changes.
DynaGo provides full service to its customers, that means, we take care of all the tasks involved in version upgrades. We monitor when the new versions are released, then first we install them on our customers’ test systems, check that all functions work as specified, and if further improvements are needed, we fix them. We notify our customers only after that, namely, when the new version is out and stable to use. Once we get the approval from the client, we start the upgrade to the latest version. In this way, Dynago customers always use the latest version, avoiding all inconveniences of versions not supported by-default.
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