April 2019 Dynamics 365 Update
Published: March, 2019
As of the April 2019 Dynamics 365 update, customers will no longer be able to choose when their system is updated. Updates will be applied automatically at set periods.
Customers with Dynamics 365 hosted in the EU data centre (your Dynamics 365 URL will say YourCompanyName.crm4.dynamics.com) are scheduled to be updated on Friday 19th April 2019.
Customers with Dynamics 365 hosted in the UK data centre (your Dynamics 365 URL will say YourCompanyName.crm11.dynamics.com) are scheduled to be updated on Friday 12th April 2019.
The April update for Dynamics 365 is currently available for preview. All customers should ensure that they have carried out appropriate testing on a copy of their system with the preview applied to a new sandbox instance. Be careful not to apply the preview to your production environment as it cannot be rolled back.
April 2019 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Update – What do I need to do?
Follow these steps:
- Log into the Power Platform Admin Center
- Identify an empty environment
- Create a copy of production into the empty environment
- Ensure that you are not applying the preview to your live production environment
- Click manage updates for the sandbox Click ‘Activate Now’ under the April 2019 update
- For your Customer Engagement apps (Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Project Service, Marketing) you must log into your Dynamics 365 admin centre and update each one
- You should validate your key scenarios are working as expected, as you would with any other update
- After the 5th April, you may apply the release to your production environment
April 2019 Dynamics 365 Update – Content
Most users will not see much of a visible change to their Dynamics 365 system, but it is important to test the preview against a copy of your existing instance. Some highlights include:
- Integration with Microsoft Teams.
- A new forecasting function will allow managers to create forecasts for their team to predict revenue for given periods. Salespeople can check their quotas and spot pipeline risks.
- Any new Sales Professional applications created will have a simple first-run setup and configuration experience.
- The case resolution dialogue which was previously locked down, is now customisable, allowing fields to be added to meet unique case resolution processes.
- A preview of integration with Dynamics 365 Virtual Agent for Customer Service becomes available in the April release, allowing you to create virtual agents to help answer and resolve common issues using a graphical, no code interface.
Since publishing this article, Microsoft have announced further features for the 2019 Spring Release, see their blog article for details.
Future Updates Microsoft’s new release schedule for Dynamics 365 consists of biannual major updates, one delivered in April and one delivered in October.
Minor updates will be delivered on a weekly basis throughout the year and will not require preparation or downtime.
The update will be available for preview before it is applied. You should opt in for the update preview in a non-production copy of your environment to test changes.
Once you have enabled the update you can not reverse it.
You can not skip or postpone the April and October major updates.
To find out more about Microsoft Dynamics 365 Updates, please contact us.
