Published 03/09/2026
Author: Lynsey Winchurch - Power Platform, Dynamics 365 Architect & Team Lead
Microsoft is changing the way organisations discover and plan for innovation across Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Dataverse.
From September 2026, Microsoft is retiring its familiar twice-yearly Release Wave model and moving roadmap information into the new AI at Work Roadmap, creating a single, continuously updated view of innovation across Microsoft’s business applications, productivity tools and AI ecosystem.
At first glance, this may look like a simple change to how Microsoft publishes roadmap information.
In reality, it represents something far more significant: earlier visibility of innovation, more time to prepare for change, and greater opportunity to turn new Microsoft capabilities into business value. As AI, automation and intelligent agents continue to evolve at pace, that visibility has never been more important.
For years, Microsoft’s Release Wave 1 and Release Wave 2 approach provided organisations with two key opportunities each year to understand what was coming next for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.
That model is now changing.
New Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Dataverse capabilities will be published to the AI at Work Roadmap as soon as Microsoft is ready to share them, rather than being held until the next six-monthly release cycle. Roadmap items will then be updated as they progress through development, rollout and launch. Existing roadmap information will transition across during the coming months, with the Release Planner expected to retire in November 2026.
This is more than a change in terminology. It reflects the increasing pace of innovation across Microsoft’s platform, particularly in areas such as AI, automation, agents and business applications.
Most organisations do not use Microsoft technologies in isolation.
Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Microsoft 365, Copilot, Copilot Studio, Dataverse and AI agents increasingly work together to support the same business processes, employees and customer experiences.
The AI at Work Roadmap brings these technologies together into a single roadmap experience, making it easier to understand how innovation across Microsoft’s ecosystem may affect your organisation.
This shifts the conversation from:
“What’s new in Dynamics 365?” to: “What’s changing across our Microsoft landscape, and what opportunities does that create for our business?”
One of the biggest benefits of continuous publishing is earlier visibility.
Instead of waiting for a release wave document, organisations can see new capabilities as Microsoft commits to them and monitor their progress through development, rollout and launch.
That gives businesses more opportunity to:
The result is more informed decision-making and less reactive planning.
For customers investing in Dynamics 365, Power Platform and AI technologies, the pace of innovation continues to accelerate.
Recent roadmap investments have included autonomous and agentic experiences, AI-assisted sales and service capabilities, intelligent automation, Copilot enhancements, AI-powered governance and expanding Dataverse capabilities. Microsoft is increasingly embedding AI directly into business applications and low-code development experiences.
This presents significant opportunities to:
The challenge is no longer simply knowing what Microsoft has released. The challenge is understanding what matters to your organisation.
A roadmap only becomes valuable when organisations can translate information into action.
The same roadmap item may mean very different things to different businesses.
A new Copilot feature could be transformational for one organisation and irrelevant to another. A new Power Platform capability could remove a technical dependency for one customer while having no impact on another. A new Dynamics 365 enhancement might create an opportunity to simplify years of customisation.
Success will not come from adopting every new capability.
It will come from being able to identify:
The organisations that make these decisions well will be best positioned to realise value from Microsoft’s ongoing innovation.
Continuous innovation does not mean continuous change for users.
Microsoft’s announcement changes how roadmap information is communicated. It does not mean organisations must adopt every feature as soon as it appears. Existing release management, testing, governance, security and change-control processes remain as important as ever.
However, many organisations currently structure their planning around Microsoft’s Release Wave announcements, using periodic impact assessments, testing activities and readiness reviews.
As roadmap information becomes available throughout the year, organisations may benefit from establishing their own review rhythm for monitoring and assessing change.
Rather than conducting one large review every six months, organisations could move towards regular roadmap reviews that align with their governance processes, business priorities and appetite for innovation.
The end of Release Waves does not mean the end of release planning.
If anything, it increases the importance of understanding which changes matter and when action is required. At CPS, we are exploring how we can evolve our services to support customers in a continuous publishing world. Potential areas of support include:
Continuous roadmap monitoring
Customer-specific review rhythms
Impact and risk assessments
Innovation and optimisation reviews
Strategic technology guidance
The objective is not to adopt more technology. It is to help organisations make better decisions about the technology they already have while remaining aware of what is coming next.
Microsoft’s move away from Release Waves marks an important change in how organisations engage with Microsoft innovation.
The old model provided two major opportunities each year to look ahead.
The new model provides a continuous view of upcoming innovation across Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Copilot, AI agents and the wider Microsoft ecosystem.
For organisations willing to establish the right governance, review processes and advisory approach, this creates an opportunity to become more proactive, more informed and more strategic in how they adopt change.
The Release Waves may be ending. The opportunity to stay ahead of innovation is only just beginning.
Ready to make more of what’s coming next?
The Microsoft roadmap is changing, and so should the way you plan for change.
CPS can help you understand what Microsoft’s ongoing innovation means for your organisation, from Dynamics 365 and Power Platform to Copilot, AI agents and Dataverse.
Whether you want to review your current Microsoft environment, understand upcoming changes or identify where new capabilities could improve the way you work, we can help turn Microsoft’s roadmap into a clear set of priorities and opportunities.
Explore more insights
How AI, Copilot and Agents can help councils reduce operational friction, improve productivity and build smarter, more resilient organisations during Local Government Reorganisation.
Microsoft is retiring its twice-yearly Release Wave model and moving Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Dataverse updates into the new AI at Work Roadmap. Here’s what continuous roadmap visibility means for planning, governance and turning Microsoft innovation into business value.
Most organisations are already using AI to improve productivity. The next step is Agentic CRM, where AI can take action, make recommendations and help drive customer outcomes. Join this webinar to explore how organisations are using Microsoft Dynamics 365, Copilot and AI Agents to transform customer engagement and prepare for the future of CRM