Always up-to-date without surprises. The importance of release management.

Benefit from the latest technologies. Support your processes with the newest functionalities. And never experience the burdens of an outdated software system. These are just a hand full of the advantages that you as a customer of Boltrics benefit from. Thanks to the always up-to-date promise. Every day, our colleagues work hard to optimize the 3PL Dynamics application. And our IT Operations team works hard to prepare your systems for the next update. With the transition from C/AL to AL as biggest accomplishment in the past year.

Yet, you are not always eager to update your software. Why would you change something that works? Right? And how are you going to make time to test the new version thoroughly, while your daily activities continue? To make sure you benefit from the newest version and to maintain a clear update process, release management is of great importance. But what does this mean? In this blog, we dive into the process of release management and introduce the new release structure of 3PL Dynamics.

What is release management?

Release management is the process that coordinates the release of new software versions. These new versions emerge from for example Microsoft updates, hotfixes, or specific changes for which a 3PL update is needed. The rise of the cloud and the rapid developments on Microsoft side set for a more complex release process. Over time, this process has become more of an agile process. With the goal to update more often. In that way, the impact is contained to a minimum. A release normally consists of changes from Microsoft or new developments in 3PL Dynamics. These developments come from new implementations or logistic customer requests from the Boltrics peloton. As promised: the branch standard.

With a structured release process, as a customer, you can prepare for the workload that comes with an update and you can standardize the tasks during this period. In that way, you bring stability in your operation and know what to expect on forehand.

Microsoft speeds up

Microsoft publishes new releases more quickly. As we speak, this happens twice a year. On fixed moments. One on April 1^st and one on October 1^st. For this year, that means that you can expect the release of Microsoft BC 2022 Wave 1 (version 20) in April. And version 21 (Wave 2) already awaits in October of this year. In other words, new Microsoft releases quickly follow up each other. After a year and a half, the support on the Microsoft version even stops. Therefore, it is important that we as Boltrics conform to this release speed. Only in that way we can get support from Microsoft if issues must be solved together. Only in that way, we can provide you with a working solution to support your logistic activities.

The impact of SaaS

In the last couple of years, SaaS introduced itself. This means that your environment is completely hosted and managed by Microsoft. You can depend on Microsoft’s security and redundancy of data. For updates, SaaS means that you get monthly updates, instead of semi-annually. That also means that the step towards the new version stays small. These updates have a smaller impact because the amount of changed code is smaller. Therefore, the chance of a standstill in your processes after an update is minimized.

Boltrics’ release management

With these rapid changes ahead, a clear structure and planning are important to create an understandable release policy. Therefore, we introduce 3PL Dynamics Release Management. In the image below, you see how Boltrics will handle the updates from now on. Standardly.

What does this mean for you?

The new release policy standardizes the update process. You know exactly what to expect on forehand and you can plan ahead. In that way, you will not face surprises when updating to the newest version.

Soon, the first steps will be taken to start up this update process. Are you a customer of Boltrics? Then, for now, it is only important that you know what release cycle applies to you. What further actions you must take, will be introduced in part two of this blog. So, stay tuned.