Power Platform: No More Release Waves

Key insights

• Release waves are retired and Microsoft moves roadmap updates into a single AI at Work roadmap.
  Starting September 2026, Microsoft will publish capabilities continuously instead of in semiannual wave announcements.
• There will be no Wave 2 announcement in September 2026 and the old release-plan cadence ends.
  The Release Planner tool is scheduled to retire on 15 November 2026.
• New capabilities appear on the roadmap as soon as Microsoft confirms them; existing release plans remain online for reference.
  This is a change in communication timing, not a cancellation of product updates.
• Teams must track continuously rather than wait for waves.
  Use practical tactics like saved filters, RSS subscriptions and CSV export plus a regular review cadence to catch updates early.
• The new model gives faster visibility and a single place to plan across Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Dataverse.
  That helps teams react sooner and align release planning to live roadmap items.
• Next steps for admins: update planning processes, set automated alerts, and add roadmap checks to change-management routines.
  Expect continuous updates and adjust timelines to reflect live roadmap disclosures.

Heidi Neuhauser [MVP] published a YouTube video that explains a major change to how Microsoft will communicate upcoming features for its business platform products. In the video, she summarizes that Microsoft is retiring the release waves model and consolidating roadmap updates into a single AI at Work roadmap. Consequently, organizations should expect continuous updates instead of semiannual wave announcements.

What Heidi Neuhauser Reports

Neuhauser frames the change as a shift in disclosure cadence rather than a change in feature delivery, noting that feature development continues but the way Microsoft shares plans will differ. She highlights that the last traditional cycle ends in September 2026, and that there will be no September 2026 Wave 2 announcement for Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Dataverse. In addition, she points to the planned retirement of Release Planner on 15 November 2026 as a related administrative milestone.

The video summarizes official dates and guidance while pacing the information for administrators who track roadmap content. Neuhauser emphasizes that existing release plans will remain accessible as historical records, but new plans will appear continuously on the consolidated roadmap. Thus, the immediate takeaway is operational: change how you monitor roadmap updates.

What Changes and When

According to the video, Microsoft stops publishing new wave-based release plans starting in September 2026, and features will be added to the AI at Work roadmap as soon as they are committed for disclosure. This model replaces the twice-yearly cadence that many organizations used to plan major rollouts. Neuhauser explains that the roadmap becomes the single destination for updates for Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Dataverse content.

She also calls out that Release Planner will be retired on 15 November 2026, which affects admins who used that tool to visualize and plan releases. While the tools and dates are concrete, the video stresses the ongoing nature of development and that Microsoft is not pausing feature work. Instead, the company is changing the timing and format of communications.

Practical Impact for Administrators and Planners

Neuhauser recommends that organizations switch from a wave-based planning rhythm to continuous monitoring strategies, such as using saved filters, RSS subscriptions, and CSV exports to detect changes quickly. She advises teams to formalize regular review cadences because updates will arrive unpredictably rather than at fixed semiannual checkpoints. Consequently, project schedules and change-control processes may require adaptation.

The video further explains that while continuous updates can improve visibility, they increase the need for active monitoring to avoid surprises. Administrators will need to balance the speed of adoption against the stability of testing windows and change freezes. Therefore, IT teams should consider revising governance processes to accommodate a more fluid roadmap.

Tradeoffs and Challenges of the New Model

Neuhauser points out several tradeoffs inherent in the continuous model: on one hand, organizations gain faster visibility into committed features; on the other hand, they lose the predictability that semiannual waves provided. This introduces challenges for large programs that depend on synchronized rollouts across teams and regions. As a result, teams must weigh the benefits of early awareness against the difficulty of adjusting long-term plans.

Another challenge she raises is tooling and process readiness. Teams that relied heavily on Release Planner or wave-based artifacts may need to migrate to new tracking mechanisms and update their internal workflows. Moreover, the continuous model can create noise if organizations do not filter updates effectively, so establishing governance on which changes require action will be vital.

How Teams Can Prepare

In practical terms, Neuhauser urges administrators to set up technical and process-level changes now: create saved filters on the new roadmap destination, subscribe to feeds, export CSV snapshots regularly, and schedule recurring roadmap reviews with stakeholders. She recommends updating change-control calendars to accommodate rolling disclosures and defining clear criteria for which updates trigger testing or communications. This approach helps teams convert continuous signals into manageable workstreams.

Finally, the video encourages a pragmatic mindset: embrace the faster visibility for planning small, iterative adjustments while retaining stricter gates for major, cross-team releases. By doing so, organizations can respond to innovation quickly without losing control over large deployments. In short, preparation and disciplined triage will determine whether the continuous model becomes an advantage or a burden.

Implications for Roadmap Transparency

Neuhauser frames the consolidation into the AI at Work roadmap as an attempt to centralize information and reduce fragmentation across product lines. Consequently, stakeholders should view the new roadmap as the authoritative source for committed capabilities and use it as the primary input for planning. Over time, this could simplify tracking, provided teams invest in the right monitoring and governance practices.

Overall, the video delivers clear guidance: this is a communications and process shift, not a slowdown of product updates. By adapting monitoring tools and internal routines, organizations can capture the benefits of earlier visibility while mitigating the operational risks of a less predictable cadence. Heidi Neuhauser’s summary thus offers a practical roadmap for transitioning to continuous disclosure.

Keywords

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