The New Modern Lifecycle Policy for Dynamics GP

By now you may have heard that there have been some changes with the October 2019 release of Dynamics GP. If you use any type of technology, you probably feel like the word “change” is almost your middle name at this point. At least it keeps you on your toes, right?

Let’s add one more term to your vocabulary, Modern Lifecycle! As you may have seen in some of documentation that has been released, Microsoft has officially dropped the “year” from the GP name. This is because Microsoft is moving to what they’re calling the “Modern Lifecycle Policy”. As much as we all don’t like change, this one is good! By doing this, Microsoft has shown that they are still committed to GP and supporting its users for years to come.

What does this policy mean for you?

The following information outlines what to expect from the new policy and what versions of GP are not part of the new modern lifecycle. Here’s information from Microsoft’s article:

1. Each year you are guaranteed at minimum:

• Feature update in October, meaning a larger update that includes new features for our customers.
• Year end updates in November (U.S.) December (Canada)
• Mid-Year update (typically June/July timeframe) depending on regulatory changes for the year

This is the minimum, there may be hotfixes released throughout the year with other changes.
With each of the above releases, there will be continual quality fixes in each update.

2. This lifecycle shows beyond any end date we currently have for Dynamics GP and will continually be updated.

3. With this policy there is no Mainstream support or Extended Support for another 5 years. With the modern policy we encourage customers to stay current with the release and apply at least 1 update a year if at all possible. If for example, a customer has not applied an update in 2 years, this does not mean when they call into support we will not help them, we will help them with their support questions. If this customer was running into a quality issue that was fixed in a prior update, then they need to apply the latest patch to receive the fix.

4. If you are on the following versions, you will be subject to the previous lifecycle and sunset dates listed below, the new modern lifecycle does not apply.

• Mainstream means you receive taxes, product release, service packs, etc.
• Extended means you receive support help, but no product updates.

Product	Mainstream End Date	Extended End Date
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015	4/14/2020	4/8/2025
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016	7/13/2021	7/14/2026
Microsoft Dynamics GP 2018 – Version 18.00.0727 and prior (anything prior to October 2019 release)	1/10/2023	1/11/2028

Once an existing Dynamics GP 2018 customer installs the new release in October 2019 or applies the 2019 November/December year end update, then they too are on the Modern Lifecycle.

To learn more about the policy, read the Lifecycle FAQ – Modern Policy. To see the planned schedule for Dynamics GP beginning in October 2019 see the Software Lifecycle Policy for Microsoft Dynamics GP article.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us or reach out to your Account Manager and we would be happy to walk you through the changes.