Essential Clean-Up Guide for Partners: 2025 Release Wave 1

by | Feb 6, 2025 | Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, Technology | 0 comments

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Microsoft is doing some housekeeping in Dynamics 365 Business Central–and significant changes are coming with the 2025 release Wave 1 clean-up. We want you to know about these changes and how to prepare your applications.

The Dynamics 365 Business Central Release Wave 1 clean-up means that all tables, table extensions, and table fields remaining in the Obsolete::Removed state for more than one major release will be permanently deleted. This sweeping clean-up affects the Base Application as well as all other first-party apps. Already, the removal of over 150 tables has optimized and cleaned up the application code.

With the Release Wave 1 clean-up, Microsoft will adopt a clean-up cycle every fifth release, ensuring a smooth transition.

Why this matters: Benefits of the clean-up

The April 2025 Release Wave 1 clean-up effort isn’t just about reducing database size, it’s part of a broader vision:

  • Improved database performance: Removing unused schema elements will optimize performance and reduce technical debt.
  • Unified Base Applications: Multiple countries (such as, Sweden, Denmark, Czechia, India, and Iceland) and partner-localized regions will move towards a unified Base Application. The goal is to have all countries based on the same codebase.
  • Improved maintainability: By removing more than 10% of tables and table fields, we’ve simplified development and made it easier for developers and product owners to manage changes.
  • Streamlined codebase: Cleaner code results in fewer errors and easier maintenance for developers.
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Key updates and concepts

Platform support for the clean-up

2025 release wave 1 (v26) introduces platform-level support for dropping tables, table extensions and table fields that have been in the Obsolete::Removed state for more than one major release. This ensures an automated clean-up process, consistent and in alignment with Microsoft’s ongoing breaking changes process and optimization strategy.

Introducing the Step Release

A new concept, Step Release, plays an important role in cloud migration and the upgrade process:

  • Mandatory for cloud migration: Customers migrating from earlier versions must upgrade to a Step Release before proceeding to newer versions.
  • Purpose: The Step Release ensures all schema elements in the Obsolete::Removed state for more than the defined period are cleared out before transitioning to the latest version.
  • Impact on upgrade code: The updated upgrade process excludes objects marked for removal in this release.

Important: The data from deleted tables, table extensions and table fields will also be permanently removed. Tables, table extensions and table fields in the state Obsolete::Pending are not impacted.

How to identify impacted tables, table extensions and table fields

With the Release Wave 1 clean-up, Microsoft has introduced a new preprocessor symbol, CLEANSCHEMA, to help developers identify and handle obsolete schema elements. Here’s how it works:

  • The CLEANSCHEMA symbol operates similarly to the existing CLEAN symbol, with a version number showing when a table, table extension or table field was marked as Obsolete::Removed.
  • For example:
    • CLEANSCHEMA24: The table, table extension, or table field marked as removed in version 24 and deleted in version 26 (2025 release wave 1).
    • CLEANSCHEMA25 or later: The object remains for at least one more cycle of 5 releases. Deletion happens in future releases- version 31 (2027 release wave 2).

What should developers do?

If your app references objects in the Obsolete::Removed state then you need to:

  1. Refactor your code: Replace or remove references to these objects before April 2025.
  2. Check upgrade code: Ensure that upgrade code doesn’t rely on removed tables, table extensions or table fields.
  3. Monitor preprocessor symbols: Use the CLEANSCHEMA symbol to anticipate removal timelines.

Implications for cloud migration

The cloud migration path will change as part of the clean-up:

  1. Customers will first migrate to version 25 (2024 release wave 1).
  2. Upgrade code then handles the transition to the latest version after clearing obsolete objects.

This new process emphasizes the importance of preparing early, especially for legacy applications with dependencies on obsolete schema elements.

What if you need data from removed tables?

Microsoft recommends that you use the Point-In-Time Restore (PIT) procedure for data recovery, which is consistent with current best practices. If you anticipate needing data from obsolete tables, table extensions or table fields, ensure you plan for PIT backups before the clean-up.

Preparing for the future after the Release Wave 1 clean-up

With these changes, Microsoft continues its dedication to enhancing the maintainability of Business Central.

Next steps for partners:

  1. Inspect your code: Identify any dependencies on Obsolete::Removed schema elements using the CLEANSCHEMA symbol and refactor the code accordingly.
  2. Prepare migration plans: Incorporate the Step Release process into your upgrade and cloud migration strategies.

By being proactive, you’ll ensure a smooth transition and take full advantage of the benefits of a cleaner, faster, and more unified Business Central.

Additional resources:

Deleted objects in 2025 release wave

Maintaining Apps

Microsoft will host two Office Hour calls for partners to join for questions about this process and next steps:

Option 1: February 13, 4:00 – 5:00PM CET. Please register here

Option 2: February 18, 8:00 – 9:00AM CET. Please register here

The post Essential Clean-Up Guide for Partners: 2025 Release Wave 1 appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.

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