Microsoft Cloud for Industry: 2024 release wave 2 plan

The Microsoft Cloud for Industry release plan for the 2024 release wave 2 announces the latest updates to customers as features are prepared for release. You can browse the release plan online (updated throughout the month) or download the information as a PDF file, which is updated with every publish. The plan for 2024 release wave 2 covers new features for Microsoft Cloud for Industry releasing from October 2024 through March 2025.

Download the 2024 release wave 2 PDF for Microsoft Cloud for Industry or select the option at the bottom of the table of contents.

The Dynamics 365 features coming in the 2024 release wave 2 have been summarized in a separate release plan as well as a downloadable PDF.

The Microsoft Power Platform features coming in the 2024 release wave 2 have been summarized in a separate release plan as well as a downloadable PDF.

2024 release wave 2 overview

The 2024 release wave 2 for Microsoft Cloud for Industry brings new innovations that provide you with significant capabilities to transform your business. The release contains several new features across Microsoft Cloud for Industry applications, including Microsoft Cloud for Retail, Azure Data Manager for Agriculture, Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, and Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty.

Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty

Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty is adding new capabilities to the Sovereign Landing Zone. We are also expanding our portfolio of policy initiatives and previewing new tools to help manage, assess, and detect changes in policy configurations. Sovereign accelerators and reference architectures for Azure OpenAI are also available to help meet regulatory requirements while reaping the benefits of the latest in AI.

Microsoft Cloud for Retail

Microsoft Cloud for Retail will enhance existing solutions and foster ISV engagement. Store operations application template will include additional "Better Together" features with MW FLW applications that support partner extensibility. The copilot templates for store operations and personalized shopping will enable capabilities like multilingual support, extensibility support through 3P plugins, functional improvements like better crafted responses based on shopper insights, SME data etc. Retail data solutions will offer ready-made industry templates for inventory optimization, customer segmentation, and demand forecasting.

Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing

Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing brings both the best of Microsoft and our partners to jointly accelerate the digital transformation in manufacturing by enabling intelligent factories, and helping modernize the customer experience with the latest digital technologies. Because manufacturers often rely on a diverse range of industry-specific solutions from multiple vendors, Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing adds value by streamlining this complex ecosystem. It ensures transparency, efficiency, and interoperability, bridging the gap between Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT). By facilitating improved data visibility and management, it democratizes insights across the entire value chain.

Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability

Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability is designed to help organizations accelerate their sustainability progress and business growth by leveraging data, Copilot, and other AI capabilities. It offers a suite of ESG capabilities, enabling data transparency and insights for action. The platform supports operational and cost efficiencies, ESG data intelligence, sustainable IT systems, and improved ESG performance. It empowers organizations to manage their environmental footprint, and comply with various regulatory standards, ultimately unlocking sustainable growth.

Key dates for the 2024 release wave 2

These release plans describe functionality that may not have been released yet. Delivery timelines and projected functionality may change or may not ship (go to Microsoft policy).

Here are the key dates for the 2024 release wave 2.

Milestone Date Description
Release plans available July 16, 2024 Learn about the new capabilities coming in the 2024 release wave 2 (October 2024 - March 2025) across Microsoft Cloud for Industry, Dynamics 365, and Microsoft Power Platform.
Release plans available in additional languages August 2, 2024 Microsoft Power Platform, Dynamics 365, and Microsoft Cloud for Industry release plans are published in 11 additional languages: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish, and Swedish.
General availability October 1, 2024 Production deployment for the 2024 release wave 2 begins. Regional deployments will start on October 1, 2024

Just like the previous release waves, we continue to call out how each feature will be enabled in your environment:

  • Users, automatically– These features include changes to the experience for users and are enabled automatically.
  • Admins, makers, or analysts, automatically– These features are meant to be used by administrators, makers, or business analysts and are enabled automatically.
  • Users by admins, makers, or analysts– These features must be enabled or configured by the administrators, makers, or business analysts to be available for their users.

You can get ready with confidence knowing which features will be enabled automatically.

We have done this work to help you—our partners, customers, and users—drive the digital transformation of your business on your terms. We are looking forward to engaging with you as you put these new services and capabilities to work, and we are eager to hear your feedback as you dig into the 2024 release wave 2.