Dynamics GP 18.6 Upgrade Planning - Let's Get Started!

Hello GP Community!

We have another release coming up, and another blog series to highlight the release. This post is going to cover the planning phase of your upgrade. 

First, as always, make sure you factor a test upgrade into your process. Part of a test upgrade is to ensure that the databases themselves will upgrade successfully, but the other often overlooked part of the test upgrade is the application testing itself. If you have 3rd parties or customizations, these all need to be tested on the new version to ensure they continue to work as before. The other thing that you'll want to test is your integrations, whether they be eConnect, Integration Manager, or some other tool. Integrations aren't guaranteed to upgrade successfully, and part of the upgrade process, especially with Integration Manager, so you may need to rebuild some of these integrations. 

Be aware of our Upgrade Hot Topic page. This will be your one-step destination for upgrade path information and known issues specific to your upgrade path. Any internal issues we find get posted here, so keep checking back before upgrading each time to ensure you are up-to-date on the process.

Upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics GP | Microsoft Docs

You will want to note the updated Upgrade Path from the above Hot Topic.  Starting with this release there will be no direct upgrade patch from Dynamics GP 2016 to Dynamics GP 18.6.  The supported upgrade path will be from GP 18.4.1361 or later.

Example: If I am on a GP 2016 version and want to upgrade to GP 18.6 or apply the 2023 Year-end update I should first apply the 18.4.1361 release (KB4576796), then upgrade to the latest release.  If I am on GP 2018 R2, I need to upgrade to 18.4.1361, then upgrade to the latest release.

As you're moving forward, be aware of environmental changes that will occur at the same time as the GP upgrade. Changes to Active Directory, SQL, virtual/physical, and datacenter location can all change how GP processes will run or complete. Performance can be a new issue, even if the infrastructure changes are all 'upgrades'. Major changes should be treated as a 'new' environment when determining the cause. Just because something was working on a previous deployment isn't necessarily a guarantee that it will behave the same on a new environment. The Performance White Paper is updated as information becomes available to us, the most recent version can be found at the following link.

Optimizing and Maintaining Performance for Microsoft Dynamics GP | Microsoft Docs 

Finally, bookmark the GP Directory page I've linked below. Anytime you are looking for downloads, hotfixes, notes, or documentation, this will be your best place to start your search.

Product Release Downloads for Microsoft Dynamics GP | Microsoft Docs 

Be sure to check back with the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2023 Upgrade Blog Series Schedule - Microsoft Dynamics GP Community page to review upcoming blog posts related to Upgrading Microsoft Dynamics GP and other helpful resource links.