Microsoft TechTalk Recap: Evolving Regression Testing from RSAT to Next-Gen Testing
Janel Ureña
Regression testing is what gives organizations the confidence to move forward without breaking what already works. Every release, every update, and every new capability depends on it. Done right, it protects quality and gives teams the freedom to innovate.
That was the focus of a Microsoft TechTalk, where industry experts including: Swamy Narayana (VP Dynamics 365 CXP at Microsoft), Jozua Velle (Center of Excellence Manager at Itineris), Prinkal Vaid (Senior Software Engineer, Azure Circular Team, Microsoft), Alexandra Coptil (Channel Solution Engineering Manager at Leapwork), Kenny Saelen (Senior FastTrack Solution Architect at Microsoft) and Alejandra Cabrales (Senior FastTrack Solution Architect at Microsoft), explored how companies can move past the limits of RSAT and embrace next generation testing.
The session highlighted why regression testing is central to success with Dynamics 365 and beyond, and how modern platforms are raising the bar. This topic resonated and drove the second-largest number of live attendees in Microsoft TechTalk history who were eager to explore the evolution from RSAT to more advanced, next-generation testing approaches.
Below are some key highlights from the TechTalk.
Beyond RSAT: The shift to next-gen testing
Swamy Narayana opened the session by emphasizing the absolute necessity of regression testing in cloud environments.
“And regression testing, in the new world of Cloud, is very important for all of us. As we talk about this in Success by Design. It's important for us to plan, execute, and run with regression testing in an automated fashion rather than depend on manual testing.”
He reflected on the origins of RSAT as a cost-effective tool designed for One Version migrations, but acknowledged its limitations compared to commercial testing platforms:
“There are lots of gaps when you think about enterprise solution architecture… commercial products provide much richer capabilities than what RSAT can do.”
This is why Microsoft has engaged with partners like Leapwork, which Swamy highlighted for being product and platform-agnostic, no-code, and closely aligned with Microsoft’s direction:
“Leapwork as a partner has taken our feedback. And has created tooling to migrate the testing and the test cases that you have with RSAT into their platform.”
RSAT’s future: Feature complete
During the TechTalk, the question arose about the future of RSAT. Kenny Saelen addressed it directly:
“Are we ditching it? No. RSAT is there today and will be there tomorrow. The only thing I can say is that we consider it as feature complete. We will not make any big changes to RSAT to make it compete with some of the solutions that are out there.”
RSAT remains available and supported, but Microsoft is encouraging customers to look at broader solutions that can keep pace with today’s testing demands, which includes end-to-end regression testing across multiple applications and technologies.
Leapwork’s approach to end-to-end testing
From the partner side, Alexandra Coptil shared how Leapwork helps teams move beyond siloed testing with an AI-powered, no-code platform designed for business-critical processes:
“Quality means the full connected experience works… Leapwork helps you assure quality across end-to-end business processes.”
She showcased three standout capabilities for end-to-end regression testing:
Fusion Recorder: A visual, intuitive way to record and edit test cases.
RSAT Migration Tool: A migration tool that allows organizations to reuse their existing RSAT test investments inside the Leapwork platform.
D365 F&O Pre-built Flows: Microsoft is working with Leapwork to align pre-built flows to the business process catalog, ensuring consistency through reusable and composable flows.
Customer examples: Moving from RSAT to Leapwork
The TechTalk featured two customers who moved from RSAT to Leapwork.
Itineris:
Jozua Velle explained how Itineris, the utilities-focused ISV, adopted Leapwork to expand test coverage and reduce maintenance.
“We did an extensive evaluation and found Leapwork ticked all the boxes: ease of use and maintenance, cross-technology testing, and the ability to involve functional analysts. We didn't have to rely only on technical profiles to automate tests. We could really bring it to the wider multifunctional teams.”
Microsoft Azure Circular Team:
Prinkal Vaid described the impact of moving from RSAT to Leapwork.
“We saw a significant decrease in regression testing timelines from about two weeks to just seven to eight hours. Authoring test cases was simple and straightforward, and it gave us complete coverage across Power Apps, Power Pages, and the warehousing mobile app.”
Concluding remarks
For organizations that want to keep pace with release cycles, especially in multi-application and multi-platform environments, solutions like Leapwork open the door to broader, more sustainable automation.
The conversation also touched on the future of testing in the Microsoft ecosystem and what potential challenges and opportunities could arise.
- AI-driven test maintenance will reduce manual effort when applications change.
- Seamless integration with CI/CD pipelines will help teams deliver updates faster.
- Copilot and other AI tools will increasingly be part of business-critical workflows, meaning testing strategies must expand to validate not only structured processes but also AI-generated outputs.
The overarching message is this: automation is not just about keeping systems running during updates. Test automation is enabling organizations to innovate faster and adopt new capabilities with confidence, knowing their systems are working and functioning as they should.
The full recording of the session is available on demand below.