Choosing the best alternative to Microsoft RSAT for Dynamics 365 testing
Microsoft has set an end-of-support date for the Regression Suite Automation Tool (RSAT). After May 15, 2027, Microsoft will stop shipping bug fixes, security patches, and feature updates for RSAT.
For teams looking to advance their testing for Dynamics 365, this change presents an opportunity to incorporate AI and agents into their workflows. With the right tools, teams can create tests faster and make them more resilient to updates.
This article covers why RSAT is going away and how SmartBear TestComplete and SmartBear Reflect each offer a scalable replacement depending on your team makeup.
Why Microsoft is retiring RSAT
RSAT works by recording a business user’s clicks through a Dynamics 365 process with Task Recorder, then converting that recording into an automated regression test tied to Azure DevOps. It got teams to their first automated tests fast, without a line of code, and for years it was the default choice for Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations testing.
The design that made RSAT approachable is also what limits it. Task Recorder captures a literal sequence of clicks, not the intent behind them. Every time Microsoft ships a Dynamics 365 update, twice a year through Wave 1 and Wave 2 releases, plus more frequent Finance and Operations patches, form layouts, control IDs, and navigation paths can shift. Recordings that passed last month start failing, and someone has to re-record the process or hand-edit the underlying XML before the suite works again. Teams running large regression suites end up spending nearly as much time maintaining RSAT tests as they save by automating in the first place.
Microsoft has told customers directly to start evaluating alternative test automation platforms now, not in 2027. That guidance matters, and not just because a deadline is coming. Teams that start the evaluation today control their own migration timeline, instead of Microsoft’s, and they get the time to pick a platform that makes testing faster going forward, more than one that gets them back to where RSAT left off. This is also a chance to move to an approach built for application integrity – continuous, measurable assurance that your software just works as intended, with the governance to operate at AI speed and scale.
What test automation tool should you replace RSAT with?
Search for “RSAT alternatives” and you’ll find three broad categories: low-code tools that can import existing RSAT recordings, coded frameworks like Selenium or custom WebDriver setups, and dedicated test automation platforms built to handle Dynamics 365 at scale. Each trades off differently between setup speed, long-term maintenance, and how well it holds up as Microsoft keeps shipping updates.
Before you evaluate any option, here are the elements you should consider:
- Resilience to UI change. Dynamics 365 updates twice a year at minimum. A tool that relies only on property-based locators will break as often as RSAT did. Look for self-healing and object recognition that can find controls even after Microsoft moves them.
- Fit for your environment. Some Dynamics 365 deployments run in secure, regulated, or on-premises environments where cloud-based testing tools can’t reach. Others run fully in the cloud alongside SaaS applications like Salesforce or SAP. Your environment should drive the tool choice, not the other way around.
- Fit for your team’s skill mix. RSAT worked because business users could record tests without writing code. A replacement that only serves automation engineers will leave your functional testers behind, and a replacement that only serves recorders will frustrate your engineers.
- Integration with your existing pipeline. If your team already runs on Azure DevOps, look for a tool that connects to it directly instead of adding a disconnected reporting layer on top.
- Audit-ready reporting. Regulated industries need evidence that goes beyond pass/fail results. Your replacement should produce exportable logs and reports your auditors can actually use.
Two SmartBear tools answer these requirements in different ways, because they’re built for different Dynamics 365 realities: one for controlled, on-premises environments, and one for fast-moving cloud environments.
Option 1: SmartBear TestComplete
TestComplete fits Dynamics 365 teams working in secure, regulated, or on-premises environments, and teams managing customized, complex Finance and Operations (F&O) implementations alongside other legacy or desktop applications. It’s also a strong fit for QA organizations with a mix of business users who need record-and-replay and engineers who want full scripting control.
TestComplete already supports Dynamics 365 test automation directly, and its capabilities map closely to what RSAT users need:
- Visual AI and hybrid object recognition read deeply nested Dynamics 365 controls, grids, and iFrames that property-based tools alone can’t reliably find, combining property matching with OCR and vision-based AI to speed up test creation and cut down on maintenance.
- Self-healing keeps tests running through Wave 1 and Wave 2 updates without manual rework, cutting into the re-recording cycle that made RSAT painful to maintain.
- On-premises and offline execution keeps test data and results inside your infrastructure, for teams that can’t rely on cloud-based automation.
- Direct integration with Azure DevOps and Azure Pipelines lets you link manual test cases to automated suites and run tests in your existing CI/CD workflow, much like RSAT did, minus the fragility.
- Exportable, audit-ready reports support compliance reviews for standards like SOX, PCI DSS, GDPR, and SOC 2.
TestComplete has automated packaged enterprise applications like SAP, Salesforce, Oracle Forms, and Dynamics 365 for years, so teams moving off RSAT aren’t the first to bring it a customized Dynamics 365 instance.
Option 2: SmartBear Reflect
Reflect fits Dynamics 365 teams running in the cloud, releasing frequently, and testing Dynamics 365 alongside other SaaS and packaged applications like Salesforce or SAP. It’s built for teams that want to spread test creation across the whole QA organization, rather than a circle of automation specialists.
Reflect’s AI-native approach addresses the same maintenance problem that’s pushing teams off RSAT, from a cloud-first angle:
- Plain-English test creation lets business users and QA analysts build Dynamics 365 tests by describing the workflow, without writing a script or learning a recording tool’s quirks.
- Agentic test creation through the SmartBear MCP server connects Reflect to AI coding environments like Claude Code and Cursor, so tests get generated and maintained inside the same AI workflow your engineers already use.
- Visual AI and self-healing adapt automatically as Dynamics 365 layouts shift release to release, so tests keep running without a manual maintenance cycle.
- One platform covers Dynamics 365 alongside the rest of your cloud stack, including Salesforce, SAP, and custom web applications, so you aren’t maintaining a separate tool for every system.
- Cloud-based, parallel execution runs tests across browsers with no extra infrastructure for your team to manage or patch.
- Native integrations with GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, and CircleCI keep testing inside the release pipeline your team already uses.
- AI-powered maintenance dashboards show exactly what broke and why, so your team spends its time fixing real defects instead of triaging noise.
With this approach, Reflect is an ideal candidate for testing any cloud ERP or CRM platform.
TestComplete and Reflect side by side comparison
| TestComplete | Reflect | |
| Best environment | On-premises, secure, or regulated Dynamics 365 deployments | Cloud-based Dynamics 365 deployments alongside other SaaS apps |
| Test creation | Record/replay, keyword-driven, and full scripting (JavaScript, Python, & VBScript) | Plain-English prompts, recorded workflows, agentic test generation |
| Where tests run | On-premises, offline, or in your own infrastructure | In the cloud, in parallel, with no infrastructure to manage |
| Best for | Mixed-skill QA teams and complex, customized F&O implementations | Fast-moving cloud teams testing Dynamics 365 alongside other SaaS apps |
| Compliance fit | Exportable, audit-ready reporting for SOX, PCI DSS, GDPR, SOC 2 | CI/CD visibility and failure diagnostics for cloud release pipelines |
Which should I choose: TestComplete or Reflect?
Both platforms turn this migration into an upgrade. The visual AI in both products closes the maintenance gap that made RSAT challenging to keep running, and each platform applies it to a different kind of Dynamics 365 environment. The right one depends on where you run and how your team works, not on which tool has more features.
- Choose TestComplete if you run Dynamics 365 in a secure, regulated, or on-premises environment, manage a heavily customized F&O implementation, or need one platform that serves both non-technical business testers and automation engineers.
- Choose Reflect if you run Dynamics 365 in the cloud, release frequently, test Dynamics 365 alongside other SaaS applications like Salesforce or SAP, and want your whole QA team, engineers included, creating tests faster with AI.
Some organizations need both. Teams that run TestComplete for on-premises and customized systems while Reflect covers cloud-based and SaaS testing get coverage that neither tool would deliver alone. If your Dynamics 365 environment spans both realities, that combination is worth evaluating.
RSAT gives you until May 15, 2027, but beginning your evaluation now will protect you from headaches down the road. Start now, and you get to adopt incrementally at your own pace, piloting both platforms inside the Azure DevOps toolchain you already run, and land on testing that gets faster to build and cheaper to maintain with every release, instead of falling further behind each one.
Frequently asked questions
When does Microsoft stop supporting RSAT?
Microsoft ends support for the Regression Suite Automation Tool on May 15, 2027. After that date, RSAT no longer receives bug fixes, security patches, or feature updates.
Can I keep using RSAT after 2027?
Technically yes, but without Microsoft support. Any issues that come up after the deprecation date are yours to resolve without vendor help, and RSAT keeps facing the same UI-change problems it has today, just without anyone fixing them.
What replaces RSAT for Dynamics 365 regression testing?
Options fall into three groups: low-code tools that can import existing RSAT recordings, coded frameworks built in-house, and dedicated test automation platforms like SmartBear TestComplete and SmartBear Reflect, which add self-healing and broader application coverage beyond what RSAT’s Task Recorder ever supported.
Is TestComplete or Reflect better for testing Dynamics 365?
It depends on your environment. TestComplete fits secure, regulated, or on-premises Dynamics 365 deployments and mixed-skill QA teams. Reflect fits cloud-based Dynamics 365 environments tested alongside other SaaS applications, with an emphasis on fast releases and plain-English test creation.
What’s the benefit of moving off RSAT before the deadline, instead of waiting?
Teams that move early get to run the migration at their own pace instead of scrambling in 2027, and they start getting value sooner from capabilities RSAT never had, like visual AI that speeds up test creation and cuts maintenance, and, with Reflect, agentic test creation that plugs into AI coding workflows. Waiting until the deadline means learning a new platform under pressure instead of as a planned upgrade.