# What's new?
| UAT release | Production release |
| ------------ | ------------------ |
| May 26, 2026 | June 8, 2026 |
Big improvements to the Testing Center this month. If you've been comparing testbed results, the whole experience just got faster and more customizable — including a new Excel fast export (beta) that handles larger outputs without the wait.
Plus, our CTO Peter Roschke sat down with the AI team at Resolution Life to talk about what it actually takes to move AI from pilot to production. Check out the conversation [on demand here](https://www.coherent.global/on-demand-webinar-ai-trust-at-enterprise-scale).
## Updates to testing center comparisons
Our Testing Center enables the application of models against large datasets for testing and modeling purposes. With multiple testbed results, users can compare results to better understand changes in model outputs. We've added new capabilities to testbed comparisons to make it faster and easier to customize the comparison output.
* New *Excel fast* (beta) option that writes out larger outputs faster than the *classic Excel* option.
* Ability to retain only mismatches in the comparison to more quickly produce a report checking if two results are exactly the same.
* Skip downloading of inputs to reduce the size of the report.
* Customize the number of records and heading order.
## Notable Enhancements
* Selective webhook events! When defining webhooks, you can choose which events should fire a webhook call. This makes the webhook much less chatty and easier to consume.
* Further updates to Homepage and Folder overview pagination.
* Action items updated in API Call History, Service Library, and Version Overview.
* Further improvements to batch throughput.
* Faster access to the backend storage of Spark services.
* `Xreport` new API option for image border fix.
* `Xreport` fix for invalid date format.
* Security patch updates to addresses vulnerabilities, ensuring enhanced protection and stability of our systems.
#### A Note for [Transforms API](/spark-apis/transforms-api.md) users
We plan to [schedule updates](/spark-apis/transforms-api/transform-types/update-roadmap.md) to the JSON and XML parsing packages. Please review and validate whether any updates impact your integrations.
## Feature Deprecation Notice
We will be deprecating these features in the June release:
#### Farewell to Spark Assistant
Our older Excel add-in [Spark Assistant](https://docs.coherent.global/the-spark-assistant/) will be sunset. The new [Coherent Assistant](https://docs.coherent.global/assistant/) has the same features plus many more capabilities. If you are using older Spark Assistant functions such as [Call Spark service APIs (Xcall)](/build-spark-services/call-spark-service-apis.md), those can be migrated or updated to the [Coherent Assistant](https://docs.coherent.global/assistant/) version through the add-in debugger or a simple find and replace.
#### Developer Tools
The AS400 and Ingenium tools built into the Options Menu will be deprecated. This has been replaced by other solutions that are offered by the Coherent team. Contact us to learn more about mainframe integrations to Spark.
#### Service Chain Response Object
From the Spark [Execute API (v3)](/spark-apis/execute-api/execute-api-v3.md), the [Execute API (v3)](/spark-apis/execute-api/execute-api-v3.md#response_data) currently includes an object called `service_chain`. We will be removing this object from future API responses. If your integrations to Spark contain explicit references to the `service_chain` object, we would suggest removing this reference in your application updates.
#### Model Templates
Within the [Options](/navigation/options.md) menu of Spark is the ability to store template documents for Spark services. If you have important documents within Model Templates, they can be downloaded and uploaded into the Documents section within a Folder instead.
#### Modeling Center
Our beta Modeling Center Excel add-in will also be sunset. Modeling Center was used to facilitate large scale execution within Excel. If you are interested in using modeling Spark services, we have alternatives with the [Testing Center](/navigation/testing-center.md) and [Batch APIs](/spark-apis/batch-apis.md) with the [Python SDK](https://github.com/Coherent-Partners/spark-python-sdk).
## Any questions?
Whether it's about an upcoming change, a new feature, or just getting the most out of Coherent, our Customer Success team is here to help. Reach out to our team anytime at .
## Version number
`v8.54.1`
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