New Update Channels

The recent announcements about Office 365 being renamed caused a little commotion, so I thought I would try and upset you all a little more…

Earlier today, Microsoft announced a new update channel, the Monthly Enterprise Channel, in response to those who wanted to use the Current channel but with just a little more “predictability”. This came into effect from 12 May.

Furthermore, from 9 June, new Office / Microsoft tenants will be provided with a new default channel – instead of the Semi-Annual Enterprise channel, the default update channel for Enterprise will be the Current channel. This will NOT cause any changes for existing tenants.

But it gets better.

Additionally, on June 9, Microsoft is also updating the names of the existing update channels “…to offer admins (sic) more clarity into our servicing strategy…”:

If you use an automatic deployment rule (ADR) to deploy updates, by using Configuration Manager, you may need to make changes due to the update channel name changes. Microsoft advises that any ADR changes should be made after June 9.

You may want to update your organisation content and documentation to reflect this change.

Let the street parties start now, COVID-19 restrictions notwithstanding.