What’s new in Test Base for Microsoft 365: Inspire 2023 edition

In this blog, we share the new capabilities that make it even easier to validate your applications against Windows client and server operating system updates in a Microsoft-managed test environment.

Support for testing Microsoft 365 Apps

In addition to validating monthly Windows updates, we also provide you with the ability to set up interoperability tests with other Microsoft 365 applications.

Testing against the latest Office 365 builds in preview channel has now reached GA and is available for all! If you’re looking to ensure the compatibility of your apps or add-ons against the latest Office updates or before deploying to your organization the newest Office 365 builds, this new feature will give you more assurance.

Check this documentation for step-by-step guidance.

If you’d like to test other Microsoft 365 products or other update channels, let us know how to better support your tests.

Expanded testing matrix to support Windows 11 upgrade readiness

For those organizations whose hardware eligibility ratio is highly compatible with Windows 11, the preferred deployment strategy would likely be an in-place upgrade to have the existing devices upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11 with all the business-critical apps expected to continue working.

To better support this scenario, we’ve expanded the testing matrix in November 2022 as a preview feature to support in-place upgrade approach which mimics the actual enterprise upgrade scenario. We are pleased to announce the general availability of this feature which further optimizes the validation experience for Windows 11 upgrade preparation. Migration team can now work centrally against existing app inventory or coordinating with app owner teams to directly onboard their apps to Test Base, which validate their apps with the expected upgrade scenario for signoff.

Check the video below to learn how to set up your apps for the Windows 11 upgrade readiness test with a customizable flow for testing activities before and after the upgrade.

New Windows 11 feature update available

A preview build of the latest feature update of Windows 11, version 23H2, will be available on Test Base soon. To receive this new package, activate Feature Update with Insider Beta Channel selected. If you've already registered, your applications will be automatically validated against all upcoming feature updates. For more information about this update, please see Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.2048 and 22631.2048.

New features in preview

Here's a list of the upcoming Test Base for Microsoft 365 features and capabilities. Get a sneak peek at those new features before they are released by filling out Test Base Inspire new features sign-up form.

Testing apps for Windows on Arm

We know the importance of testing your applications across a variety of architectures and device types, which is why we’re excited to announce that we’ve added support for Arm 64 testing to Test Base! This helps to expand the testing matrix and make it even easier for you to ensure your applications will work across a broader range of devices and releases.

Custom Image support

As many organizations are preparing and piloting Windows 11, evaluating the app readiness has always been a costly step. While we have great application compatibility from Windows 10 to Windows 11, we understand some organizations will want to test their business-critical apps on their own custom build of Windows 11.

To support these organizations, we are excited to release the custom image support feature for private preview by July 31st.

Screenshot of the Manage image menu within Test Base Demo and showing the option to Create test from image

With the ability to upload your own custom image as baseline from either Configuration Manager or other deploying tools. Here, users can set up their own build of Windows 10 or Windows 11 as baseline to:

• Validate the upgrade readiness via in-place upgrade approach by testing the basic apps pre-installed in the custom image with the settings that will work and continue to work after upgrading to Windows 11.

Screenshot of Test matrix showing options under Select the OS update type

• Conduct regular validation against monthly security updates by centralizing critical apps or inviting the app owners across business units to self-onboard their apps. Regular tests can be carried out as soon as the latest security updates become available against enterprise’ own image to verify if all apps continue to work with reusable test cases to be executed automatically.

Screenshot of Test matrix step showing options for Security update OS versions to test, and as an example, Windows 11 21H2 (Contoso_Win11_21H2/1.0.0) is selected

Support package uploads from Winget

We’re excited to announce that we’ve added a new package onboarding method by supporting package uploads from app management tools such as Winget. This means that you can now access over 4,000 curated applications (with various versions available) from the Winget open-source community and easily onboard them to Test Base without having to upload the application from your local desktop. This will save you time and effort and allow you to test your applications more efficiently and effectively. This feature will be available for private preview by the end of July 2023.

Screenshot of the new package showing many options of applications from the Winget App Gallery

Getting started with Test Base

Once you can sign into Azure to access the Test Base for Microsoft 365 service, you’re ready to test your apps against security updates, optional non-security preview releases, and OS version upgrades. If you’re ready to upload a package, edit an existing package, and customize the target versions for your test matrix, see our Test Base documentation.

Already running Windows 11? We already offer tests against the latest Windows 11 feature update: Windows 11, version 22H2. For more information about this feature, see What's new in Test Base for Microsoft 365: Ignite 2022 edition.

Join the Test Base Community

Not yet using Test Base for Microsoft 365? Sign up for Test Base today to validate your application(s). For a tutorial, see Test your application on Test Base. And make sure to join our Test Base for Microsoft 365 community to get future Test Base updates or share your experiences and ideas with our team.

For developers and IT pros, please check our GitHub community.

Feel free to contact us at testbasepreview@microsoft.com if you have any questions!

Continue the conversation. Find best practices. Bookmark the Windows Tech Community and follow us @MSWindowsITPro on Twitter. Looking for support? Visit Windows on Microsoft Q&A.