MicrosoftWSUS has a serious problem... It works exceptionally well, is completely free, and provides no tracking data to Microsoft.
This is in conflict with Microsoft's desire to monitor/control their customers and maximize profit at any cost. So, WSUS must go away, right?
Just like Outlook, MDT, WordPad, etc. They are eliminating excellent free tools, and replacing them with inferior subscription services containing unnecessary system requirements and privacy concerns. (Well, Outlook is not free, but the rest applies).
Remember when Microsoft wanted Windows everywhere, and provided numerous, free, excellent, supported tools to assist IT Pros deploying/managing Windows? We do, Microsoft, we do.
"As part of our vision for simplified Windows management from the cloud" .. Microsoft forgets (or does not care) about those customers whom do not want (or cannot) increase their cloud reliance. Government, education, large corporations, and anyone who cares about privacy & control over their own data, for example.
Microsoft could have updated WSUS to be "better" and also offered a version that is cloud-based. This would give customers the choice to use what is best for them, but no. Microsoft is doing what is best for them, not the customer. Even if they charged a fee for the "better" built-in WSUS, that only gives Microsoft the money and not the control they want.
"we recommend organizations transition to cloud tools, including ..." Of course you do! My local jeweler recommends I buy my spouse new diamond ring every month. Your greed is ruining the customer experience. Even if I followed your recommendation, I have to manage this through 3 separate interfaces instead of one MMC snap-in. I also have to worry that the interfaces will suddenly work differently because you are constantly making changes, unilaterally, usually with no notification to the customers. Azure is not real time either. This is all a far worse management experience. Oh, and there will be price increases in the future for all these cloud services. My clients have to stress about that now too.
WSUS properly setup and maintained works exceptionally well. I've deployed it at several clients with 10,000s of endpoints, and it just works. Sure, there is room for improvement, but don't listen to people who "are glad to see it go". The benefits of WSUS far outweigh any issues with it.
Also ... let's be honest, based on your definition of deprecation, WSUS has been "deprecated" for over a decade.
Hey Microsoft, when are you going to kill System Center? It's a great on-prem, non-subscription product that has a more expensive & less functional Azure equivalent too.
Here's another: Windows Server includes IIS. Think of the money you can make by removing that feature and "replacing it" with existing pay-per-use Azure offerings. You can then eliminate the jobs of the programmers who currently maintain that feature. Think of the C-Suite bonuses and the stock price!
-Tony
P.S.
I've been an MCSE since 1996 and a strong Microsoft advocate for 30+ years. Microsoft has always had shady business practices, but they always tried to make their products as good as possible. But since 2016, there has been a change. They now intentionally cripple their on-prem products to maximize profits in Azure. This announcement is another example of that.
I think it is time to give up on Microsoft.
