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Eric_Wayne
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Re: New Microsoft 365 apps update channel names, new IT Pro guidance and a new channel!
ChristianBergstrom - yeah, we should potentially word some of that differently in the article. We have in the past, although it is extremely rare, made a bug fix across all channels in a given month (out of band). We are very cautious about making changes to Semi-Annual Enterprise after it is published as we want to make as few changes to that release as possible. We will make security changes monthly, as that is a necessary code change risk for the greater good. Otherwise, we try to leave that build alone and recommend that channel for the mission critical devices in an organization that are running complex macros and home grown add-ins that need full pass testing. For the rest of the organization, we recommend the Monthly Enterprise Channel so they can get both fixes, and as you correctly called out, features sooner.Re: New Microsoft 365 apps update channel names, new IT Pro guidance and a new channel!
Firoz1723 Unfortunately, that can happen. If we are made aware of a bug after a certain cut off period, we don't have time to fix it and release it before we publish the next version of the Semi-Annual channel. So entire builds of Semi-Annual channel can have a bug in it. However, one thing to consider is that some of the issues aren't from Office itself. We have seen both Windows and Configuration Manager updates create issues for the Office client. It really comes down to when we are made aware of an issue and sometimes a bug is not discovered by us or our customers before the cut off for the next release of Semi-Annual and therefor we can't fix it in time. This is one of the biggest reasons I tell customers for the majority of your devices that are not running macros or doing key line of work processes, that they should use the Monthly Enterprise Channel. That way, when things are discovered, they get fixed and published to this channel much sooner then the Semi-Annual channel.Re: New Microsoft 365 apps update channel names, new IT Pro guidance and a new channel!
Hey bec064! One thing to keep in mind though, and one of the main reasons we created the Monthly Enterprise channel is while you are correct - some Non-security updates can go into every channel each month, we really don't make changes out of band if we can help it. For example, when we are made aware of a bug we will fix it, then release it into our faster channels first. It will then take the normal cycle to get to the Semi-Annual channel, which, depending on when the fix is released, could take that full 6 months. The same is true of things like performance boosts in Outlook for example. I always caution customers to think about those scenarios as well when planning their channel strategy as most customers tend to think of new feature cadence as the only decision when choosing their channels.Re: New Microsoft 365 apps update channel names, new IT Pro guidance and a new channel!
Firoz1723 that's a great question. many enterprise customers are finding that the Semi-Annual channel is a too slow with product features, code improvements and bug fixes. They also found the current channel to be to fast with its potential for multiple updates in a calendar month. Therefor, we created and HIGHLY recommend that customers in your situation use the Monthly Enterprise Channel. This channel is specifically designed to give our customers those bug fixes and new features faster, while staying predictable in its update cadence - one update a month, on patch Tuesday. Hopefully that answers your question. Let me know if you have any follow ups or would like to discuss channel changing further. Happy to help! EricMicrosoft 365 Apps update channel name changes: iOS, Mac, and Android
On November 10, 2020, we are rolling out these changes to iOS, Mac, and Android to bring consistency to update channel names across all the platforms on which Office is available. While the Insider program remains, we will use the following new names for the update channels designed for the Insider audience on Mac and Android: Beta Channel, previously known as Insider Fast Current Channel (Preview), previously known as Insider Slow On iOS, the channel that was previously known as Insider will now be called Beta Channel. Only the names of the existing update channels are changing. These update channels still work the same way as they did before. References to the new names for the existing update channels started rolling out on October 30, 2020. For example, in documentation and in the user interface (UI) of deployment tools, such as Microsoft AutoUpdate. The following table shows the previous name and the new name for update channels on iOS. The following table shows the previous name and the new name for update channels on Mac. The following table shows the previous name and the new name for update channels on Android. *Beta Channel is only available for individual apps (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). It is not available for Office Mobile. Availability Changes started rolling out broadly across documentation, product UI, deployment tools, etc. starting on October 30, 2020.M365 Apps deployment live Ask Microsoft Anything (AMA) event on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, at 9am!
In September we announced a new wave of investments to help IT modernize the way they service Office client apps. New capabilities enable IT pros to stay current, deliver the latest value to business faster, provide benefits that lower the total cost of ownership (TCO), and maximize their Microsoft 365 Apps investment. There are three investment areas for the new capabilities: Intelligent Insights Servicing Automation with Controls App Health We're excited to announce a live Ask Microsoft Anything (AMA) event on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, at 9am PT to answer your questions about these announcements, and anything else related to deploying Microsoft 365 Apps. To join the AMA live or view it on demand, click here to add it to your calendar.New admin capabilities to service Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise!
We have announced a new wave of admin capabilities to help modernize the way you service Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. Find all the details here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/office-365-blog/new-in-office-servicing-ignite-blog/ba-p/1675401Application Guard for Office is now available in public preview!
Files from the internet and other potentially unsafe locations can contain viruses, worms, or other kinds of malware that can harm your users’ computer and data. To help protect your users, Office opens files from potentially unsafe locations in Application Guard, a secure container that is isolated from the device through hardware-based virtualization. When Office opens files in Application Guard, users can securely read, edit, print, and save those files without having to re-open files outside the container. This feature will be off by default. Learn more about Application Guard here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/office-365-security/install-app-guard?view=o365-worldwideMicrosoft 365 Apps for Enterprise Adoption guide now live!
The new Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (formally Office 365 ProPlus) adoption guide is now available. This guide offers implementation tips and links to many helpful resources. Please use this link below to access it. Thanks! https://teamworktools.azurewebsites.net/m365apps/#p=1Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise Adoption guide now live!
The new Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (formally Office 365 ProPlus) adoption guide is now available. This guide offers implementation tips and links to many helpful resources. Please use this link below to access it. Thanks! https://teamworktools.azurewebsites.net/m365apps/#p=1New Microsoft 365 apps update channel names, new IT Pro guidance and a new channel!
Here are the latest news from Microsoft on the Microsoft 365 Apps (formerly known as Office 365 ProPlus): A new channel is born Monthly Enterprise Channel has arrived. It combines the power of getting new features once per month (instead of every 6 months on SAC), being predictable (it is released once per month on patch Tuesday) and stability (it is a few weeks behind Monthly Channel to take in latest bugfixes). In case you have devices on Monthly Channel, this is a good group to move to MEC first. Changes for IT admins: New attribute Channel="MonthlyEnterprise" available in ODT (any current ODT supports it already). New channel available through latest ADMX templates It will be published to Configuration Manager and can be catched by ADRs Update Channels are getting rebranded With the arrival of Monthly Enterprise Channel, we rebrand our update channels as follows: New name Previous name Beta Channel Insider (sometimes referred to as Insider Fast) Current Channel (Preview) Monthly Channel (Targeted) (sometimes referred to as Insider Slow) Current Channel Monthly Channel Monthly Enterprise Channel Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (Preview) Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel Semi-Annual Channel Any actions for IT admins? If you are using no Configuration Manager Automatic Deployment Rules (ADR) and no custom scripts which parse the Office Update Names from the WU/WSUS catalog: No action. If you are using Configuration Manager Automatic Deployment Rules (ADR) OR custom scripts which parse the Office Update Names from the WU/WSUS catalog: Update the ADRs/scripts on or after June, 6 th to catch the new names of the updates (e.g. Microsoft 365 Apps Update - Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel Version 1908) What else is relevant for IT admins? GPOs and ODT will continue to accept the existing keywords for the various channels (“Broad”, “Targeted”, …), no immediate change is required. The next release of ODT will support the new channel names. You can then start using the new ones, but it is not required. Monthly/Current Channel is the new default We are setting the Current Channel (formerly known as Monthly) as default for new tenants. If you don’t specify the channel in ODT for 1st install scenarios, it will install Current Channel as default. I’ve got questions! Perfect, join us on May 27 at 9 AM PT for a live Ask Microsoft Anything session. We’d love to answer any questions you have about deploying Microsoft 365 Apps Resources Official blog: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/office-365-blog/a-new-wave-of-innovation-to-help-it-modernize-servicing-of/ba-p/1380733 Update channel documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/overview-update-channels More info about the new names: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=2127441
