Support for M365 Apps (O365) on Windows 2022

[rtravni42]

We have a large number of Windows Server 2016 with M365 Apps (O365) and need to upgrade these servers now (end of support for WS2016 is Jan 2022).
The next server product to install for us would be Windows Server 2022, unfortunately there is no support for M365 apps (O365).
In general, it looks like the support of M365 Apps for Server OS will be discontinued 2025.

RE2OqRI (microsoft.com) 

We want to get a statement from Microsoft as to whether Microsoft intends to support M365 Apps (O365) on Windows Server 2022 at some point.
Now we have to make a strategic decision.
The time is not long until 2025!
The way is not to AVD or Microsoft Azure HCI, but the way is away from the concept of application (or desktop) "remoting" and thus we as customers are no longer available for AVD and Windows 365!

[#2]

Yes i hope microsoft makes this happen

[#3]

@Günter, you wrote a follow-up to your blog post saying that disabling H.264/AVC 444 ultimately did not resolve the Word issue where all the characters disappear. Did you find a resolution?

I'm seeing the *exact* same issue and thought I was going crazy. I tried Googling the issue, but that returned a bunch of garbage results... I know Word was named decades ago, but trying to craft queries that filter out useless results when product names are super-common words--like "word" or "teams" (a practice Microsoft continues...)--makes the products nearly immune from finding actually helpful info like your post. If not for stumbling across your comment here, I would not have found it.

[#4]

@Günter Born
Update: I tried updating to Current Channel today (previously was using Semi-Annual Channel; I tried the Semi-Annual Jan 10 update as well with no luck), and it appears to go blank (white for the whole content window) sometime after the first run, and as you mention, if you move/click or interact with Word it displays the content again. However, unlike Semi-Annual Channel version, it only seems to do this once, and then never again. I tried both 1920x1080 and 4k.

It seems like it might be related to the "See what's coming soon" first launch stuff. However, unlike the DisablePreviewPlace reg value for Outlook, unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a corresponding value for Word.

[#5]

@Elden Christensen 

thanks for this information however end of support in 2026 is not enough (only 3 year from now). For customer using Windows 2016 with 365 apps supported until 2025, they won't upgrade in WS2022 just to save 1 more year.

Once more, this is an unfair strategy from Microsoft to force moving customer to cloud. For sure Microsoft doesn't care about "planned obsolescence". Microsoft should also consider this before announcing any sustainability performance.

[#6]

@tlabaume  First for those wanting on-prem desktop services, I recommend looking at Azure Stack HCI which supports running AVD on-prem and M365 support. This is an on-prem solution, in your datacenter, on your hardware, managed with the same familiar tools you have today.

At Ignite we announced that Enterprise Agreement customers with Software Assurance can exchange their existing licensed cores of Windows Server Datacenter to get Azure Stack HCI at no additional cost.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/azure-stack-blog/what-s-new-for-azure-stack-hci-at-microsoft-...

We haven't made any decisions yet, just curious... historically we release Windows Server LTSC releases every 2 - 3 years. And if M365 was supported for the Mainstream support phase of the first 5-years of any given release, would that be acceptable?

Summarizing options:

1. Migrate to the cloud
2. Azure Stack HCI for on-prem AVD support
3. Upgrade existing Windows Server to a newer version

Staying on a legacy version of Windows Server isn't the best decision to make in staying current / staying secure / maintaining support.

Thanks!
Elden

[#7]

We don't want to be forced to use Azure in the cloud OR Azure Stack HCI as a lot of us (A LOT) have significant investment in other hypervisors like Nutanix and such. We really don't feel it is fair (and probably is not LEGAL, considering all the times Microsoft has done this before!) to try to force users in one part of your business to use another part.
HOWEVER I completely understand it if you require us to stay on a version of Windows Server LTSC that is in Mainstream support in order to support 365 apps. Of course it would be great if we could stay on the same stuff for 10 years with security updates, we'd all REALLY love that. But we get why you don't want that. How could you introduce better rounded corners or move buttons around for no reason if Windows Server is stuck on an older version? So while 10 years is better than 5, 5 years is definitely better than nothing or being forced to use Azure.

[#8]

@Elden Christensen 

Being part of an organization with a large citrix published app deployment, moving that to Azure stack or AVD makes absolutely no sense as that would increase cost to our organization ten-fold.  Also - We typically use ServerOS versions until year 8 or 9 in their life before moving to the next OS primarily due to the additional hardware required to host the same number of users on the newer Server Operating systems.  Moving from Server 2016 - > 2019 required another 15-20% hardware and the same for 2019 -> 2022.  We're currently running Server 2016 and plan to do so until 2025 or 2026.  I do not believe I am alone in this across the Citrix landscape either, especially when it comes to healthcare customers which we are as well. With all of that being said, I would like to understand the logic of only supporting it through "Mainstream support" vs "extended support".

[#9]

It's rather important to note that "Azure Stack HCI for on-prem AVD support" is support for running the session host VMs on Stack HCI, but the management layer and other AVD supporting services remain in Azure. It's not AVD hosted entirely on-premises.

[#10]

@mkelly625It's absolutely true 2019 is slower than 2016 and requires more hardware or splitting up users into more RDSH servers.  And I'm sure 2022 further slows it down. It's incredibly annoying, but how can Microsoft Office developers completely change the whole look of the application every few years for no reason whatsoever except to justify the high costs of subscription software if it's going to be stuck on older versions of Windows?!

[#11]

@greatquux to be clear this was due to security enhancements.  Some hard decisions had to be made, and keeping customers secure was decided the highest priority with some trade-off's. 

[#12]

@Elden Christensen This is not true. Microsoft decided that the highest priority is to take more money to customer. If keeping customer secure was the real objective you could just secure existing OS.

[#13]

@Elden Christensen 

Even if Azure Stack HCI could be a "useful solution", multitenant is still not possible, right? That is, hosting different AVD instances of different tenants on the identical hardware.

[#14]

@asdasdadqwdq This is the Problem for us, too.

We have many small customer, who would not have that many Compute needs, to fill an Azure Stack HCI Node. So multitanancy would be helpful. 

As far as I know, Citrix is Working on Support for Multi Tenant Windows 10/11 OnPrem. 

With Multi tenant Support for Azure Stack we can switch our Workload from Terminalserver 

to Multi User Client Operating Systems.

That would be a fair compromise for all, I think. And we have no trouble if the Next Server OS gets 

Office 365 Apps

[#15]

I second this. Imagine the possibility to use the new CSP Hosting Programme for hosting AzureStackHCI clusters, as we are used to with VMware solutions.

Few points to clear, like precise billing and security (isolation), RBAC for customers.
Eventually Lighthouse access?

[#16]

Hi @Elden Christensen maybe I am not properly informed, but it seems that the option to host AVD on Azure Stack HCI is often noted here. But is there any pricing or Product Terms update yet to allow this?

Again, I could be missing something, but there is no commitment for production yet in terms of licensing and cost. Kindly asking for clarification.

edit: 

Elden: "At Ignite we announced that Enterprise Agreement customers with Software Assurance can exchange their existing licensed cores of Windows Server Datacenter to get Azure Stack HCI at no additional cost."

It is not yet mirrored in Product Terms, but it seems this is going to be expanded (and was intended by Microsoft) for all licensing programs offering Windows Server Datacenter with SA or SA equivalent rights. I am still working torwards a clarification and this to be added to Product Terms. Hope it is coming. 

[#17]

@Elden Christensen Thank you for asking for feedback here, Elden! Regarding the 5-year support cycle, one reason it's problematic is because by the time the hardware is certified for the new release, procured, shipped, and schedules align for the install, it's often already 18-24 months after the release. For smaller companies on a 5+ year replacement cycle, this puts a system out of support for about half of its life. When they have only one cluster, another challenge is migrating to Azure Stack at all. Realistically, it means new hardware (very difficult and risky to update their one cluster in production), but when the replacement cycle is 5+ years and given the hardware certification/procurement/etc. cycle, this new support uncertainty really puts them in a bind. They just can't afford to keep on the schedule Microsoft has in mind here, and for their use, there is little justification for new hardware otherwise.

[#18]

It is unclear to me why multi-user client is significantly different from terminal server, other than licensing. However, one thing that is sorely lacking in Server is Intune support, and this isn't really answered by Azure Stack HCI, either (Azure Security Center/Defender for Cloud =/= Intune, and it makes little sense to spin up/maintain/skill up on a non-cloud Config Manager for cloud-first orgs). Want to apply Conditional Access Compliance policies for Server? Can't do it. The technical answer I've heard is "CSP support doesn't exist in Server," but that kind of skirts the question, as it's coming from the company that could easily choose to add it.

[#19]

@Karl_Wester-Ebbinghaus_business AVD on Stack HCI is in preview, and has been for a while, so Product Terms and finalized pricing aren't available. Currently available details are here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-desktop/azure-stack-hci-overview#pricing

[#20]

@RH 

the Windows Client OS has always Support for Office 365.

so no need to wait if the pressure from the customers to microsoft is high enough

to get support for the next server Version.

and it is cheeper for the customers then VDI. And esier for us to maintain for us

[#21]

@Bernd Dausch Until now, yes, but it was only recently that Server support for O365 was in question.

100% agreed regarding cost vs. VDI. There are some workloads for which terminal server is a better solution. The alternative seems to be multi-user client, but as server and client still use the same core and the process of modularization of the OS has gone far, the main difference from Microsoft's standpoint seems to be licensing. However, from a customer's standpoint, as many here have pointed out, there are many practical implications (or perhaps more to the point, many impractical implications).