what is the servicing model? what change management for office...

Stay up to dateRegular updates mean your users phones, tablets, and desktops stay up to

date with the latest fixes.

Multiple cycles in a year

A Servicing Model

for Updates

Both Windows 10 and Office 365 have

adopted the servicing model for client

updates. This means that new features, non-

security updates, and security updates are

released regularly, so your users can have the

latest functionality and improvements. The

servicing model also includes time for

enterprise organizations to test and validate

releases before adopting them.

What is the Servicing Model?

© 2017 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. To send feedback about this documentation, please write to us at [email protected].© 2017 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. To send feedback about this documentation, please write to us at [email protected].

In a traditional development model it can take months of planning, development,

and testing before a large release is ready. Traditional deployments take

enterprises years to plan, evaluate test, pilot, and deploy and then maintain the entire environment.

This topic is 1 of 6 in a series

1 2 3 4 5

What s in it for Enterprise Organizations?

You want up-to-date features, but you also want the control and support you need to

run your business. With the variety of release programs for Windows 10 and Office 365,

you can evaluate new features, pilot them with specific groups in your organization, and then deploy them more broadly to your organization. You can also keep

specialized devices on a long-term build if you need to limit changes.

Traditional release model

Develop Test ReleasePlan

Multiple months cycle

Traditional deployment model

Deployment in a servicing world

In a servicing model, new features and innovations can be developed and released

in a quicker cadence, so that customers are always seeing improvements. Because

development has changed, so does the deployment process for an enterprise

organization. Quicker releases of features mean that you can evaluate, pilot, and

deploy different sets of features at the same time.

Pilot and Test Deploy MaintainEvaluate

and Plan

Multiple months cycle

Releases in a servicing world

Multiple cycles in a year

Plan, Develop, Test, Release - repeat

6

Focus on your business, not managing the software.

Device

Type

Phones and tablets Laptops and desktops Specialized devices

Update

option

iOS or Android devices

receive regular updates from

their respective app stores.

Devices running the Office

Mobile apps automatically

receive regular updates from

the Microsoft Store.

For Windows 10 devices,

use Semi-Annual Channel

to get regular updates with

the latest features.

To get regular updates with the

latest features, use Semi-

Annual Channel for Windows

10 and Monthly Channel for

Office 365.

Have custom add-ins? Choose

Semi-Annual Channel for

Office 365, so you have time to

test. For Windows 10, use Semi-

Annual Channel with a targeted

group of devices before

deploying broadly.

To limit changes, use

Long-Term Servicing

Channel for Windows

10. If Office is needed,

use Office Professional

Plus 2016 (using MSI

files).

Examples of specialized

devices: PCs that control

medical equipment,

point-of-sale systems, or

ATMs.

Use the update option that s right for your devices and your business needs. We

recommend:

Change

Management

for Office 365

Clients

Evaluate, Pilot, Deploy - repeat

Mix and match

programs

Follow your business needs – not all systems need to follow the same

deployment model. You can even use different models for Windows and

Office on the same devices.

Save on

management

Allow automatic updates to Semi-Annual Channel, for Windows 10 and

Office 365, instead of managing the software packages yourself.

Manage risk

To test critical line-of-business applications, use Semi-Annual Channel or

Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) for Office 365. For Windows 10, use Semi-

Annual Channel with a targeted group of devices before deploying broadly.

Stay in the loopSee what s coming in the next releases and find out what security updates

have been included by reviewing communications from Microsoft.

Save on

development

First, check the marketplace – others may have a solution that works. If you

need custom development, use best practices to ensure add-ins work after

updates.

Last updated: November 2017

mailto:[email protected]


Release Options

You need to understand the different release

options for Windows 10 and the Office 365

client applications so you can choose the right

options for your business. You decide what

works and choose the combinations of

releases to support for your organization.

This model provides an overview and helps

you choose.

Summary of Release Options

Up to date innovation.

Get the latest features

right away.

Choose Semi-Annual

Channel for Windows 10

and Monthly Channel for Office 365.

Have time to evaluate.

Test with your existing

systems.

Choose Semi-Annual

Channel or Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) for

Office 365. For Windows

10, use Semi-Annual Channel with a targeted

group of devices before

deploying broadly.

Security, always.

You ll always get the

latest security updates, no waiting, whichever

channel you choose.

This chart shows all of the release options for Windows 10 and Office 365 clients.


1 2 3 4 5 6

Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted)

Gives you time to check out the

features and test your customizations

or processes.

Best for users who don't have other apps, add-

ins, or macros that need to be extensively

tested with Office. Also useful for some test

systems or pilot programs.

Gives you several months lead-time before you get the latest features. It s usually best for users

that have line-of-business applications, add-ins,

or macros that are business critical.

Which Release Option?

Windows Insider Preview

Lets you preview features and give

feedback.

Long-Term Servicing Channel

Intended for specialized devices,

where limiting changes to the operating system is of prime

importance. For example, PCs that control medical equipment, point-of-

sale systems, or ATMs.

Fre

shn

ess

Contr

ol

Office 365 client Windows 10

Freshness indicates rapid access to new features and the ability to provide feedback

to Microsoft.

You ll sacrifice features for extra control – use the most controlled options for specialized devices, such as devices used on factory floors, for air traffic control, or in

emergency rooms.

Semi-Annual Channel for Office 365 offers a balance between new features and

control.

Choose the right release option for your business needs:Change

Management

for Office 365

Clients

Default channels for client applications

Office 365 ProPlus includes the following Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint,

Outlook, OneNote, Access, Skype for Business, and Publisher. Project Online Desktop

Client and Visio Pro for Office 365 also follow this release model.

Client applications included

with Office 365 ProPlus

By default, the client applications for Office 365 are set to these channels:

• Office 365 ProPlus is set to use Semi-Annual Channel

• Project Online Desktop Client, and Visio Pro for Office 365 are set to use

Monthly Channel

But you can determine which channel is used for your client applications, according to

your business needs.

For more information about the channels for Office 365 client applications, see

Overview of update channels for Office 365 ProPlus.

For more information about the channels for Office 365 client applications, see

Overview of update channels for Office 365 ProPlus.

Project Online

Desktop ClientVisio Pro for

Office 365

Additional

Office 365 client

applications

Semi-

Annual

Channel

Monthly

Channel

Semi-

Annual

Channel


Ideal for pilot deployments and testing of

Windows 10 feature updates and for users, such

as developers, who need to work with the latest

features immediately.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=624446




Release CadencesIt is important to keep both Windows and

your Office clients up to date. Office 365 and

Windows 10 have aligned release cadences to

make this easier. Both will have regular

security updates and will have new features

releasing twice per year. For specialized

devices running Windows 10, there is a long-

term servicing channel available which

provides regular security updates but only

provides new features every few years.

Windows 10 Release Cadence

• Windows Insider Preview Join the Windows Insider program to evaluate and

provide feedback on pre-release features, and perform application compatibility

validation testing. New features are released frequently.

• Windows Insider Preview Join the Windows Insider program to evaluate and

provide feedback on pre-release features, and perform application compatibility

validation testing. New features are released frequently.

• Semi-Annual Channel After new features have been tested through the Windows

Insider program, they are released along with bug fixes and security patches as the

Semi-Annual Channel. A new Semi-Annual Channel is released twice a year,

around March and September, and is supported for 18 months. Start by deploying

to a targeted group of devices that represents the broader organization.

Approximately 4 months after a Semi-Annual Channel release, Microsoft will

announce broad deployment readiness, indicating that Microsoft, independent

software vendors (ISVs), partners, and customers believe that the release is ready for broad deployment. But, organizations can begin broad deployment whenever

they're ready.

• Long-Term Servicing Channel This channel provides a supported OS platform for

10 years. Enterprises can choose to move to a new release or stay where they are

at and skip to the next one. The Long-Term Servicing Channel is intended for

specialized devices, such as PCs that control medical equipment, point-of-sale

systems, or ATMs. If Office is needed, use Office Professional Plus 2016 with these

specialized devices.

Windows 10 has three types of releases:

Deployment tools

Windows 10

Windows 10 and Office 365 clients

• Windows Update for Business

• Windows Server Update Services

• System Center Configuration

Manager

• Microsoft Intune

• 3rd party software deployment tools

Office 365 Client Release Cadence

Office 365 clients have the following types of releases:

• Monthly Channel New features, security updates, and fixes can be released to the

Monthly Channel approximately every month.

• Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) You can validate this release for four months

before it becomes a Semi-Annual Channel release. New features are included only at the beginning of a release, in March and September. This channel is refreshed with

non-security updates and security updates every month.

• Semi-Annual Channel The Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) is rolled up and

released as the Semi-Annual Channel release every 6 months, in January and July. No new features are added until the next Semi-Annual Channel release, although

security updates will continue to be released. Each Semi-Annual Channel feature

release is supported for an additional 14 months. This is the default channel for Office 365 ProPlus clients.

Releases for Office 365 ProPlus

Office Mobile Apps

Office Mobile Apps for iOS and Android have regular releases available through their respective app stores. Office Mobile Apps for Windows have regular releases available

through the Microsoft Store.

Office Professional Plus 2016 client installs

Security updates are made available for the Office clients that you install by using .MSI

files as part of the Office Volume Licensing program. New features are not delivered

outside of full product releases. Use, if Office is needed, for specialized devices on the

Long-Term Servicing Channel of Windows 10.


1 2 3 4 5 6

Change

Management

for Office 365

Clients

See Overview of Windows as a service for more information.See Overview of Windows as a service for more information.

Releases for Windows 10

LTSC

LTSC


Semi-Annual Channel

Semi-Annual Channel



Multiple years. For illustrative purposes only.

Releases for Windows 10

LTSC

LTSC


Semi-Annual Channel

Semi-Annual Channel





The following illustration shows the relationships between these releases for

Office 365 ProPlus.

See Overview of update channels for Office 365 ProPlus for more information.See Overview of update channels for Office 365 ProPlus for more information.


Semi-Annual ChannelSemi-Annual Channel



https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=847278

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=847278





Types of Changes

There are several types of changes that are made to Office 365 on a regular basis. The

communication channels for those changes,

and the actions that you might have to take

for them will vary, depending on the type of change.

This model explains the types of changes you

can expect, when to expect changes, and what you need to do to be prepared for changes in

Office 365.

Types of Changes for the Office 365 Service and Client Applications

Type of change

Functionality

• Feature updates

• New features or applications

• Deprecated features

Non-security updates

• Client hotfixes for issues

Advance

notice?

• Security patches

Security

30 days notice

for changes that

require action

No, these are

included in the

monthly build

for all channels

Communication

channel

• Message Center

• Office 365 Roadmap

• Office 365 Blog

• Office 365 space on the

Microsoft Tech Community

• TechNet Office 365 client

update channel releases

page

• TechNet Office 365 client

update channel releases

page

• Security bulletin or CVE

Not all changes have the same impact on your users or require action. Some are planned and some unplanned by their nature (non-security

updates and security updates aren t usually planned in advance). Depending on the type of change, the communication channel also varies.

Here are the types of changes you can expect for the Office 365 service and client applications:

What kind of

action?

Requires

testing?

Requires tenant

admin action?

Sometimes

Sometimes

Rarely

Rarely – check

business critical

Add-ins

Sometimes –

testing the fix

against processes

or customizations

Rarely

• Change settings

• Communicate

changes to users

• Validate

customizations

• Change admin

settings

Examples of changes

Functionality

Non-security updates

• Feature updates: PowerPoint – simpler process for

embedding videos

• New features or applications: Skype for Business

• Hotfixes based on customer reported bugs


1 2 3 4 5 6

Change

Management

for Office 365

Clients

Guidelines for managing change when using Office Add-ins:Guidelines for managing change when using Office Add-ins:

• We recommend that customers use Monthly

Channel to get the latest feature updates. If you

have Office customizations or Add-ins

deployed, you can use Semi-Annual Channel,

which allows you to wait for feature updates to Office until you have had the chance to fix and

test your customizations. To fix and test your

customizations before updates are applied to

Semi-Annual Channel, use Semi-Annual

Channel (Targeted). Use the Office Telemetry Dashboard to check Add-ins for compatibility.

• We recommend that customers use Monthly

Channel to get the latest feature updates. If you

have Office customizations or Add-ins

deployed, you can use Semi-Annual Channel,

which allows you to wait for feature updates to Office until you have had the chance to fix and

test your customizations. To fix and test your

customizations before updates are applied to

Semi-Annual Channel, use Semi-Annual

Channel (Targeted). Use the Office Telemetry Dashboard to check Add-ins for compatibility.

• If your developers built the Add-in, we

suggest they update the code and redeploy

the custom Office Add-in.

• If you built your customization using VBA,

VSTO, or COM, consider rebuilding your

customization as an Office Add-in, or check

the Office Store to see if there is a 3rd-pary

Add-in that provides similar functionality.

• Consider decommissioning Office Add-ins

that are no longer used or have low

utilization.

• If your developers built the Add-in, we

suggest they update the code and redeploy

the custom Office Add-in.

• If you built your customization using VBA,

VSTO, or COM, consider rebuilding your

customization as an Office Add-in, or check

the Office Store to see if there is a 3rd-pary

Add-in that provides similar functionality.

• Consider decommissioning Office Add-ins

that are no longer used or have low

utilization.

No, these are

included in the

monthly build

for all channels


http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=626090






https://technet.microsoft.com/library/ff394407(v=office.16).aspx

https://technet.microsoft.com/library/ff394407(v=office.16).aspx



Microsoft s role

Roles and

Responsibilities

Responsibility for managing change is shared

between Microsoft and you as the admin of

your Office 365 tenancy. The balance of

responsibility is different for an online service

than it is for an on-premises server or client.

Understand the roles both Microsoft and you

need to play before, during, and after a

change occurs to the service.

Review what s included in each release on the

Office 365 client update channel releases

page on TechNet.

Responsibility for managing change is shared

between Microsoft and you as the admin of

your Office 365 tenancy. The balance of

responsibility is different for an online service

than it is for an on-premises server or client.

Understand the roles both Microsoft and you

need to play before, during, and after a

change occurs to the service.

Review what s included in each release on the

Office 365 client update channel releases

page on TechNet.

Your responsibility for change management is based on the type of

service. The following chart summarizes the balance of responsibility for

both Microsoft and the customer for online services and on-premises

software.

ResponsibilityOffice 365 service

On-premises clients and servers

CustomerCustomerMicrosoftMicrosoft

Test new features for

quality assurance

Provide new functionality

Balance of Responsibility

In a service offering, the balance of responsibility for things such as hardware

maintenance and security updates shifts to the service provider (Microsoft) instead

of the customer (you). However, you still need to ensure that custom software continues to function as expected when updates are rolled out.

For on-premises products, your organization takes on most of the responsibility for

managing change.

Integrate custom software

Communicate about new

features

Tips for Testing

• Set expectations for service changes

• Notify customers 30 days in advance for

changes that require administrator action

• Publish majority of new features and

updates on the Office 365 Roadmap

• Set expectations for service changes

• Notify customers 30 days in advance for

changes that require administrator action

• Publish majority of new features and

updates on the Office 365 Roadmap

• Understand what to expect for changes and

communications

• Read Message Center, Office 365 Roadmap

and Office Blog regularly

• Set up pilot teams to preview new

functionality using Monthly Channel

• Review and update internal change

management processes

• Understand the Office 365 system

requirements and check compliance

• Understand what to expect for changes and

communications

• Read Message Center, Office 365 Roadmap

and Office Blog regularly

• Set up pilot teams to preview new

functionality using Monthly Channel

• Review and update internal change

management processes

• Understand the Office 365 system

requirements and check compliance

• Roll change out to customers

• Specifically for Office 365 clients: release a

new Monthly Channel approximately each

month and new security and non-security

updates, if needed, for Semi-Annual Channel

• Monitor telemetry and support escalations

for any unexpected issues

• Check Message Center and review the

additional information link

• Take any action required (if applicable) and

test any add-ins

• If using an internal share for updates,

download the latest builds and upload to

your share.

• If a break/fix scenario is experienced, create a

Support Request

• Listen to customer feedback to improve

rollout of future changes

• Listen to feedback on the Office 365 space

on the Microsoft Tech Community and

admin feedback tool

• Update Office 365 Roadmap statuses and

add new features

• Listen to customer feedback to improve

rollout of future changes

• Listen to feedback on the Office 365 space

on the Microsoft Tech Community and

admin feedback tool

• Update Office 365 Roadmap statuses and

add new features

• Work with people in your organization to

adopt the change (get help on Microsoft

FastTrack)

• Review change management processes and

bottlenecks for opportunities to streamline,

and use more Microsoft resources

• Provide general feedback on the Office 365

space on the Microsoft Tech Community and

specific feedback in the admin feedback tool

• Train users to provide app specific feedback

using the Smile button in Office apps

• Work with people in your organization to

adopt the change (get help on Microsoft

FastTrack)

• Review change management processes and

bottlenecks for opportunities to streamline,

and use more Microsoft resources

• Provide general feedback on the Office 365

space on the Microsoft Tech Community and

specific feedback in the admin feedback tool

• Train users to provide app specific feedback

using the Smile button in Office apps

Microsoft s Role and Your Role

Apply security updates

Maintain system software

Maintain hardware

Office 365 clients


1 2 3 4 5 6

• Don t wait – have a pilot team use Monthly Channel to start evaluating new

features. Use Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) if you need a longer lead time for

testing.

• Use an Azure virtual environment to test against your customizations or

processes.

• Align your work with the release schedule – schedule testing passes monthly.

• Don t wait – have a pilot team use Monthly Channel to start evaluating new

features. Use Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) if you need a longer lead time for

testing.

• Use an Azure virtual environment to test against your customizations or

processes.

• Align your work with the release schedule – schedule testing passes monthly.

Before a change

Microsoft s role Customer s role

During a change

Customer s role

Microsoft s role

After a change

Customer s role

Microsoft and you both play a role in managing change for Office 365:Change

Management

for Office 365

Clients








https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=860047




https://technet.microsoft.com/mt465751

https://technet.microsoft.com/mt465751



Manage Update

Deployments

You choose when and how updates are deployed to your organization by configuring:

• Which channel to use. This controls how often updates are available.

• Which update method to use (automatic or manual). This controls how your client computers get the updates.

You can decide how updates are deployed to your users computers. You can allow

the client computers to automatically receive updates over the Internet or from an

on-premises location. Alternatively, you might want to have more control by packaging the updates yourself and manually delivering them to client computers

over your network.


1 2 3 4 5 6

Change

Management

for Office 365

Clients

To decide which method to use, consider the following scenarios:

Allow automatic updates

for...

Users or computers that are primarily for productivity and don t

use customizations or integrated

solutions.

Low customizations

Use manual delivery of

updates for...

Users or computers that rely on customizations or integrated

solutions that work with the Office

365 clients.

High customizations

From the Internet

An administrator downloads the updated

build to an on-premises

location.

The administrator uses

scripts or software

distribution tools to

push the updated build

to the client computers.

Microsoft makes an updated build

available on the

Internet.

The client computers

automatically install

the updates when

they are available.

An administrator downloads the

updated build to an

on-premises location.

The client computers

automatically install

the updates when

they are available.

Methods for applying Office updates to client

computers

From an on-

premises location

From an on-premises

location

Automatic Manual

Use the following methods to configure which channels are used by which

client computers and how those clients computers are updated:

• Office Deployment Tool

• Group Policy – for centralized administration of domain-joined computers.

How to configure channels and update methods

Use the following methods to configure which channels are used by which

client computers and how those clients computers are updated:

• Office Deployment Tool

• Group Policy – for centralized administration of domain-joined computers.

How to configure channels and update methods

How to Apply Updates

Do you need to control the delivery of updates?

Recommended Channel:

Monthly Channel

Recommended Channel:

Semi-Annual Channel. Validate

by using Semi-Annual Channel

(Targeted).

Customizations

Managed or un-managed computers?

Allow automatic updates

from the Internet for...

Deploy from an on-

premises location when...

Consumers and small businesses

without an IT department.

You want to control when updates

are pushed out to your

organization s computers.




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