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Microsoft 365 deployment rings and release channels

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Microsoft 365 deployment rings and release channels

How Microsoft ships changes to Microsoft 365, and how to set up deployment rings to control what your users see.

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/microsoft-365-deployment-rings-and-release-channels

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01

The Microsoft side: release channels

Microsoft maintains several release rings at the platform level:

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/microsoft-365-deployment-rings-and-release-channels

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02

Microsoft 365 Apps (Office) release channels

For the installable Office apps, there's a separate set of update channels (covered in the Intune app deployment guide):

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/microsoft-365-deployment-rings-and-release-channels

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03

Building deployment rings

The standard pattern: divide your user base into rings:

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/microsoft-365-deployment-rings-and-release-channels

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04

Adopting changes through Message Center

Microsoft posts upcoming changes to the Message Center (covered in its own guide) 30–90 days before they affect users. Combined with rings:

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/microsoft-365-deployment-rings-and-release-channels

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05

Microsoft 365 Roadmap

The Microsoft 365 Roadmap at microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap is the public-facing list of features in development, in preview, and recently launched. Filter by product, status (In Development, Rolling Out, Launched)…

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/microsoft-365-deployment-rings-and-release-channels

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06

What you can't control

Some Microsoft changes ship to all tenants simultaneously — security fixes, infrastructure changes, certain feature flag adjustments. Deployment rings give influence over user-facing features, not platform-level operati…

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/microsoft-365-deployment-rings-and-release-channels

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07

Operational discipline

A mature operating model:

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/microsoft-365-deployment-rings-and-release-channels

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