Announced Changes to Office and Windows servicing and support - Part 1
Over on the Windows for IT Pros blog they have posted a very densely packed set of details on some changes and some clarification which I think will take a while for everyone to fully decipher, but a couple of the common questions I've seen raised already are what I will address here to help you prepare for them. I'm not sure how many posts I'll make about some of the other items in the post above, but I'm pretty sure it will be a valuable resource for mining for quite a while...
There are plenty of Windows 10 and Office 2019 topics which are worth covering from the post, but today I'll start off with the section I've seen the most questions about thus far - Click-To-Run replacing MSI based installation...
"The Office 2019 client apps will be released with Click-to-Run installation technology only. We will not provide MSI as a deployment methodology for Office 2019 clients. We will continue to provide MSI for Office Server products."
For any of you who have been working with Office 365 or even the consumer version of Office for the last few years this really shouldn't come as a surprise. For those of you working with older versions of Office or MSI based installs obtained via Office in volume licensing programs, there are changes you really need to be aware of. My rapid fires answers (without the questions) - C2R supports local and offline installs, can be updated from local network points, and in my opinion makes rolling out (and rolling back!!!) updates even easier. However... if you have previously been using WSUS for Office update distribution, you need to make sure you are looking at how tools like Configuration Manager (1602 onwards) and the Office Deployment Tool help to address the internal distribution.
The Office 2016 Deployment Tool allows the administrator to customize and manage Office 2016 Click-to-Run deployments. This tool will help adminstrators to manage installations sources, product/language combinations, and deployment configuration options for Office Click-to-Run.
Manage updates to Office 365 ProPlus with System Center Configuration Manager
When Microsoft publishes a new Office 365 client update to the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN), Microsoft simultaneously publishes an update package to Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Then, Configuration Manager synchronizes the Office 365 client update from the WSUS catalog to the site server. Configuration Manager can then download the update and distribute it to distribution points selected by the administrator. The Configuration Manager desktop client then tells the Office client where to get the update and when to start the update installation process.
For more information and to post questions and comments head to the Office Apps Tech Community page