Microsoft Office Roadmap - What you need to know...

Following news that Microsoft has launched the Office 365 for business public roadmap, Redmond has offered an official rundown of the service for partners.

Designed to provide partners with a way to learn more about upcoming updates before the change comes to service, Redmond’s release is focused primarily around communication.

For Kiwi partners keen on clarification, here's what you need to know...

Which Office 365 services will the public roadmap and First Release apply to?

Both the public roadmap and the First Release program will apply to the commercial and Academic multi-tenant services.

The roadmap and First Release do not apply to Office 365 Government Community Cloud for U.S. Government customers, Office 365 operated by 21Vianet, or Office 365 Dedicated/ITAR customers.

Will the public roadmap include all changes to the service?

No. The public roadmap will provide a great view of many updates and enhancements to the service, but it will not capture every change.

When will the First Release opt-in be available?

The admin opt-in for First Release started rolling out over the last week and if it is not currently in your admin centre, it should be available within the next week.

When will we see the first update in First Release?

Over the next month or so we will provide time for customers to opt-in and later this summer we will notify customers via the message centre when the first update will be available to First Release customers.

Is First Release a beta program? Are updates supported?

No First Release is not beta. All features made available to customers in First Release are fully tested and supported.

How many updates will I get in the First Release group?

First Release is a small set of significant updates. The majority of updates will be delivered globally to all customers.

How long after I opt-in or out of First Release will it take for the setting for take effect?

Changes to your First Release setting will take up to 24 hours to take effect.

Can I apply First Release to a subset of users within my tenant?

No. First Release is a tenant-wide setting.

How will I know when an update is coming to First Release?

We will notify customers via the Office 365 message center in the admin centre.