Microsoft tends to publish messages regarding upcoming Microsoft 365 app updates and changes on its Microsoft 365 admin center dashboard. Some of these posts are labelled as a "major change" as they require admin attention and monitoring to ensure smooth deployment of such changes, which can be new feature additions or removal of some.
Communicating these early is crucial given that they can introduce bugs and issues, and sometimes they can be numerous as it happened with Outlook following a big Calendar upgrade.
Microsoft recently announced changes to Teams-certified third-party app approvals. However, it may not be available to all licenses as initially announced. You can find the details in its dedicated article here.
Another "major change" Microsoft has announced is about how the Microsoft 365 (M365) app update channels will function.
For those who may not be familiar, the tech giant currently releases M365 app updates in four ways: Current channel, Monthly Enterprise channel, Semi-Annual Enterprise channel (preview), and Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel. Administrators, depending on how often and soon their organizations want the updates, can choose the servicing channel.
However, Microsoft has announced today that it is deprecating the semi-annual preview channel and at the same time, reducing the support for the semi-annual channel from 14 months down to eight months. On the positive side, the company is extending the monthly channel servicing from one month to two.
In an updated support document regarding this, Microsoft has outlined the changes. It writes:
"Update Channel Changes Coming July 2025: Microsoft is making significant changes to update channels beginning July 2025:
- Monthly Enterprise Channel: Rollback support extended to 2 months (from 1 month)
- Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (Preview): Being deprecated - migrate devices immediately
- Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: Support duration reduced to 8 months (from 14 months), shifting to focus on unattended devices"
Some additional details regarding this have also been released. Below, Microsoft has explained why the Semi-Annual Channel is seeing the alteration. The company writes:
"Beginning July 2025, Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel is shifting to focus primarily on unattended devices. Microsoft recommends moving interactive devices to Monthly Enterprise Channel or Current Channel. Additionally, Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel feature releases will be supported for 6 months (reduced from 14 months) with new features each January and July, and monthly security updates."
You can find the updated support document here on Microsoft's official website. Details about the change have also been communicated to the M365 Admin Center via message ID MC1087098.
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