This article was published on May 4, 2015

Windows Update for Business helps IT admins quickly distribute updates on their own terms


Windows Update for Business helps IT admins quickly distribute updates on their own terms

At its Ignite conference today, Microsoft announced a new platform to provide businesses and IT professionals with more control over how their computers are updated with the fittingly named Windows Update for Business.

While currently admins can select which updates will deploy for individual devices, Microsoft company said this often resulted in slow software roll-outs. Businesses were being left out of the newest features and fixes, and developers had to deal with software fragmentation.

Windows Update for Business provides alternative features that should, in theory, help mitigate those issues.

Administrators can now specify update distribution rings, so that multiple devices can be updated in a single wave, while others receive theirs later.

Additionally, they can now create time frames for when updates should and shouldn’t occur, while a new P2P delivery system helps sites with limited bandwidth receive updates more efficiently.

The service also integrates into System Center and the Enterprise Mobility Suite to make it easier to access as well.

While some degree of fragmentation in business software is inevitable, these changes should at least helps admins distribute new features and fixes more quickly – something that’s particularly important given Microsoft is now transitioning Windows into a subscription service with more frequent updates.

Windows Update for Business will be available for free for everyone running Windows Pro and Enterprise devices – you can try it out by joining the Windows 10 Insider Program.

Introducing Windows 10 for Business [Windows Blog]

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