Microsoft last week announced sweeping name and default-setting changes for how it updates and upgrades the core of Office 365, the locally installed applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
These changes to Office 365 were not the first for the by-subscription suite of apps and services. In 2017, Microsoft dumped an earlier set of monikers – which included “Deferred Channel” and “First Release for Deferred Channel” – for new titles that matched, more or less, the then-current Windows 10 conventions.
But in the intervening years, Windows 10 had streamlined its servicing distribution options. Microsoft did do some Windows 10-esque clean-up on Office 365’s channels, but the latter, even after the changes take effect next month, will still greatly outnumber those of the operating system.
Changes, but toward what end?
The short version of Microsoft’s moves: The company added one new channel to Office 365’s servicing model, renamed the five existing ones to greater or lesser extent and dramatically altered the default setting for new customers.
