Rolling out Microsoft Office in one of the most demanding environments—Microsoft (SME Roundtable July 2016)

Gain insight into best practices Microsoft IT has used to plan, deploy, and manage Office 365 ProPlus 2016, as well as how System Center Configuration Manager streamlined the upgrade process.

These questions — and more — are discussed during this session:

• [2:26] How are the various updated channels being used within Microsoft?
• [3:58] How do you provide your clients with support, especially in this new world of constant product updates and new features?
• [4:53] How does Microsoft benefit from early adopters during the deployment?
• [5:46] How do we use early adopters from a feedback perspective?
• [6:39] How is Office 365 ProPlus integrated into the Windows images within Microsoft?
• [12:35] How does Click-to-Run integrate into System Center Configuration Manager instead of an MSI approach?
• [15:16] How did you handle licensing at such a large scale?
• [17:03] What are some of the pain points felt during the deployment of Office ProPlus 2016?
• [24:13] How does Microsoft IT tackle application compatibility?
• [25:25] Did many Microsoft users utilize the side-by-side options to run both versions of Office while they test out all their applications?
• [26:21] What were the main reasons for some of our users running MSI?
• [26:45] Before deploying, did you perform any silent pre-deployment compatibility audit (pertaining to the Office telemetry dashboard)?
• [27:46] How are Office updates handled?
• [31:25] How do you train your users and keep up with the rapid release of features?
• [35:55] Is there any change to how we manage MSI updates?
• [38:40] Is there a group policy object (GPO) or control method similar to System Center maintenance windows that will trim or only download Office updates after working hours?
• [41:05] Can you deploy via removable media?
• [43:40] How does a user roll back to a previous update via website?
• [47:38] What is one key takeaway that you'd each like our customers to leave with today?

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