Fall is a season of spectacular change in nature; fall is also the time that Microsoft makes most of their spectacular product announcements. The list is pretty long, but let’s take a look at a few important ones!
Windows Virtual Desktop
One of the biggest announcements relating to the Microsoft 365 world in Ignite 2018 was Windows Virtual Desktop on Azure. The multi-user capability of Windows Virtual Desktop is optimized for Office 365 Pro Plus and provides full application support. With the Virtual Desktop for Windows 7, Extended Security updates are FREE. This is a great cost savings for those running Window 7 legacy systems, on top of the infrastructure and management savings from WVD. The rights to use WVD are part of certain Microsoft 365 and Windows 10 Enterprise subscriptions. Azure compute costs are the other variable cost involved in moving to WVD. The licensing experts at Connection can help you understand all the nuances of WVD.
Windows 10 (Version 1809) and Windows Server 2019
In the first week of October, Microsoft announced the General Availability of Windows 10 (version 1809), Windows Server 2019, and Remote Desktop Service 2019. However, after reports of missing files after updating to Windows 10 (version 1809), Microsoft announced they are pausing the rollouts of Windows 10 (version 1809). Microsoft also announced they have temporarily removed media for Windows Server 2019. Microsoft was actively working to fix the bugs of Windows 10, version 1809 and testing the updated builds through the Windows Insider program. On November 13, Microsoft announced they are releasing Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server, version 1809—and Windows 10 (version 1809). On the Windows 10 re-release announcement, Microsoft also confirmed that November 13 is also the revised start of the 30-month servicing timeline for Windows 10 (version 1809).
Office 2019 and the Office 2019 Server Products
At Ignite 2018, Microsoft announced that Office 2019 is generally available for commercial customers. Office 2019 is a onetime purchase with no regular feature updates, unlike its cloud counterpart, Office 365. However, the product will receive regular security and stability updates. Windows users can still take advantage of Publisher and Access through Office Professional Plus. A 2019 version of Project and Visio will also be available as standalone purchases. Check out the announcement on the Microsoft 365 Blog and find out about the new features in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. A few weeks after the announcement of Office 2019, Microsoft announced the release of Office 2019 Server Products, including Exchange Server 2019, Skype for Business Server 2019, SharePoint Server 2019, and Project Server 2019. Microsoft also announced Office 2019 uses Click-to-Run installation technology only. This means Microsoft will not provide an MSI file as a deployment method for Office 2019. However, Microsoft will continue to provide an MSI file for the installation of Office Server products.
Please reach out to an Account Manager or our licensing experts to learn more about licensing and deploying these new Microsoft products.
Sreeraj Vasukuttan
Sreeraj Vasukuttan is a Technical Marketing Manager at Connection with a passion for technology and marketing. He enjoys writing about cloud, security, and end-user compute. In his free time, he loves watching films, cooking, and traveling with his family.
