Blue Updates May Need More Vigilance

Microsoft product groups are changing their update practices to provide more frequent updates on a more predictable schedule. However, because different product groups typically use different practices and terminology for software updates, it can be challenging for customers to classify updates and decide how best to deploy them. Therefore, customers need to understand the software update practices for each product and classify individual updates for that product against a standard set of criteria, rather than merely responding based on the name of the update. Such a review should be a part of the organization’s change control procedures for software updates.

Update Patterns Already Changing

Microsoft’s Blue initiative means the company is headed toward more frequent software updates, in part due to the need to update the Microsoft-hosted versions of the products more frequently. Regardless, future updates will include new features, and organizations might need to install the update for product support.