Windows 10 Roadmap

With Windows 7 approaching end of support, organizations have to begin building a testing and deployment plan to cope with ongoing version releases. Windows 10 versions were initially released via branches. The Current Branch for Business (CBB) was designated for organizations, and it included versions 1507, 1511, and 1607. Only the two most current branches were supported, that is, could continue to receive new versions (feature updates) and quality updates.

With Windows 10 version 1703, Microsoft changed to Semi-annual Channels (SAC), with two version releases every year in Mar. and Sept. Each of these versions will be supported for 18 months from the date of general availability. Under the channel release and servicing model, there might be times when three versions are supported.

Long-Term Servicing Branches (LTSB) and Channels (LTSC) follow the traditional five years of Mainstream support and five years of Extended support. However, these channels receive only quality updates and not ongoing feature updates, so they might not be suitable for running desktop applications such as Office 365 ProPlus.