Microsoft has rolled out a major new update to its System Center Configuration Manager tools, adding the ability to manage fleets of devices, and Windows 10 management capabilities that enable in-place upgrades to the new operating system from older editions. Also included is a new Windows Update for Business feature that lets admins better manage their update strategies, with an option to delay Windows 10 updates if necessary.

The new release offers admins a variety of ways to deploy Windows 10 to their organization’s devices. It’s an important move for Microsoft, which is keen to get more enterprises onboard with its latest OS.

As well as Windows 10 deployment options, the new System Center Configuration Manager now lets admins manage updates for the new OS thanks to the new Windows Update for Business feature. Using the new tool, admins can set up “deployment rings” that dictate when different groups of devices receive mandatory updates.

Brad Anderson, corporate vice president of Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise, characterized the new release as “the most significant and important release of ConfigMgr ever”. He added that the 1511 branch of System Center Configuration Manager was designed especially for organizations that are growing accustomed to cloud-delivered software services.

“With this release we have completed the work of turning ConfigMgr into a cloud-connected solution—we have effectively ‘SaaSified’ ConfigMgr,” Anderson joked in a blog post.

Besides the updates, Anderson announced that Microsoft is now switching to a new release schedule for System Center Configuration Manager. From now on, Microsoft will push out monthly preview updates of the software that let users test new features as soon as they’re implemented. Future versions of the software will arrive rapidly but predictably, so admins should prepare themselves for continuous releases going forward.

“We have already moved to a monthly release cadence, and we’ve been posting these monthly builds for our Insider or TAP [Technology Adoption Program] customers, as well as publically since June,” Anderson said.

Microsoft will designate some, but not all, monthly releases as the “Current Branch” of System Center. Those releases will be the more stable versions that are good enough for general use.

Anderson noted in his blog post that more than 500 companies have already tested the early preview builds of the new System Center Configuration Manager, which was managing over 500,000 production machines.

Those who want to download the new release can do so via MSDN, the Microsoft Evaluation Center and the Volume Licensing Center.

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