Were looking for the best method for updating Office 365. We will be testing prior to releasing the version to the rest of the company.  We have a couple of methods we're contemplating but looking for any pros or cons for each.  We are also using SCCM 2012.

1. Run setup.exe setting the version and internal install source in an .xml file run as an SCCM package using distribution points as the install source.

2. Run click2runclient.exe with command lines setting the version and internal install source as an SCCM package using distribution points as the install source.

3  Set the version through group policy and turn on automatic updates and don't specify an install source.

Option 3 appears to be the most straight forward with the least administrative overhead.  Would it be possible to revert back to an earlier version using this method?

I have read various articles but looking for any input as to what is working well  or not working for others.

Hi,

I would like to share this blog post with you, which provides an example how to implement a fully automated testing and deployment process of Office 365 updates. This deployment method provides you the ability to test updates before you approve them in my environment.

The process might look like:

1. Deploy Office 365 in your environment with Office Deployment Tool, configure the "Updates" element in the configuration.xml file so that updates are enabled and the "UpdatePath" attribute points to an internal source.
2. Download the latest Office 365 build into a different internal source, configure your test machine to pick up builds from it.
3. After testing the updates, copy the updates to the first internal source.

You should be able to integrate the process with SCCM to reduce your administrative effort.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Ethan Hua
TechNet Community Support