Microsoft 365 Admin Center gets a software updates page

Microsoft 365

Proof that greatness can’t be rushed. The Microsoft 365 Admin Center keeps improving, with new features here and there adding to the experience of this handy portal that is a lifesaver for IT admins.

Well, if you are one, then you will be pleased to know about this welcome new addition.

As announced, Redmond has released a new software update page in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center that is designed to give you a high-level overview of your installed Windows and Office software in a unified view.

You can quickly get an idea of the update status and health of your software installations using this page of the dashboard.

System administrators are provided with a lot of metrics here in this panel, including information about how many devices on their fleet have deployed the latest security updates for Microsoft 365 apps, as well as a breakdown of the security vulnerabilities found.

Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Also provided, is the number of machines on the network running unsupported versions of Windows, alongside details about PCs with versions of the OS that are about to reach end of servicing.

You know, all the good stuff under one umbrella.

The feature was initially slated for release in April 2022, but has just reached preview just now.

And while, as of today, the software updates webpage only provides details regarding Microsoft 365 apps and Windows, we know for a fact that the company will be expanding it later this year to include on-premises Exchange Servers too.

Exchange Server 2019 is also slated to get a similar experience early next year.

Obviously, since this new software updates dashboard is still in preview stage, it is logical to expect some rough edges here and there. Besides, it is fed by best-effort diagnostic data, so the counts themselves could be off. Not to mention latency in updating the numbers.

Nevertheless, if you would still like to give it a go, you can check out the dedicated help pages that are available here and here.