Follow the steps in this article to deploy Microsoft 365 Apps to client computers by using Microsoft Configuration Manager (current branch).
Before you beginThis article is for administrators in managed environments. Use Microsoft Intune to simplify deployment and management of Microsoft 365 Apps. For more information, watch Your options for deploying Microsoft 365 Apps with Microsoft Intune and see the Intune documentation on Microsoft 365 Apps.
If you haven't already, complete the assessment and planning phases for your Microsoft 365 Apps deployment.
If you need to install Microsoft 365 Apps on a single device or just a few, you have two options to choose from. You can either follow the steps provided in Download and install or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 on a PC or Mac or Use the Office offline installer.
Best practicesThe steps in this article are based on the following best practices for Microsoft Configuration Manager environments:
Use Monthly Enterprise Channel: For Configuration Manager environments, this channel balances quick access to the latest features and quality improvements with a predictable update schedule. Although Current Channel provides the newest features fastest, it often isn't practical for on-premises-managed environments.
Use dynamic collections: We use a combination of static and dynamically updated collections to apply the automation capabilities of Configuration Manager and improve targeting of, for example, updates.
You can customize these options for matching the requirements for your organization, including right-sizing your deployment, changing update channels, and deploying Visio and Project. For more information, see Customize your deployment.
Step 1: Review and update your Configuration Manager infrastructureFrom an infrastructure standpoint, deploying Microsoft 365 Apps with Configuration Manager is like other software deployments and doesn't require any special customization. That said, the following options can make your deployment easier and more efficient:
Make sure to complete the following requirements as well:
https://*.office.com
and https://*.officeconfig.msocdn.com
.Create two sets of collections:
For the initial deployment, create collections aligned to your deployment plan. You could go with just one group and add an initial set of devices to it, adding more devices later. Or create multiple collections (for example, four in a 5/15/40/40 split) and add collections to the application's deployment over time. You can merge these collections later to reduce management overhead. For more information on creating and managing collections, see Introduction to collections in Microsoft Configuration Manager.
For the ongoing maintenance, create collections as described in Build dynamic collections for Microsoft 365 Apps with Configuration Manager, except the collection to "Catch Devices on builds below a certain threshold." This leaves you with three sets of collections:
The Microsoft 365 Apps installation is represented as an application in Configuration Manager. We don't recommend using the legacy package mode for such installations.
Create a Microsoft 365 Apps application using the following steps.
Note
If you choose not to deploy the package in the wizard, you can deploy it later. To find the application, go to Software Library > Application Management > Applications. For details on deploying an application, see Create and deploy an application.
Creating the application using the Office 365 Installer automatically configures Microsoft 365 Apps to listen to the Configuration Manager for update instructions. Review and implement the steps outlined in Manage updates to Microsoft 365 Apps with Microsoft Configuration Manager to start offering updates through Configuration Manager. You can use the collection that catches all Microsoft 365 Apps installation you created in step 2.
Step 5: Monitor progressIf you selected to deploy the application in the wizard, devices should start downloading and installing the Microsoft 365 Apps with the next evaluation cycle. Otherwise, you must manually deploy and distribute the application to devices and distribution points. After the deployment is initiated, monitor the appropriate reports in Configuration Manager for progress and potential issues.
If you opted to use multiple collections for the initial deployment, don't forget to extend the deployment to these other collections over time.
After devices finish the installation of/upgrade to Microsoft 365 Apps, they'll report back to their Management Point with the next hardware inventory cycle. Based on a schedule, the dynamic collections starts adding/removing devices based on the set criteria. This allows you to easily monitor the overall progress of the deployment and if all devices are in the intended update channels or if some configuration drift is happening.
You can also use the Office 365 Client Management dashboard. This dashboard provides charts for the following information:
To view the Office 365 Client Management dashboard in the Configuration Manager console, go to Software Library > Overview > Office 365 Client Management. At the top of the dashboard, use the Collection drop-down setting to filter the dashboard data by members of a specific collection.
In the dashboard, make sure you see the versions, languages, and update channels that you deployed for each collection.
Important
If the data isn't displaying, you might need to enable hardware inventory and select the Office 365 ProPlus Configurations hardware inventory class. For more information, see Configure hardware inventory.
Customize your deploymentThe steps in this article cover the standard best practice recommendations from Microsoft. This section covers the most common customizations to these best practices. If you want to build a customized deployment, we still recommend that you start with the Office 365 Installer. The wizard automates the creation of detection rules, deployment types, and fetching the required source and setup files. It's easier to start with the wizard and customize later than to start from scratch.
Right-size the deployment for multi-language environmentsIf you support multiple languages in your environment and select to include them all in the application, it might grow in size substantially. Because all devices download the application from a distribution point before running setup, many devices might download source files for language packs that aren't needed during installation. See how to right-size your deployment for guidance on balancing which languages to include to conserve internet bandwidth and which to exclude to reduce LAN or WAN traffic.
Build and deploy multiple packages to multiple deployment groupsIf you need to deploy the 32-bit version of Microsoft 365 Apps, you can create other applications. Two different architectures (x86 and x64 in this case) can't be included in the same application. For more information, see Define your installation packages.
Use different update channelsWith Microsoft 365 Apps, you can control how frequently your users receive feature updates. To do so, you choose an update channel for your users. For more information, see Overview of update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps.
In this article, we're using Monthly Enterprise Channel, which provides users with new features on a monthly schedule. You can, however, choose to deploy Current Channel, which provides users with the newest features as soon as they're ready.
A single Microsoft 365 Apps installation package can only include one type of update channel, so each new update channel requires a new package.
Deploy Visio and Project alongside the core appsTo deploy Visio and Project with Microsoft 365 Apps, you can include them as part of the application when building it in Configuration Manager. For more information on licensing and system requirements, see Deployment guide for Visio and Deployment guide for Project. When you deploy by using the Office 365 Installer Wizard in Configuration Manager, Microsoft 365 Apps, Visio, Project, and other products all use the same detection method. We recommend updating the detection method, so it's unique for each product. For more information, see Detection Methods.
Configure uninstall with Configuration ManagerDo the following to allow the application to be uninstalled:
You can deploy or edit the application from Software Library > Overview > Application Management > Applications.
Related articlesConfiguration options for the Office Deployment Tool
Overview of the Office Deployment Tool
Overview of the Office Customization Tool
Deployment guide for Microsoft 365 Apps
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