Microsoft 365 Message Center and Microsoft 365 Roadmap Explained

Microsoft 365 is ‘evergreen’, meaning it is constantly evolving.

Changes can sometimes be small and have a low impact, while others can be much bigger, having a significant impact. Sometimes the changes can be far in the future, some happen in a matter of weeks.

So, where is change information communicated and how can you access it?

Introducing the Microsoft 365 Message Center and Roadmap

The Microsoft 365 Message Center is a notification hub which communicates planned changes and other important Microsoft 365 announcements. Messages (also commonly referred to as items) include details of upcoming changes and features, advanced warning of planned maintenance, and deployment start and end dates. The information communicated in the Message Center is also specific to each Microsoft 365 tenant.

The Microsoft 365 Roadmap gives a further out perspective of coming changes, includes estimated release dates and descriptions, and like any roadmap, all the information is subject to change.

Unlike the Microsoft 365 Message Center, the Microsoft 365 Roadmap does not provide tenant-specific information, it highlights coming features across the whole service, meaning not all of the roadmap items will be applicable to your organisation.

As Roadmap items near an expected delivery date, it is usual for them to appear in the Message Center.

Where to access the Microsoft 365 Message Center and Roadmap?

Microsoft 365 Message Center information can be accessed in a few ways:

1 - Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Users who have an admin role in Microsoft 365 can access Message Center items in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This information is therefore not publicly available as it is specific to each tenant.

2 - Weekly Digest Email

Message Center posts can also be communicated via a weekly digest email from Microsoft. This option is turned on by default in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center for administrators. It is here where you can customise or turn it off if you no longer want to receive Microsoft 365 Message Center emails.

3 - Microsoft 365 Admin App

The Microsoft 365 Admin app available on mobile devices can also be used to view the Microsoft 365 Message Center which is a great way to stay up to date with push notifications.

The Microsoft 365 Roadmap is publicly available at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap

What Information is provided in the Microsoft 365 Message Center?

Example M365 Message Center Item: MC88260

The information provided by Microsoft for each Microsoft 365 Message Center item includes:

Message title – a brief, informative headline for the Message Center item

Service – which Microsoft 365 services or applications will be impacted by this update?

Last updated – when was the contents of this message last updated?

Category – provides insight for Service Owners on the need for action on an item (note the category is not listed in the item itself, the category is only visible when sorting the items in the list view - this is a limitation of the Message Center)

Message ID – a unique code for each item to help administrators and users track and reference specific messages

Detailed Description – an in-depth explanation of the item, including what is changing, why and any actions users or admins should take

Message Center Item Categories

Each Message Center item is assigned a category by Microsoft. This is to help Microsoft 365 Product or Service Owners understand the importance of each item at that moment in time.

Does something need to be done about it right now, or is it something to keep an eye on?

1 - Prevent or Fix

These messages inform you of known issues which are currently affecting your organisation and action may be required to avoid disruptions in service. You could consider these messages an alarm bell. They alert an issue that needs to be fixed or prevented before something capable of having a significant impact on your environment occurs.

Prevent or fix issues are different to Service health issues as they give you warning. They encourage proactive action to avoid issues.

2 - Plan for Change

Action may also be required when a ‘Plan for Change’ message is received. Changes to system requirements or feature retirements are communicated in the Message Center and these changes may require action to be taken in your organisation. For example, if a feature is being retired, users will need to be informed and advised on what they should do instead.

3 - Stay Informed

Messages which fall under this category, provide information about new or updated features which are being turned on in your organisation. These changes are announced in the Roadmap before appearing in Message Center.

What Information is provided in the Microsoft 365 Roadmap? 

Example Roadmap Item - Outlook: Newsletters

The information provided by Microsoft for each Microsoft 365 Roadmap item includes:

Feature Name - a brief, informative headline for the Roadmap item

Description – an in-depth explanation of the item, including what the new feature does

Feature ID - a unique code for each item to help administrators and users track and reference specific messages

Added to roadmap – the date when the item first appeared on the roadmap

Last modified – the date when this roadmap item was last updated

Product – the product or service which this roadmap item concerns

Cloud instance – is this item being released Worldwide or only to specific tenants?

Platform – the platforms supported by the feature, such as Web, Windows, Mac, Android etc.

Release phase – the stage of release at which the feature is in, such as ‘Preview’ or ‘General Availability’

Roadmap Item Categories

Each Roadmap item is also assigned a category by Microsoft. These categories are dynamic, since the item progresses from in development, to rolling out, eventually to its final state of having been launched.

1 - In development

Microsoft 365 Roadmap items which are currently in the development and testing stage are categorised as ‘in development’. To give you an idea of the extent of change, at the time of writing this article, there were 600 items in development!

2 - Rolling out

Items which fall under the ‘rolling out’ category are in the process of being gradually released to users. These updates are not yet available to all relevant customers.

3 - Launched

These items have been fully released and are now generally available to all applicable customers.

To sum up the use cases, the Microsoft 365 Roadmap is publicly available and provides the latest updates on the suite of products and services in development or launching soon.

The Microsoft 365 Message Center provides information about planned changes and other important Microsoft 365 announcements specific to your tenant, and is primarily accessed via the M365 admin center.