Microsoft have announced the ability to keep third-party AppSource apps automatically updated. We detail the benefits and steps required.
Why are automatic updates beneficial?
Previously, tenant administrators would have to manually ensure they were always on top of app updates to ensure that the latest versions were installed and that any deployments of new versions occurred outside of critical business hours. If these processes could be automated, then it would free up valuable admin resource, but also ensure that any bugfixes and new features for these apps were available promptly.
What features do these automatic updates have?
- Explicit tenant admin opt-in. Administrators control whether to opt-in via the Power Platform Admin Center to enable or disable automatic updates.
- Pre-approved publishers. Administrators can select which software publishers are allowed to automatically update apps in their environment once opted in.
- Updates are installed outside of business hours. To further minimise business impact, automatic updates are only installed during a pre-defined maintenance window.
How do I enable automatic updates?
This feature is currently in preview and not recommended for Production environments; however, the procedure to enable/disable these updates is unlikely to change:
- Visit the Power Platform Admin Center.
- From the Environments side-menu option, select the Environment you wish to edit
- Click Settings at the top of the Environment page
- On the Settings page, you will see two options:
If you wish to change the time range when updates are installed, click Maintenance Window and change the times accordingly. To review your update settings, click App Update Settings. - From the App Update Settings page, you are able to enable/disable automatic updates and select which app publishers the setting should apply to:
- Once you have made your changes, simply click the Save button in the lower right.
Summary
This useful addition to the Power Platform Admin Center should help tenant administrators with the maintenance of the apps in their environments and we look forward to this feature reaching general release in the near future. If any existing Strategy 365 clients would like to explore this new feature and require assistance from one of our Power Platform experts, please get in touch.
