What's New in SCCM Technical Preview 1902.2 Release

Microsoft released SCCM technical preview 1902.2 just a week ago. We know that technical previews are released once in a month. In rare cases you might see two technical preview releases in a month. In February month, we saw release of SCCM technical preview 1902.2 and 1902. With every release we find the new features added. So let’s explore what’s new in Configuration Manager Technical preview 1902.2.

Just a quick note on tech preview builds. These are early pre-release builds. Many of the features and scenarios are still in development. Technical preview builds are neither intended for production environments nor full evaluations. Check out the Configuration Manager Technical preview build numbers here.

First of all you should know that you can download technical preview version 1902 from evaluation center. If my memory serves me right, until now the preview version available for download was version 1810. Now as the link is updated, you can download the latest version of SCCM technical preview.

What’s New in SCCM Technical Preview 1902.2 Release

In this post I have skipped the installation of tech preview 1902.2. You can follow any of my tech preview install guides since the steps to install remain same. The new features in SCCM technical preview 1902.2 are as follows.

SCCM Technical Preview 1902.2 Features

1. Enhanced HTTP Improvement

As per Microsoft, enhanced HTTP will provide better support for features that require it. For example, app approvals via email or viewing recently connected consoles. You can enable enhanced HTTP per primary site or for the central administration site.

To enable enhanced HTTP on your primary site :-

Launch the SCCM Console.
Go to Administration > Overview > Site Configuration > Sites.
Select the server and click Properties on top ribbon.
Click Client Computer Communication tab.
To enable enhanced HTTP, check the box “Use Configuration Manager-generated certificates for HTTP site systems“.

2. Improvement to phased deployment success criteria

In my observation, from past few releases, there are some good changes being made to phased deployments. In SCCM technical preview 1902.2 release, a new success criteria option is available. I guess this new feature will make it to next current branch release.

Number of devices successfully deployed – Instead of only a percentage, you can use criteria of the number of devices successfully deployed as well. This option is useful when the size of the collection is variable, and you have a specific number of devices to show success before moving to the next phase. You can now specify a number between 1 and 100,000.

3. Additional languages for Office 365 updates

This feature is related to Office 365 client updates. SCCM technical preview 1902.2 now supports all supported languages for Office 365 client updates. The update workflow now separates the 38 languages for Windows Update from the 103 languages for Office 365 Client Update.

4. Integration with analytics for Office 365 ProPlus readiness

This feature applies to Office 365. With this new feature, you can use Configuration Manager to identify devices that are ready to upgrade to Office 365 ProPlus. With Office analytics integration, it shows insights into any potential compatibility issues with Office add-ins and macros used in your environment. If everything is good, then use SCCM to deploy Office 365 to ready devices.

In addition to the above feature, a new tile can be seen in Office 365 client management dashboard. This tile is a bar chart of devices in the following states: