We knew already that Windows 10 would offer multiple paces of update delivery. The range of options includes a pure security fix-only Long Term Servicing branch, a consumer-paced monthly mix of security and feature improvements, and even the Insider Program for pre-release access to in-development features.

For consumers, this will all be managed through Windows Update. And at its Ignite conference in Chicago today, Microsoft announced the enterprise counterpart: Windows Update for Business. Internally, Microsoft refers to Windows Update as "WU" (pronounced "Woo"), and one assumes that the company similarly calls Windows Update for Business "WUB" with an altogether more dubsteppy pronunciation.

WUB will take the basic WU experience in Windows 10—selectable update speeds, peer-to-peer downloading of updates—and extend it with business-oriented features. The two big ones are the ability to define maintenance windows and policy-based configuration of update policy according to business need.

Many of us will have experienced the annoyance of Windows Update wanting or needing to upgrade our PCs while we're in the middle of a task. This is bad enough when the update installs cleanly and the only downtime is a reboot; it's even worse when a problem slips through and the update breaks something. With maintenance windows, administrators will be able to mark certain times as being unacceptable for a patch. This could be as simple as the convenience to ensure that corporate desktops defer their updating to the middle of the night when nobody is there. But it could be used for mission critical situations too—for example, ensuring that some departments never get updated in the last week of a month or quarter to ensure that month-end and quarter-end financial processes are never interrupted.

Similarly, different groups of machines can be put into different update channels depending on their needs. This will allow IT departments to use the different distribution rings internally, using some systems as pilot deployments in the Insider Program, putting others on the mainstream consumer track, or holding back others to be more conservative.

Although the updating process is slightly changed, it will continue to be manageable through tools such as System Center and Enterprise Mobility Suite.