Telemetry insights for Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016

As we prepare to deliver the newest versions of our Windows Server and System Center products later this year, we want to let our customers know more about our telemetry process to help them understand what we collect and how we use the data to deliver a better product experience. We have released a new white paper with details about the telemetry we collect, how we protect the privacy of customer data, and how a customer may customize their telemetry settings to control how much data they provide. This is part of our ongoing commitment to be customer-obsessed and data-driven as we continually improve our products.

Telemetry is a process that measures and reports data about our software as it runs on customer systems and applications, and it helps us deliver a better product in two ways. First, it helps us proactively identify and address quality issues. It provides valuable insight into how customers use the product, what’s working and what isn’t, and helps us drive continuous improvements through each preview and iteration. These insights have the power to help us keep your business processes up and running. For example, we may notice common failures associated with a certain application or driver on a given configuration of storage or memory, and we can address that issue even before it gets reported to technical support.

Second, the world is changing rapidly, and as we evolve Windows Server and System Center, we want to make sure we’re delivering a platform that meets your needs. The data we get tells us what features are most commonly used and which are not, helping us deliver the capabilities you need as quickly as possible. Telemetry gives every customer a voice that helps us shape all future versions of Windows Server and System Center.

We understand that the privacy and security of our customers’ information is very important. We have taken a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to customer privacy and the protection of customer data. For example, data transmission is encrypted and access to the data is based on the principle of least privilege. Only Microsoft personnel with a valid business need are permitted access to the telemetry data.

Customers can customize their privacy settings, providing them with control over how much data they provide. We have provided details on how to set these controls, as well as full details on our telemetry process, in this whitepaper, which was just released today.

To summarize our commitment to you:

• We use telemetry to make customer experiences better.
• Customer privacy and security are our top priority.
• We want to be transparent about our telemetry process.

Just as we are always looking to improve our products, we also want to improve how we interact with our customers, so your feedback is important to us. We’d love to hear your thoughts.