After several delays, Microsoft is set to deliver in June the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) patching tool and the Microsoft Update (MU) software patching service, a company executive says. Both MU and WSUS were originally due in the first half of 2004, but were delayed several times. Microsoft has blamed the delays partly on work it had to do on Windows XP Service Pack 2, a security-focused upgrade to Windows XP released last August. Most recently the company has said it would deliver MU and WSUS in the first half of 2005, a target it expects to make.
MU is the successor to the current Windows Update service. It is a single service for users to get patches for a number of Microsoft products, not just Windows. The service will be aimed mostly at consumers and small businesses, as Windows Update is today.