Build 2020: Microsoft takes next steps with Fluid Framework

Laurent Giret

Microsoft announced this morning some important updates for the Fluid Framework, the new platform for shared interactive experiences the company announced a year ago. If a preview of the Fluid Framework already allowed Office 365 commercial customers to crowd-source meeting agendas, keep track of tasks, and more, the company is now ready to bring Fluid Workspaces and Fluid Components to select Microsoft 365 experiences.

Office.com and the Outlook.com will be the first Microsoft 365 apps to get Microsoft’s Fluid Workspaces and Fluid Components in preview. “This initial public preview includes basic text, tables, lists, agendas and action items,” the company explained today. The public preview will roll out soon to Microsoft 365 Enterprise and education subscribers enrolled in Targeted Release, and Fluid Components and Fluid Workspaces will come to more Microsoft 365 apps over time.

Microsoft also announced this morning that it was making its Fluid Framework open source, allowing developers to include it into their apps and contribute to the project. “Coupled with the release of additional developer documentation and tooling, this provides a new opportunity for developers to work alongside Microsoft to create and evolve Fluid Framework as it is developed,” the company said, adding that Fluid Framework will get its dedicated GitHub repository next month.