When Lena clicked the new installer, something strange happened. Within 30 seconds, Word opened. Not the full suite—just a lightweight "bootstrap" version. While she typed her first sentence, the rest of Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook silently downloaded in the background. This meant productivity started in seconds, not hours.
Today, nearly all Microsoft 365 Apps (formerly Office 365 ProPlus) use C2R. It supports Windows, macOS, and even Linux via web containers. The technology has been adapted for other Microsoft products like Visio and Project.
Lena was skeptical. But that week, she learned about , and everything changed.
<Configuration> <Add OfficeClientEdition="64" Channel="MonthlyEnterprise"> <Product ID="O365ProPlusRetail"> <Language ID="en-us" /> <ExcludeApp ID="Publisher" /> <ExcludeApp ID="OneNote" /> </Product> </Add> <Updates Enabled="TRUE" /> <Display Level="None" AcceptEULA="TRUE" /> </Configuration> With that file, she could install Office on 200 machines simultaneously via PowerShell:
Within one week, Lena retired the yellow USB drives. Her team’s Office installation time dropped from 45 minutes to (with background streaming starting in 30 seconds). Update-related help desk tickets fell by 80% because C2R updates ran automatically during system idle time.
setup.exe /configure config-office365-enterprise.xml
Lena’s final report to her manager was short: "C2R install completed. No USB required. Office is now always up to date, always ready, and never a weekend headache again."