As businesses move towards a digitally equipped infrastructure that incorporates modern technologies like windows autopilot while maintaining user preference and ease of use to be a top priority, one of the most overlooked aspects is that of the cognitive IT load. IT teams today have more than one task at hand and have to simultaneously juggle multiple tasks- from new device provisioning to software enablement, from security maintenance to device troubleshooting.
One of the most essential tasks that IT teams have to undertake is the configuration of devices for security and usability with an MDM solution. IT teams must spend several hours individually provisioning devices for work/education. And this is why a remote provisioning program to pre-configure new devices for work without touch is crucial.
According to gs StatCounter, Windows enjoys a substantial market desktop and laptop share of around 77%. In this article, let us discuss the out of the box deploying Windows 10 & Windows 11 with the Windows Autopilot program supported by Scalefusion.
What is Windows Autopilot?
Windows Autopilot is a collection of technologies that can be used to pre-configure new Windows devices and set them up for productivity. It can also be used by the IT teams to recover, refurbish and reuse old, pre-provisioned Windows devices. Windows autopilot enables IT teams to streamline device provisioning with minimum infrastructure and simplifies remote setup.
Windows Autopilot uses the OEM-optimized OS version in Windows devices and eliminates the need for custom images and drivers for every model of device being used to make it ready for business deployment.
Once deployed, these Windows devices can be managed using a Windows MDM solution.
Windows Autopilot Requirements: Deployment Process Overview
For using Windows Autopilot, it is crucial to have a supported version of Windows 10 semi-annual channel or Windows Enterprise LTSC 2019. You can check out the Windows Autopilot software requirements here.
To use Windows Autopilot with Scalefusion MDM, IT admins must have Azure AD with Azure active directory premium Subscription.
How to Configure Windows Autopilot Using Scalefusion Using Azure AD Credentials?
To set up and pre-configure Windows Autopilot to enable device provisioning out of the box with Scaleusion MDM, you first need to sign up on Scalefusion using Azure AD credentials.
Let us have a look at the step-by-step instructions to configure Windows Autopilot in combination with Scalefusion.
Step-by-Step Guide to Using Windows Autopilot:
Step 1:
- Sign up on the Scalefusion dashboard using Office 365 credentials.
- If you have already signed up on Scalefusion using any other account credentials, you can easily achieve Microsoft Office 365 migration.
Step 2:
- Complete the Azure AD setup on the Scalefusion dashboard.
- Sign in to your Azure portal, and select a default configuration- this windows autopilot deployment profile will be applied to your devices when they are auto-enrolled.
- Choose device type- kiosk (company-owned) or BYOD (employee-owned) to configure the OOB experience.
- Enter your organization info and complete the setup by providing the necessary permissions. Set up Scalefusion as your MDM provider in Azure active directory.
Read More: Configure Azure AD based Device EnrollmentStep 3:
- Generate hardware IDs of the devices to be enrolled. These can be obtained from the vendor or can be extracted using a hardware script.
- Upload the hardware IDs to the Azure portal and assign users to the hardware IDs
- Check the devices in the Autopilot section of the Scalefusion dashboard.
You can now ship your new devices/factory reset devices to the end users. On their first power up after connecting to a network, the devices will be prompted to enroll windows devices using their Microsoft Azure active directory credentials. On log in, the device will be ready with a deployment profile, and the admin can push any desired device profile on the machines to make it further ‘business-ready’!
What Can you Do with Windows Autopilot?
Windows is essentially most beneficial for IT teams who spend productive time customizing settings on each device after it is already set up. Windows Autopilot enables IT teams to:
- Automatically join devices to Azure Active Directory or Active Directory (via Hybrid Azure AD Join).
- Auto enrollment of Windows 10 devices into Scalefusion MDM
- Restrict the Administrator account creation
- Create and auto-assign devices to configuration groups based on a device’s profile.
- Customize out of the box content specific to the organization.
Windows 10 Autopilot Provisioning – Use Cases
1. In an enterprise setup
In enterprises, IT teams can leverage the Windows 10 autopilot program to provision devices out of the box without manual intervention. The devices can be provisioned over the air and shipped directly to the employees. On the first power-up, the devices will be enrolled into corporate usage policies, and the device will be equipped with business apps and content.
2. In customer-facing setup
For retail and customer-facing devices, Windows 10 devices can be provisioned as digital signage or as single/multi-app kiosks and be directly shipped to diverse locations without IT teams having to individually provision the devices.
3. In education:
In schools/educational institutions, devices to be used by students can be provisioned with educational content and apps, and the student can simply power up the device and start using it for learning.
Conclusion
As IT teams handle multiple tasks critical to business continuity and security, Windows Autopilot helps to streamline and automate one primary task of Windows device provisioning over the air. With Scaleusion and Windows Autopilot, IT teams can exercise enhanced control over Windows device operations for business and education.
