What is Microsoft Autopilot and why should you deploy it?

What is Microsoft Autopilot?

Microsoft Autopilot is a cloud-based deployment and management solution for Windows devices, designed to simplify and streamline the process of setting up new computers for your business using Microsoft 365 and the correct Microsoft licensing to deploy it.

In other words, Microsoft Autopilot allows a business or organisation to deploy a standardised computer or laptop, built to fulfil all the requirements for both the organisation and the user, giving users a standardised, consistent environment to work in that can, for want of a better description, self-heal as well should things go wrong.

How does it work?

The way it works is that a applications is pretty straight forward:

• Applications that you want to use in the business are packaged up and uploaded to Microsoft 365 in a portal called Intune 
• Each application will be assigned to a group for deployment
• Computers are enrolled in Microsoft 365 using their serial number
• Users are added to each of the applications groups they need installed on their computer
• When the user switches on the laptop and logs in for the first time
  • The computer checks to see if it is associated with a Microsoft tenant, finds it is and runs the deployment script setting up the computer to work with the organisation right from first boot up, running through the user setup process using the autopilot out of box user experience script
  • The computer prompts the user to login to the tenant and displays any tenant branding
  • The user logs in and the computer then runs all of the application installations in the background, building the computer from scratch with all of the applications assigned to that user
  • The computer deploys all configurations setup for the organisation, examples include:
    • Renaming the computer
    • Installing applications such as Microsoft Office 365, Adobe, Chrome Edge, 
    • Deploying organisation branding such as wallpaper
    • OneDrive sync and backup
    • Wireless network settings
    • Disk encryption and key management
    • Security settings including firewall configuration
    • Application updates
    • Local administrator management
    • Port management (USB lockdown)
    • Enrolling the device in remote management and monitoring (RMM)
    • Setting up templates and file usage
    • Setting up SharePoint locations in Windows Explorer
    • Setting up Printers and printer ports depending on location
  • Once built, the computer is enrolled in Microsoft 365 and the status of the installation is displayed in the Microsoft Intune portal

Why should you use it?

The three S's, simplification, standardisation and security.

Simplification... whilst the above steps seem complicated, it really is introducing simplification because once it is setup, all computer installations are simplified.  They follow the same process whilst installing, meaning the process for the organisation and users is simple, the computer is assigned to the tenant and when the user logs into the computer, it self builds.  Simple! 

Standardisation... the computers are all built using scripts and templates so they are all the same, they are standardised.  This doesn't mean the computers are all identical because different people need different applications and settings in an organisation, it means they are built to the same standards, however different users are added to different application deployment groups providing them with the applications they need to do their jobs. Users automatically get the correct applications when they login to a computer, if they use someone else's computer in the organisation, their applications will still be available because they are deployed for the user that is logging in.  This process is automatic so users can use any enrolled devices without needing to get the computer setup for them, it happens based on the standardised setup in the environment.

Security... computers that are enrolled in Autopilot and Intune are locked to an organisation's tenant, if a device is lost or stolen and someone finds it, then wipes the disk to install Windows on it, the next time the computer connects to the internet, it checks in with Microsoft and sees its serial number is associated with a tenant and will only allow the computer to login to that tenant.  It will also display the tenant branding, showing the person that is using the computer who the device belongs to.  This makes recovery of lost of stolen devices far more likely because the person recovering the device can't use it, it is always locked to the tenant meaning the computer is useless to anyone outside of the organisation.

It also makes it far easier to get Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditations if the environment is standardised, secure and managed.

Faster turn around of faults

If one of your users were to suffer a loss of their device, either lost, stolen or it dies, getting them back up and running is a simple process and one that often doesn't even require anything other than shipping a new device to them.  The new device just needs to be enrolled in the tenant before it is shipped to them, the get the computer, connect it to the internet and log in.  It then builds itself and syncs up their data to look and feel like their previous device.

Likewise is a computer has an issue that is software related, it can sometimes be beneficial to rebuild the computer from scratch, wiping the device and reinstalling everything, in the past this would result in a lot of downtime as the computer would typically be sent back to us to do the rebuild,  but with Autopilot and Intune, there is no need to ship the device to us to rebuild, instead we can trigger a remote wipe and because the device is tied to the tenant, it checks in with Microsoft when it  connects to the internet and then rebuilds itself, including all of the applications and data for the user, all automatically and all in situ.  The process usually only takes between 30 minutes to an hour, resulting in far less downtime than before, improving productivity for the user and organisation.

Faster application deployments

If you want to roll out a new application to some or all of your users, again this can be packaged up and deployed to users without any downtime or requiring "techies" to remote onto the computer to install it.  It can all be done from a central deployment in Microsoft 365 for the users that need the new package.  Again this saves time as once the application is uploaded to Intune, it can just be deployed using Microsoft groups and the users that need the new application are just added to the application group, the rest happens automatically in the background, with the user getting the application installed on their machine over the internet.  The computer will check in with Intune periodically and when it sees a new application waiting for deployment, it will download it and install it for the user.  What's more, and depending on the app, it can even automatically configure the settings you want for the users with the application, if the application supports this feature.

Demo and more information

If you would like to see Autopilot in action and see how easy it is to deploy applications in your organisation, please call us and we can show you a demonstration of Autopilot from start to finish.  From getting a new computer that boots for the first time connecting to the tenant and deploying all its applications.  Call us on 01722 411 999 to see Autopilot in action.