As the IT industry witnesses enormous change, we compare the vastly different journeys of a new laptop. One in the old-fashioned world of IT and the other in a modern workplace.
These are the tales of two starkly different environments: a traditional IT department and a modern one. Each team must deploy a new laptop to Joe, who recently joined their organisation. The traditional team takes the route familiar to most IT pros. The contemporary team deploys a Microsoft Managed Desktop. Read on to learn how their experiences - and Joe's, compare. And just for fun, there's a musical twist.
In our blog, A Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Managed Desktop, you can take a helicopter tour of this exciting new service from Microsoft and IT Lab.
In the early eighties, Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice released the catchy hit Rip it Up. The lyrics ‘rip it up and start again’ could be a traditional IT team’s motto. Yes, we’re talking about the golden (or master) image: the template for an organisation’s end-user devices.
As any IT pro living in the legacy world knows, the journey of a new laptop – from IT to the user – is onerous. Almost as soon as IT builds the image, it’s out of date. Now they’re asked to issue a laptop to Joe, the new Business Development Manager. In the time-honoured tradition, the shiny new device is wiped and reloaded; IT rips it up and starts again.
And let the pain begin. First there’s a snag with compatibility; the image was built for a Dell Latitude 5300, but this one’s a newer model – a Latitude 5310. Soon the company will switch from Dell to HP, so IT will need to rebuild the image’s drivers too.
Four days and 12 strong coffees later, the image is ready to deploy to the laptop. The team will use something like SCCM (Systems Centre Configuration Manager), WDS (Windows Deployment Services) or Altiris. But they’re not off the merry-go-round yet, as the laptop whirrs with seemingly endless updates: Windows, Microsoft Office, and all the company’s line of business apps - whether Joe needs them or not. And unless the team has the time to maintain their image, the process is unlikely to be much different next time around.
With apologies to LMFAO – Everyday I’m Shuffling.
Enter Joe, the new start whose been waiting for his laptop for four days. Joe works remotely and makes the 100-mile round trip to collect his device. But it isn’t ready for him yet; there’s a game of pass the parcel first. There are lots of interactions with IT, as Joe has to login to allow them to do more stuff.
A morning passes, and Joe goes for lunch. To save more toing and froing, he gives his password to the sysadmin. A practical thing to do? Yes, but a big no-no in security terms; not a great message for a new employee!
Oh, and did we say that IT ran the updates? Not quite. Joe’s first experience of his new device is an application update, which takes half an hour. Worse still, it’s an app that isn’t even relevant to his role. Over time, as these surplus apps run in the background, they’ll cause performance issues and security risks.
We can think of no better track than George Michael’s Freedom (thank you, George).
Sticking with Joe in his new start scenario, his laptop is chosen from a pre-curated list of devices, which the manufacturer delivers directly to his home. The old-world premise of ‘wipe and reload’ becomes something very different; build on top. And this story is short. IT has three things to do:
And that’s it. No golden image to maintain. No need to say hello to Joe (although that would be nice). And there’s one goodbye; to managing Windows and Microsoft updates and patches. Forget the reliance on a connection to the corporate network and the old WSUS server; it’s delivered through Windows Update for Business.
Setting up a New User Device: Traditional IT Steps and Timings -vs - Modern IT Steps and Timings with an MMD Device
To learn more about the cloud-powered MMD experience, visit Launching the Next Generation of Desktop Management or click below to download our eBook.
As Joe’s so impressed with his new Microsoft Managed Desktop, we’re sure he won’t mind the comparison to Kelly Clarkson’s Miss Independent.
The first hands in the company to touch Joe’s Surface laptop are his, as he unboxes it at home. He received his login credentials at his induction; all he needs from here is an Internet connection.
The start-up wizard does the rest, and – rather than having a password forced on him – he gets to reset it. If he prefers, Joe can easily set up facial recognition to log into his device.
As the MMD device is aligned to the company and the user, Joe enjoys a personalised welcome message: this is an onboarding experience like no other. Within minutes, Joe has everything he needs to be productive. His device automatically downloads the apps relevant to his role, such as his company’s CRM, and the latest productivity apps like Microsoft Teams, which he’ll use as a hub for teamwork with his new colleagues.
Joe then visits the Company Portal and downloads Visio and Microsoft Project, which he requested after joining. That’s it: minimalist, quick, simple. And it stays that way. Joe’s device is evergreen, so he’ll never be thrown offline or side-tracked by updates.
Remember our blog - A Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Managed Desktop when we shared some MMD device performance stats? Compared to the legacy device Joe had at his old company, he’ll save on average 15 minutes a day. That’s an hour and 15 minutes extra every week to be productive.
Deploying a New User Device: Traditional IT Steps and Timings -vs - Modern IT Steps and Timings with an MMD Device
Of course, there will be times when Joe needs a little IT support - and it’s there for him 24/7, as part of IT Lab’s user support wrapper for the MMD managed service. Be happy, Joe, we have a feeling you and your employer will thrive.
Enquire here about our Microsoft Managed Desktop Service or click below for a complimentary consultation.