Why Windows 10 Autopilot should be on your technology roadmap

The working world has transformed dramatically over the last 9 Months. Working from home looks like it’ll be the new normal or at the very least, it will be something that is done a lot more regularly by many different organisations. It definitely won’t be the exception to the rule that it was at the end of 2019.

Most businesses I’ve spoken to across a variety of different industries including LRG, NHS and Insurance to name a few, are considering downsizing their office space if they haven’t done so already. This reflects the cutting back of costs in a tight economy but also the sensible realization that you don’t need to have as much office space if your employees supplement their working week with some work from home days. Why spend more when you don’t have to?!

Through this drastic cultural change, there have been a few landmark changes to the working world. The major one, and the most commonly discussed is the sharp rise of Microsoft Teams (and dare I say it) Zoom. Let’s be honest, you cannot mention one without the other, although one is definitely more suited to social lives whereas the other is more suited to the working world. I don’t need to mention which is which, which speaks volumes.

Now 3 paragraphs in and I haven’t mentioned Windows 10 Autopilot, but rest assured, the title of my first blog post isn’t click-bait! Whilst a lot of time and effort has gone into ensuring that all employees can work from home using Microsoft’s productivity apps such as Teams, SharePoint and Exchange Online, I do feel like the importance of Windows 10 Autopilot has been somewhat overlooked.

In this new working world, where employees work all over from anywhere and everywhere, there is a drastic need for the ability to issue new employees with a device that’s set up and ready to go, but equally issue existing employees with a new device that is set up and ready to go should they break or lose a device.

The old days of shipping a device to IT, having the device built and then sending it out to the end users has got to end for more reasons than 1.

1. First of all, it’s the green option. It’s time we started considering the environmental impacts of two sets of shipping. First to IT, then once built, back out to the end user. This has to stop. It’s inefficient, time consuming and it adds extra CO2 emissions to a planet that doesn’t really need them. I have participated seen many public sector tenders this year that include a social value weighting. Within that includes the reduction of CO2 emissions. If the goal is a positive environmental impact, look no further.
2. Your poor IT teams. Working from home for the majority of the last 9 months with what I can only imagine to be a mountainous workload. Whilst ensuring the organisations data and infrastructure is secure and that all the users can effectively work and collaborate from home, they’re suddenly supplied with a new device which they have to build urgently. The process takes hours and I’m sure they need it like a hole in the head!
3. Easy rebuilds! The majority of tickets generated by software errors or bugs can often be solved by rebooting the device and re-setting the operating platform. This is one of the most common scenarios that takes up time from the IT Helpdesk. Ensuring the IT team can remotely rebuild this device reduces the burden on IT but also ensures the end user can be up and operational an hour later whereas historically they would have to wait for either a new device to be shipped out, or for their device to be sent to IT, rebuilt and then sent back.
4. Time consuming. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that shipping a device from A to B is quicker than shipping a device from A to B to C. Just send it to the end user and let them log in and have the device build itself within an hour (internet connections depending).
5. Cost effective. Not initially I grant you, but the long-term financial benefits of having your organisations own Autopilot build will save on logistical costs and most importantly, the hours spent building devices. It takes no time at all to build a strong financial business case for Windows 10 Autopilot.

So, if Windows 10 Autopilot isn’t on your current roadmap, I’d love to know why. There’s never been a time where it makes more sense to remotely role out your Windows devices. A deep dive into windows 10 by an expert consultant is available with one of our free technology strategy workshops. You can sign up for your free technology workshop by contacting us through our website or by contacting me directly.

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