Our customers are frequently highlighting that they suffer from problems related to device imaging. These problems usually involve increased costs, reduced productivity and generally consuming the time of IT teams across organisations.

To solve the associated imaging challenges, Microsoft have introduced Windows AutoPilot – a technology within Windows 10 that solves all of the problems associated with imaging, by removing imaging altogether! 

What is Windows AutoPilot? 

Windows AutoPilot is a provisioning technology, rather than an imaging technology. Windows AutoPilot allows corporate-owned devices to be associated with the customer’s organisation, at the time of purchase, by registering the device’s unique identifier in the customer’s AutoPilot database.

With Windows AutoPilot, standard OEM images are utilised, and the devices that are provisioned using Windows AutoPilot are enrolled into the customer’s management solution (such as Intune or System Center Configuration Manager). Once enrolment is complete, the management solution will then take over and configure the device, ready for end-users to be productive.

Why is this beneficial to your organisation? 

• IT do not need to touch a Windows AutoPilot provisioned device. It can be shipped directly to the end-user, reducing device procurement times and costs. 

• IT do not need to manage and maintain corporate images, as OEM standard images are utilised, reducing IT management costs. 

• If the device suffers from an imaging-related failure, when the end-user is outside of the corporate network, a simple and quick OEM image restore can be performed. This enables your end-user to go through the Windows AutoPilot process again and will provide them with a productive workspace in a shorter timeframe than traditional imaging would require, improving productivity and reducing costs.

How can we help? 

To coincide with this release, we have created our own AutoPilot service to draw on our internal expertise, to ensure your organisation can get the full benefit of what Windows AutoPilot offers. This allows your organisation to take advantage of Windows AutoPilot during the device procurement process. 

Want to take advantage of Windows AutoPilot for your future device purchases? Your organisation will need to be in a ‘Windows AutoPilot ready state.’ There are several different ways you can achieve this ‘Windows AutoPilot ready state,’ but this discussion goes beyond a blog post.

Get in Touch

To discover what the most appropriate approach is for your organisation, please contact your Softcat Account Manager, or get in contact using the button below for guidance on the available options.