Do you also think that far too much money is being wasted in your IT department? Then you’re like many companies. In IT, many issues are simply complex and therefore either cost a lot of money or a lot of working time, which is also money.

Why can we say that the Microsoft 365 feature called Windows Autopilot saves time and money? We will first explain exactly what it is and then draw a comparison with everyday life without Windows Autopilot.

What is the Windows Autopilot?

It is a collection of technologies for setting up and pre-configuring new devices. It can also be used to reset, reuse and restore devices. And all without hours of work from the IT department.

It even goes so far that devices no longer even have to be delivered to the IT department. They can be sent directly to the employee responsible. This also applies to new devices. The dealer can deliver it directly to the employee. All they have to do is unpack it, switch it on and establish an Internet connection. They will then see the company logo and can log in directly with their company account. And the best thing is: all applications that are important for this employee are installed automatically.

How setting up devices for employees currently works

When a new device is purchased, it is first delivered to the IT department. There is then an employee who unpacks the device and does all the standard set-up. This set-up takes a while and is actually free of charge, as the whole device is then flattened again anyway. After all, our internal company policies and settings have to be set up so that we can work securely. And, of course, our company logo and name should also be integrated. All of this has to be done manually for each device. If you want, you can of course have the whole thing done directly by the dealer, for a not insignificant extra charge of course.

How does WAP make things easier?

With Windows Auto Pilot, nothing of this kind has to be done manually before the device is sent to the employee.
Working with WAP is a 3-step process:

1. registration of the device

After purchasing new devices, the dealer sends a list of device IDs to the company. This document can easily be uploaded to Windows Autopilot to claim ownership. This way, no one else can describe this device.
In the future, it will even be possible for the dealer to upload the list to Windows Autopilot himself (for even more security).

2. create and assign profile

A profile must now be created for setting up the devices. But this should not be confused with a personal employee profile! It is rather a kind of super-category for employees. As departments have different programs and authorizations, I can create a separate profile for each category of employee with its own settings for set-up. For example: which programs should be on it, connect to Azure Active Directory, permissions, and much more. If each device should have a specific profile, I can also set this profile as the default.

In everyday life without WAP, the employee who logs on to the device for the first time automatically has admin rights. Everyone should be aware that this is not ideal. That’s why I can specify in the Windows Autopilot profile whether the employee should have admin rights on the device with profile XY or not.

3. shipping

The device can be sent directly from the dealer to the employee. Whether they are working in another building, another branch office or from home. He unpacks the device, boots it up and connects it to the Internet. As soon as an Internet connection is established, Windows Autopilot recognizes the device and delivers the customized setup that was specified using the assigned profile. The usual settings (private or business device, set up Cortana, privacy settings…) are no longer necessary for the employee, as the profile specifies exactly what settings should be used. The employee can therefore already see the company logo, for example, and log in directly with their company ID.

As soon as the user has logged in, the device connects to Mobile Device Management (MDM, e.g. Intune) and ensures that further settings are made. Apps are also downloaded directly. This way, the end user has everything they need – with far fewer steps.

As we have seen, it would significantly reduce the workload on IT. As a result, these employees would have time for all the other important work that would otherwise have fallen by the wayside.

If you would like to know whether Windows Autopilot is also worthwhile for your company, you are welcome to contact us. Together we will find out whether it will help your company. If you need more information, give us a call or leave us a message using the contact form.

We got the information for this article from a Microsoft 365 video. Further information can be found on the official Microsoft page,