Modernize End User Computing with the help of Windows 365 Cloud PC

Industry | Mortgages Services

Objectives

The Company needed an actual Production Pilot scenario for Windows 365, which holds significant value for organizations seeking to leverage this innovative cloud-based solution and experience the power in their environment. This also ensures that project time is spent productively to establish the foundation for short- and long-term goals.

Key Considerations

The project focused on understanding the dependencies on Networking requirements for Windows 365 pilot, dependencies around Entra ID / Hybrid Entra ID scenarios, as well as use cases around accessing SMB shares and on-premises. The ultimate objective was Windows 365 provisioning with above mentioned in mind.

Goals

• Reduce VDI costs: provide cost effective solution to realize savings compared to PCs and Azure Virtual Desktop, while providing simplicity of Windows 365 set up and scale, eliminating the need for new infrastructure or specialized IT skills.
• Simplify IT management: Provide simple to deploy mechanisms and management from a single console. Ensure scalability and resiliency to support changing workforce needs and new business scenarios.
• Address security and compliance: Address requirements to ensure only devices that meet company’s standards can access the company data.

Solutions

In this personalized journey for our client, We began by analyzing client’s existing Entra ID and Intune footprint, while providing recommendations as applicable. We focused on Microsoft Entra ID and Intune, transitioning to Intune Autopilot, and ensuring seamless Azure AD integration with on-premises resources using Entra ID SSO. We aimed to thoroughly analyze the environment, business, and technical requirements to provide tailored recommendations. We conducted a general analysis of requirements for Windows 365 and networking options, specifically focusing on five Windows 365 Cloud PCs. Our objectives included developing baseline success criteria metrics for the pilot, building up to five Windows 365 Cloud PCs in a production pilot environment, and confirming and configuring any necessary policies. Additionally, we implemented Intune auto-enrollment, planned and configured access for Windows 365 Cloud PCs to on-premises resources, addressed Entra ID or Hybrid Entra ID-joined PCs as applicable, and assigned and validated access to the Windows 365 Cloud PCs.

With Windows 365, the onboarding has been streamlined to hours using Cloud PCs, compared to the typical duration of 2-3 weeks with fully equipped physical PCs.