Windows 10 evergreen service for improved efficiency

Client

The client is an India based leading IT service provider who manages infrastructure for Fortune 500 companies. The client has global operations with 4000+ employees.

Business Goal

The client was seeking a cost effective solution for its Windows 10 build rollout and Windows Evergreen Servicing with high compliance levels and enhanced user experience. The client’s Windows 10 golden image was developed using Windows 10, 1607 build and has been deployed across all new hardware.  All the end points are patched directly from Microsoft’s patching server and the client IT team doesn’t have any control on the patching process. Auto update features at end points are not working currently for a majority of the end-point systems. The client wants to solve this challenge without investing in an end-point management platform.

Microland Solution

Microland set up a Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) server and created the golden image using the latest Windows 10 Feature Release (FR) build. A pilot deployment script was used to check various transfer parameters. When data from the pilot was analyzed, it was discovered that the security software being used by Microland could break the upgrade. The right software for Windows 10 was identified and the risk mitigated before the script was deployed to all remaining Windows 10 end points.

As the client did not want an endpoint management platform, Microsoft’s Operations Management Suite (OMS) with Upgrade Readiness Cloud solution was leveraged. Deployment planning, scheduling and governance were done using Microsoft OMS deployment analytics and Microland’s self-service deployment scheduler portal, accelerating the deployment process by 45% (compared to the client’s in house effort). Microland’s Windows 10 Evergreen Cockpit was used to centralize management and reporting.

Business Outcomes

Using Microsoft’s solution and Microland’s factory delivery model, the existing Windows 10 build was upgraded to the latest version and Windows Evergreen Services were established in an on-going Windows-as-a-Service model. The benefits included:

• Reduction in downtime to 4 hours, leading to increased stable time between multiple builds
• Improved security and compliance scores with unified patching process at server and client side
• In-house developed end to end lifecycle tool leading to easier management and 20% lower deployment cost of Microsoft Windows latest build