How do you manage remote laptops?

[F_admin]

During this coronavirus pandemic, how are you all managing your remote Windows devices?

For example, Laptops that are in the hands of students or teachers.

 

Do you use MDM?

I ask this as someone who is not too clued in on the topic. I've been told Microsoft InTune is a good option - is this sufficient/overkill, or are there other viable options available?

 

As a sidenote - how are you *trying* to ensure you receive these laptops back? My first thought is a written agreement where the student/parent (main area of concern here, rather than staff) signs an agreement to return device at set date, with the knowledge that devices that aren't returned are paid for. Not quite sure how enforceable this would be (in this day and age probably not enforceable at all, and nor would schools have the backbone to enforce it) but its worth an ask.

 

Cheers,

F_Admin

[FragglePete]

We have a written agreement that the parent signs before we issue the laptop. We obviously keep a record of who, make, model, etc and then when the time arises we will chase down to get back. Our agreement states clearly that they are required to pay a certain amount if the device is not returned.

 

As for management, I'm currently working our way through InTune stuff at the moment, but we're not quite there yet but it will certainly be useful in the future. It has come at a cost of adding this to our agreement.

 

However, we're favouring Chromebooks as devices to give out during this time - the management was easy to setup and just seems so simple. We're primarily a Microsoft Office365 school and use this as the authentication mechanism which syncs with G-Suite nicely and just disable G-Mail and a few other things. Set the home page on the devices to be the Microsft365 My Applications page and everything they need is there in the browser for them.

 

Pete

[Rob_D]

We've been getting students to intune enrol them against thir 365 accounts at setup (devices have Windows edu, office and sophos installed and are sysprepped before being handed out, then the students are taken through linking to Office 365 intune during setup.

 

We've got an agreement with the parents that the laptops will be returned at some point in the future (although we've not defined it specifically), and if we wanted to force the issue we could lock the device and stop them using it without reinstalling windows. For now the school seems content to keep chasing for the ones we want back via phone and email.

[Roberto]

This is exactly what MDM is for - managing devices that are not always on your LAN.

 

Intune is very good *if* you’re invested in the Microsoft 365 stack; its strength is vertical integration with the Microsoft 365 stack and Microsoft’s conditional access, MFA, etc, tools. It’s not suitable for Chromebooks and/or Google Apps.

 

If you’re not in the Microsoft sphere that heavily there may be other MDM solutions that suit you better for whatever reason (e.g. JAMF is the gold standard for pure MacOS MDM, Or if you’re big on Meraki then *their* MDM integrates with what you’re already used to,etc...)

Edited January 3, 2021 by Roberto

[tdawson]

We use Intune for Windows and Apple devices.

I've been pleased with how easy it was to setup although I'm still a little uncertain as to the licensing. We have added 3 techs as Endpoint Admins which allows them to enroll devices as 'corporate' owned. This seems to give full access to Endpoint/InTune features but almost feels too cheap compared to the £5-7 pounds per device we have paid for other MDMs.

On a side note, when ordering iPads through the government COVID scheme it asks for a 7-digit Apple partner code to add devices to your MDM but if you have used Apple School Manager from the start your code will be 6 digits - just use the 6-digit code, it works perfectly well on the units I have received.

[F_admin]

Sounds like InTune is the way to go, as we're an Office 365 school. I'm going to test it with a few licences (at 0.49p a month I'm told! £5.88 annually)

Here's hoping we won't need InTune for another COVID lockdown, but irrespective of COVID being able to manage our devices and so on will be brilliant.

 

I've managed to find an agreement online and have edited it to suit our requirement. Hopefully this will mean that people will take it a bit more seriously.