• Microsoft working on subscription-based Managed Desktop enterprise service
    13 replies, posted
https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-got-a-new-plan-for-managing-windows-10-devices-for-a-monthly-fee/ Back in 2005, Microsoft conducted a trial via which it managed Windows PCs and servers for Energizer Holdings. The company quietly began selling this managed services offering to enterprises with more than 5,000 seats before ultimately turning the service into Office 365. It looks like Redmond's about to try an updated variant of this strategy again. Microsoft is getting closer to revealing its plans for what it's currently calling the "Microsoft Managed Desktop." (Petri.com discovered the name in some recent job postings.) I'm hearing this Microsoft Managed Desktop is, basically, the Microsoft version of "desktop as a service." It will provide customers the ability to lease a Windows 10 device that's automatically provisioned for them and have the operating system kept up-to-date and more for a single monthly fee, my contacts say. What differentiates Microsoft's version of desktop-as-a-service from what many companies already offer under that desktop-as-a-service name is the Windows 10 updating component. As anyone who's been watching Windows 10 feature updates knows, many IT pros are unhappy about Microsoft's twice-yearly feature updates to the OS. Microsoft looks to be counting on companies being ready for greater predictability -- in terms of spending, updating and support -- in exchange for letting someone else do the driving. Microsoft has a team working to put this all together into a new service. One of my contacts said that Bill Karagounis -- former Director of the Windows Insider Program & OS Fundamentals team, who last year joined the Enterprise Mobility and Management part of Windows and Devices -- is in charge of the coming Microsoft Managed Desktop. What I don't know is how/whether Microsoft plans to allow partners to sell the Microsoft Managed Desktop platform and add value on top of it or if Microsoft intends to sell this directly to large enterprise customers itself (or both). A Microsoft spokesperson said the company had no comment on anything about Microsoft Managed Desktop. Currently, some Microsoft partners are selling what sounds a lot like this Microsoft Managed Desktop service, but under the "Modern Workplace as a Service (MWaaS) banner. Microsoft has been using "Modern Workplace" to refer to its Microsoft 365 subscription bundle and related software/services. Looks to be enterprise only.
Ah, so create the problem then offer the fix for a monthly fee. How convenient
Yeah.. no thanks. I'll pass on that horrid idea thanks though.
This isn't even a fix. This isn't even a bandage. This literally doesn't help at all for the existing problem, if anything making it worse. Like where I work, this would be literally worse than the already crappy situation Windows 10 puts us in. Fuck, the latest major update has somehow managed to break the Creo viewer for our engineers causing all kinds of weird graphical problems. A shitload of people around the company, including two within the IT department have had their machines virtually bricked by the latest update. It has been a cavalcade of shit thanks to Microsoft. I can't see any company that actually gives a shit about its machines working using this. Like, the best case scenario that we might, maybe, sorta use this would be as loaner machines for people who need a machine but they broke theirs and we need more than a day or two to fix it. Except we just get machines from Dell for that purpose.
How is this different than a workplace Domain with Active Directory policies? Besides you not administering the domain.
Because now you're giving Microsoft more of your money that they don't need instead of your IT department who do need it.
Can't see companies going for this. In my experience a company basically never uses Windows as provided to them by Microsoft. Pretty much every company has a wide array of custom settings. You would also probably have to hand over your security to Microsoft as well.
I had the opposite problem, Creo would sometimes fail to start correctly and end up causing my work machine to reboot until IT put me on 1803. Windows 10 already isn't stable enough for businesses, why anyone would be eager for this is beyond me.
SaaS please go away
Only reason I say that is because of how they emphasize updates, it makes me think they'll freeze updates or something upon request. I manage a medium buisness that needs Windows for accounting software and our TV broadcast systems are largely run by Windows for some god awful reason. About the best I can do is drop LTSB on some of them and do some hacky things to freeze updates without any enterprise management tools.
Active Directory is just a management tool for an organization. This is more like Azure (from what I understand), except Microsoft handles the provisioning, management and licensing aspect for a fee. I can see it going either way. Some organizations may spring on this for virtual desktops if their IT is stretched or basically non-existant, but if a company is already satisfied with with their existing solutions, I doubt they are going to change much.
So this looks like a device leasing service based on System Center Configuration Manager which is being managed by Microsoft instead of company's IT department. I don't see why anyone would consider using that. Big companies are already have their own AD + SCCM combo and IT department and doesn't really care about device leasing that much. Small companies might want to completelly outsource their IT and this is not something microsoft is going to do.
I hope this encourages better support for linux, because I'll cut off my dick before I pay a subscription for anything microshit related
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.