Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing great. I have a question about automation tools that could help speed up a somewhat tedious process we're facing. We recently onboarded a new client as an MSP, and it turns out their previous MSP wasn't the most attentive. The main issue is that all their employees are using local accounts with admin rights instead of Azure AD accounts. The business owner didn't even realize this was happening!
We need to get around 15 users moved over to their Azure AD accounts. I'm curious if anyone knows of tools or methods to make this transition as smooth as possible for the end users. They're already on Microsoft 365, so I thought about using Intune or Autopilot. It's not the end of the world if I have to handle it manually, but any tips for a more efficient solution would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
2 Answers
For this situation, Powershell is great for Windows environments and Ansible works well for both Linux and Windows. You can leverage Azure tools and Office 365 with various Powershell modules. If you have access to Ansible Automation Platform or AWX, you could schedule a lot of tasks or even set up event-driven automation. SCM/SCCM is another solid option to consider for managing devices across your client's network.
Honestly, you can try to automate the process, but expect some disruption for the users since everyone is switching from local accounts. It’s unavoidable. Just make sure to set clear expectations with the client. If they can’t spare a few minutes for tasks like setting up their M365 accounts or enabling MFA, you might want to reconsider if this client is worth your time.
Sending instructions to users to manually install the Company Portal app and enroll their devices in Intune could be a good first step. Once they're in Intune, the automation can really kick in. You could build their Intune setup and then use Autopilot for a fresh start on all their devices. This approach keeps disruptions to a minimum while still getting the job done.
That's a solid point about using Ansible! I’ve had good experiences with it when managing configurations and deployments. It really streamlines a lot of tasks.