For years at Microsoft, our goal was to put a computer on every desk. Now as we strive to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, we see a significant opportunity to bring technology to all workers, especially those on the front line. These two billion Firstline Workers are the people who serve as the first point of contact between an organization and its customers or products. A critical part of empowering this workforce is providing custom technology experiences and streamlined, secure devices that help them get their work done and build skills.

Today at Ignite, we shared our vision for empowering these workers, currently underserved by technology, with Microsoft 365 F1, a new plan designed to maximize the impact of the Firstline Worker. Microsoft 365 F1 also makes it easy to train and upskill employees, with Microsoft Stream to share dynamic role-based content and video, and SharePoint to easily distribute onboarding and training materials and manage institutional knowledge in one secure place.

Windows 10 S devices for Firstline Workers

Today, we also announced new commercial devices with Windows 10 S for Firstline Workers from our OEM partners HP, Lenovo, Acer, and Fujitsu starting at $275, with availability beginning later this year. Simple, secure, and easy to manage, Windows 10 S devices minimize total cost of ownership for Firstline Workers:

• Simple to use: Windows 10 S delivers a familiar Windows 10 experience so Firstline Workers can get productive right away. It is designed for performance, start-ups are quick and built to stay that way so that productivity never slows down, even on entry-level devices. It offers more seamless integration with hosted VMs for remote desktop and apps for firstline worker scenarios. And it is fully integrated with OneDrive, empowering Firstline Workers to work from anywhere.

• Streamlined for security: Designed with Firstline Workers in mind, Windows 10 S has the goal of preventing the most common cyber attacks like ransomware and exploits. Applications built on the Universal Windows Platform or Centennial are delivered via the Windows Store ensuring they have been verified for security and integrity. And with Microsoft Edge, Firstline Workers are protected against phishing attacks and malicious software.

• Easy to manage: Windows 10 S was designed with Modern IT in mind, including cloud-based identity and management with Azure Active Directory and Microsoft Intune. Together with Windows Update for Business, organizations can manage and update Windows 10 S devices using the power and convenience of the cloud.

In a future update, organizations will be able to deploy Windows 10 Enterprise capabilities such as Credential Guard, Application Guard and benefit from centralized management of the Store, Cortana and other features on Windows 10 S devices with a Microsoft 365 subscription. With the new Windows 10 Enterprise in S mode, customers will be able to experience Windows 10 Enterprise with all the benefits of Windows 10 S – streamlined for security and low total cost of ownership.

New Windows 10 capabilities for Firstline Workers and beyond

With Microsoft 365, organizations benefit from self-service deployment, simplified management, proactive insights, and always up to date platform resulting in a low total cost of ownership for businesses.

For example, with innovations such as Windows AutoPilot, IT admins can customize the Windows 10 devices out of box setup experience with the cloud and empower employees to enroll their new device, complete with the company configuration and apps ready to go. Great for Firstline scenarios, Windows Autopilot removes the need for IT to touch the device or manage updates in person.

Today, we shared that OEM partners Lenovo, HP, Panasonic, Toshiba, and Fujitsu will join Surface in supporting Windows AutoPilot beginning in January 2018 by providing device IDs to companies on select orders.

Another important scenario for many businesses is the ability to customize and lock down devices to specific tasks or experiences for Firstline Workers and kiosks. In the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, organizations can quickly setup and maintain locked down single purpose devices with improved tools in Windows Assigned Access. In future updates, we are also building additional lockdown, customization, and anti-theft capabilities.

No matter whether you are a Firstline worker, Information worker or IT admin, with Microsoft 365, you have everything at your fingertips to enable you to achieve more. We look forward to sharing more details at Ignite!

– Bernardo

Source: Windows Blog
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