Adventures in Change - Modifying Laurier's Desktop Strategy

In January 2017 ICT at Laurier began a journey to implement a new University wide desktop strategy. This included migrating all staff, faculty and lab computers to Windows 10 and Office 2016.  This presentation will outline... [ view full abstract ]

In January 2017 ICT at Laurier began a journey to implement a new University wide desktop strategy. This included migrating all staff, faculty and lab computers to Windows 10 and Office 2016. 

This presentation will outline the steps we took to create a more secure desktop environment. 

Our desktop strategy objectives included:

1. Creating a standard image for all Laurier computers. 

2. Improving the physical and logical security of computers; including encryption, locks and modifying administrative permissions.

3. Defining and implementing a consistent patch management process.

4. Introducing OneDrive for Business as a secure and safe solution for data storage and recovering network drive space.

5. Implementing self-service standard software installation through Software Center.

We will discuss how we developed our strategy, our conversations with senior administration to gain support and approval for this significant paradigm shift, and the creation of a client friendly migration process, which included the integration of our evergreen renewal programs for computers. 

We will also touch on developing an enterprise wide communication plan to inform faculty and staff of the upcoming changes, and coordinating the logistics of visiting all computers on campus to perform the hands on migration.