Orica streamlines provisioning and efficiencies with Microsoft Endpoint Manager

This story was created before our rebranding over to Microsoft Intune. All references to Microsoft Endpoint Manager and its benefits remain true to the valued core product: Microsoft Intune.

Unlocking value in the mining space

Lack of excitement is never a problem at Orica, the multinational infrastructure and solutions provider that has supported mining customers for more than 140 years. It safely and sustainably supplies the technologies and services used to gather resources from the earth that are so critical to the infrastructure, transportation, electronics, and emerging technologies that help keep the world connected.

With operations in more than 100 countries, the Melbourne-headquartered company flexes with the ever-changing needs of a complex supply chain and customer demand for more sustainable mining technologies. “Our customers are asking for creative, more cloud-focused solutions that underscore safety,” says Adam Murray, Orica’s Manager for Workplace & End User Compute. “We deliver solutions and technology that drive productivity for our customers. That includes bringing the physical world of a blasting site closer to the digital world so that we can support employees to work safely with things like remote blasting technology.”

Supporting that innovation wouldn’t be possible without the 14,000 devices that Orica employees depend on, including augmented reality devices, highly specialized computer-aided design and engineering workstations, laptops, and desktops, and a mix of iOS and Android mobile devices. The company initially used an alternative on-premises solution for mobile device management, but Orica felt that the solution managed devices and device policies inconsistently, and the company wanted one solution to manage every device.

“We embraced Microsoft Endpoint Manager to transcend the limitations we experienced with our previous solution,” says Rachael Sandel, Head of Strategy, Architecture & Projects at Orica. “We’re adopting Microsoft solutions not only to facilitate endpoint management, but as part of a broader strategy to improve security. This aligns with our existing Microsoft solutions, like Azure Information Protection.”

Helping protect every endpoint to boost security

Orica is well aware of recent ransomware attacks like the Colonial Pipeline incident. Sandel was eager to implement multifactor authentication, which can help repel such attacks. A modern authentication mechanism is a key part of this program and a path to the future we envision,” she says. “We rolled out multifactor authentication very quickly, increasing data security.”

Murray appreciates the flexibility of tools like Windows Autopilot and Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), which offer users the authentication method that works best for each person in each situation. Employees can sign in using Azure AD credentials that are secured by multifactor authentication. “With Windows Autopilot, Azure AD, and multifactor authentication, we’ve given our users the ability to authenticate in the way that they want,” he says. “It’s a win-win that gives us peace of mind that we’re increasing security while providing an improved user experience at the same time.”

Sandel agrees. “Our move to Windows 10 and our future Windows 11 rollout is a key part of our security program,” she says. “We fast-tracked that deployment because Windows 10 offers better overall security on our endpoints. We will continue working with Microsoft to protect each endpoint in the best way possible, whether it’s a mobile device, laptop, or other device.”

Putting the user experience first for across-the-board wins

The End User Compute team also prioritized shortening device provisioning time—a lengthy and sometimes painful hours-long ordeal for the user. “If a user had issues signing in, then on top of the time the employee had already put in, a Service Desk staffer had to spend about four hours enrolling that user,” explains Murray. “Because we usually have eight people on call around the world at any time, this wasn’t sustainable, in addition to being a poor experience for everyone.”

Orica must provision and maintain devices in some of the most remote places on the planet, and it needs to accommodate user groups with deeply differing needs. Murray describes the challenge of balancing security and convenience for a bleeding-edge technology and innovation team. “We need to manage devices for innovators differently than we would manage our traditional workforce,” he says. “With Intune, I can create a different environment profile for innovator teams while maintaining a standard profile for the rest of the company. That’s how we achieve the security level we need while giving our users some flexibility in how they want their devices managed.”

The company’s transition to Windows Autopilot to preconfigure devices is also a major factor in the improved user experience. “Our devices are built without issue, and a number of them land in some of the most challenging locations,” says Murray. “Our logs show that devices provision with Windows Autopilot in about 25 to 30 minutes rather than the previous four hours.”

Streamlining provisions and driving efficiency

Murray’s small team supports employees who work in more than 100 countries, supporting mobile devices in 14 different languages. Murray offers the company’s Intune rollout for mobile devices as proof. “Our team of three people migrated 4,500 mobile devices in about four weeks with Intune,” he says. “Our CIO was incredibly impressed with the speed and seamlessness of the move.”

Murray and Sandel aren’t sitting back just yet. Orica’s first foray with Windows Autopilot promises further productivity gains. “Windows Autopilot will be a game-changer for us,” says Sandel. “We expect to see a huge amount of growth in our Windows Autopilot usage by early 2023 and look forward to an even better user experience that’s faster, with less touch from the IT team. Microsoft 365 and related technologies have become part of the fabric of how everyone at Orica now works.”