During (re)Enrollment

The actual (re)Enrollment phase is where the rubber meets the road regarding your planning effectiveness.  No planning is ever perfect, but the more prepared you are, the more successful you are going to be.

During the enrollment and (re)Enrollment phase, the process becomes more hands-on as devices are reset, reconfigured, unboxed, assigned, and redistributed.  That is a lot of steps, but this doesn't mean that the task has to be overwhelming or complicated. With FileWave, you can utilize a range of tools and features to make the (re)Enrollment process smooth and efficient, and we have a list of best practices for you to follow too.

Start Small

Your process was written as 1) Unbox, 2) Assign Asset Tag, 3) Affix Tag, 4) Put device in case.  But you find out with your first batch of devices that the user needs to read the asset tag in a later step, but they can't see it because of the case being in the way.  Now, do you want to find that out with a 500 students in the room, or 5?  It is by far best to approach the day in small batches, and scale up as the system is proven effective.

Employ Efficient (re)Enrollment

Once your system is proven, batching or grouping (re)Enrollment is an effective way to manage the process without becoming overwhelmed. FileWave provides capabilities to organize devices into logical groups based on your organization's needs, such as by department, device type, or user role. This allows for batch operations, enabling a more organized and efficient (re)Enrollment process.

Don't Bite of More than You Can Chew

I have 5000 devices, surely I can enroll them all at once, no?  No.  There are many considerations to the enrollment process.  Some are physical...for instance, how many boxes can actually be opened by 3 people in 10 minutes?  But others are more subtle.  For instance, enrolling Apple Devices concurrently means a lot of requests going to Apple at the same time, and there could be processing bottlenecks both on your local server and in the cloud.  And the thing everyone forgets about is the actual network itself...can it handle all of that traffic at the same time? 

In most environments, there is a natural "upper limit" to enrollment concurrency that you don't want to go beyond.  So, start small, get bigger until you run into an issue, and then back off a bit to a comfortable pace.  Slow and steady wins the race!

Device Preparation

Taking a cue from our previous section on 'Preparing for Enrollment', remember to reset devices to factory settings before initiating (re)Enrollment. This will ensure that any residual data or settings from previous users do not interfere with the new user experience.  For new devices, make sure to consider the physical steps of unboxing, dealing with recycling, affixing asset tags, and even the ability to plug the device in. (And of course, you can use FileWave to send "wipe" commands to devices in preparation)

Automate Where Possible

FileWave's automation capabilities can significantly reduce the time and effort spent on (re)Enrollment tasks. Here are some areas where automation can be beneficial:

• Device Naming: Use FileWave's custom fields and scripts to automatically generate and assign device names based on your organization's naming convention.

• Placeholders: Mentioned in the last article, placeholders are a great way to pre-assign content based on smart groups and custom fields.

• App Installations: Leverage FileWave's app deployment features to automatically install necessary apps and updates during the (re)Enrollment process. This ensures all devices are equipped with the necessary tools right from the start.

• User Preferences: Set user preferences and settings in advance using FileWave. These can be applied automatically during (re)Enrollment, reducing the need for manual configuration and ensuring a consistent user experience across all devices.

Monitor Progress

FileWave's device monitoring features allow you to keep track of the (re)Enrollment progress. Use custom fields to mark devices as "(re)Enrolled" or use FileWave's dashboard to monitor device status in real time. This can help identify any issues early on and allow for quick resolution.

Remember, the goal is to make the (re)Enrollment process as seamless as possible for both your IT team and the end-users. With careful planning, efficient batch processing, and the extensive use of automation, FileWave can help you achieve this.