Windows deployment with the next generation of Windows Autopilot

Thanks, everyone for the feedback in comments.  The Autopilot team wanted to give the posts some time to build up as to post a single response to address the questions, so here’s the first round of responses (and we’ll continue to monitor the feedback over time).  Given there were some repeat questions, below we’ll consolidate answers into a single list, appreciate everyone taking the time to post.

1. Is this a new version of Autopilot (v2)?
   1. Autopilot Team: This is a new profile type for Autopilot, you shouldn’t think about it a new version of Autopilot, v2 or otherwise.  We went down this path to expand Autopilot coverage for customers in government clouds who heretofore couldn’t use Autopilot via the registration dependency.  This addresses that.  Concurrently we are addressing other common pain points from all customers with this new profile such as troubleshooting and reporting, admin and user experiences, and reliability (to name a few).  Also, this release of the device preparation profile is just the beginning, and we’ll continue evolving it over time as the blog states in “what’s to come.”  Your feedback shaping the future while we have the hood open on this new profile type is welcome and encouraged.
2. How are we going to do registration now, this is fundamental to our organization using Autopilot?
   1. Autopilot Team:  The “what’s to come” section of the talks briefly to future looking capabilities such as device association to a tenant.  This will be the scenario-equivalent of today’s device registration process and is under active development (no ETA available yet).  Additionally, the current Autopilot flow will continue to exist, as again, this isn’t a v2 to replace v1, rather a new profile type that will continue to evolve and improve over time.
3.  What’s the support plan or new innovation coming for Hybrid AD Join scenarios for this new profile?
   1. Autopilot Team: We have no plans to support Hybrid AD Join with the new profile, but the existing Autopilot flows will continue to support Hybrid AD Join.  As is outlined in docs, this is not a recommended approach to Autopilot generally.
4. Are you going to add the ability to orchestrate/sequence applications and policy?
   1. Autopilot Team: We get this question a lot and are currently digging into the scenarios for which precise sequencing vs. dependency modeling is required.  We continue to gather feedback as to prioritize, so please do pass along your scenarios that require sequencing to help us prioritize.
5. What about pre-provisioning and self-deploying modes?
   1. Autopilot Team: Our goal (over time) is to support these modes and have general parity with this profile to existing Autopilot capabilities (aside from the previous point on Hybrid AD Join, which we are not planning to add to the new profile.
6. What about OEM flows for tenant binding (e.g. today’s registration)?
   1. Autopilot Team: We are working with the OEMs to assure they have a process to use the tenant binding solution that we’re actively developing with the intent that they will have the process in place when we GA this capability for the new profile.