Based on ongoing conversations with IT admins, Microsoft recognized that global organizations that adopted hybrid work needed better tools to onboard, connect, and engage their users.
We developed organizational messages for Windows 11. It is configurable through Microsoft Intune to provide IT admins the ability to reach people within their organization with key messages that are delivered natively on Windows 11. IT admins identified onboarding and information updates as the main areas of opportunity for user engagement. As a result, we have enabled organizational messages delivery from IT admins natively in Windows 11 in the Get Started app to support user onboarding and in the taskbar and Windows notifications to support information updates. Admins use these messages to help users ramp up in new roles, learn about their organization, stay informed of new updates, and schedule requisite trainings
We're excited to announce that the public preview of organizational messages with Microsoft Intune and Windows 11, version 22H2 is coming in November!
Where will my message show up and what messages can I send?
You can send templated messages that include your organization's logo directly to your users through their Windows 11 devices. We've enabled the following types of messages to fit various scenarios:
- Use taskbar messages, which appear attached to the user's taskbar, to deliver urgent notifications such as critical updates.
- Deliver important information like mandatory updates to users in the taskbar area. Notification area messages appear in the user's Notification center and are best for informational, non-disruptive messages, such as new available trainings or optional updates.
- Configure Get Started app messages, integrated directly in the new Windows 11 Get Started app, to welcome new users in your organization and provide useful new employee resources such as benefits information, key employee trainings, device tips, organizational policies, and how to get help.
What capabilities does this new feature offer?
Organizational messages provide the following capabilities:
- Choose a message from a set of templated messages for the taskbar and notifications area messages. Choose two templated messages for the Get Started app.
- Add branding to messages by uploading a logo.
- Specify custom destination URL for each organizational message. End users will automatically be redirected when they select the message.
- Preview messages in 15 supported languages and in dark and light theme.
- Schedule a time window and frequency for delivery of the messages.
- Assign messages to Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) user groups.
- Track status of the organizational messages you've created as well as user engagement (number of times a message was viewed or selected).
- Cancel scheduled or active organizational messages.
- Configure a new Intune built-in role for Organizational Messages Manager, which allows assigned admins to view and configure messages.
How do I configure organizational messages?
You can configure organizational messages directly with the Microsoft Intune portal starting with the 2211 release. Go to Tenant administration > Organizational messages, and navigate to the Message tab. Here you can review your messages and track insights on user interaction.
Select Create and choose the type of message you'd like to create and the message theme.
Add your company's logo and URL to preview the message; select the language for the message and preview it.
Then, set the start and end date for the message to be shown as well as the frequency to repeat the message until action is taken.
Finally, assign the message to a user group; then you can review and create the message!
Feedback from private preview
During the private preview, we received a lot of great feedback about the features and opportunities organizational message provides. We hear it helps cut through the “noise” on email by getting the message delivered to the users' session. Organizations also like the “always on” user onboarding messages that can be delivered during the device enrollment, and feedback indicates that message delivery on the taskbar is effective for important updates.
We can't wait for you to have the opportunity to experience the capabilities of organizational messages for yourself. We expect to enable the public preview with the 2211 release of Microsoft Intune!
To learn more about organizational messages and see a demo of the product in action, check out Secure your workforce with Windows + Intune at Microsoft Ignite 2022.