Secure device deployment for administrators

Completed

Higher education administrators face the challenges of deploying technologically advanced solutions to campuses while also being mindful of protecting institutional data. Surface devices ship with advanced Windows 11 security features and can be deployed faster. Administrators can also manage biometrics and device features with Surface Management Portal—making Surface devices a natural choice for academic institutions.

With Surface Management Portal, IT administrators can ensure that faculty devices remain compliant and up to date. IT administrators can manage the following using this tool:

• Surface device warranties and coverage
• Create and track support requests
• Get insights to proactively monitor and manage Surface devices
• Review administrator roles

Creating and submitting requests on Surface devices is streamlined and reduces complexity for IT. Follow these steps to submit a request for one or more devices:

1. Navigate to Microsoft Intune and in the left-hand navigation panel, select All Services. Select Surface Management Portal.
2. Go to the Support tab and select New Support request.
3. Using the Product dropdown, select the category of your device.
4. Choose the specific Device model.
5. Select Devices to view a list of eligible devices registered for your tenant.
6. Select the device or multiple devices based on Device name and Serial number of the device you need support for.
7. Select Done, and then select Next.
8. Under the Issue description step, choose one of the following from the Category dropdown:

• Technical support
• Warranty and service
• Product safety concern

9. Use the Description dropdown to choose the appropriate symptom (for example, Display and Screen).
10. In the Details section, provide a clear description of the issue. You may also attach files to help with troubleshooting.
11. Select Next,
12. Fill out all required Contact details, including your preferred contact method (phone or email).
13. Select Next to review your request.
14. Review the summary of your support request and select Submit.
15. A Case ID is generated, and a Microsoft Customer Service Representative will contact you using your preferred method.
16. Track support requests by going to the Surface Management Portal home page and selecting View all support requests.

Get insights to proactively monitor and manage Surface devices

The Insights tab in Surface Management Portal allows you to monitor the health, compliance, and properties of all institution-managed Surface devices. The dashboard displays various insights, each represented by a card. You can pin, rearrange, or expand these cards to view more details. Here are the available insights that you can view as an IT administrator:

• Devices not compliant: Displays the number of devices that aren't compliant with your organization's policies—such as missing updates or failing security requirements.
• Devices inactive 30+ days: Lists devices that have been inactive for over 30 days.
• Devices not registered: Shows devices that haven't been registered in the system.
• Devices covered: Displays the number of devices currently covered by warranty support programs.
• Devices expiring within 60 days: Identifies devices whose warranty or support coverage expires within 60 days.
• Devices eligible for optional coverage: Displays devices that qualify for optional coverage plans but haven't been enrolled.
• Devices expired: Lists devices whose warranty or support coverage has expired.
• Devices not encrypted: Shows devices without drive encryption enabled, which could pose a security risk.
• Devices with less than 10% storage: Displays devices running low on disk space.
• Devices eligible for Windows 11 update: Lists devices eligible for an upgrade to Windows 11 but not yet updated.

Surface Management Portal helps IT administrators manage devices at scale while maintaining visibility into compliance, coverage, and device health across the institution. With these tools, academic institutions have a better understanding of their deployed devices and can keep their faculty and data safe regardless of their preferred workflow.