Zero-touch deployment lets you unbox your tech and go!

“With Tarsus Distribution’s configuration services, resellers simply provide us with the customers’ requirements and the new PCs or laptops are delivered directly to users wherever they may be, ready for use right out of the box with the correct wireless setting, applications and more.” Jamie Scott, Chief technology officer, Tarsus Distribution

With people continuing to work from home, at their favourite coffee shop or while waiting outside school, it is inevitable that laptops are at greater risk of being lost, stolen, or damaged by a liquid spill.

For small businesses, the time and cost to replace and deploy these essential devices can be crippling. Who can afford to retain the onsite IT resources required to collect a device, configure it according to the required specifications and then ship it to the employee’s home? It is a process that can take several hours per device.

Easy device rollout and deployment is more important than ever in a tight economy that is still functioning under lockdown. Outsourcing the task to a trusted 3rd party ensures that it will be done quickly, effectively and probably at less cost per unit than fulfilling in-house.

With Tarsus Distribution’s configuration services, resellers simply provide us with the customers’ requirements, and the new PCs or laptops are delivered directly to users wherever they may be, ready for use right out of the box with the correct wireless setting, applications and more.

Pre-configured laptops that are fully customised to the needs of the user help improve IT efficiency and reduce overhead and support costs. With a zero-touch experience for the customer, our configuration centre onboards, manages, encrypts, and installs antivirus, firewall, and other security technologies to protect work data.

Microsoft OneDrive can be pre-configured to automate cloud storage for ease of backup and restore should the device be lost, stolen or broken, safeguarding the users data. For the SMB this means no issues with hardware and software compatibility, better warranties, and a single point of contact for support issues.

Reliable security with zero-touch deployment

From a security perspective, this is an invaluable service as it ensures all the correct security – from endpoint to encryption -- is installed correctly and operational and meets all the required standards. It is critical that this process is automated, because it is not advisable to have employees setting up their own security on their devices. The risk of cyber-attacks is simply too great.

Another advantage of automation is that few hands touch the machine and multiple machines can be configured at the same time. The end result is a cost-effective device that has lots of value built into it.

Tracking and tracing

The devices can also be tracked in several ways if the business desires this. Asset tagging – permanently affixing a tag to equipment – serves to identify it for tracking, inventory and accountability, this ensures the device can be retrieved should an employee resign.

There are also products that track and trace devices in the same way that vehicles are monitored. Some products can even geofence machines to ensure they can only be used in certain regions for example. If it is lost or stolen the device can also be bricked – which means it won't power on or function normally. In addition customers can request the installation of remote employee monitoring software to measure and boost productivity.

Rolling out new hardware can be costly if you don’t have the right technical resources available. You want to be sure everything is done correctly, and that each device is in its place and working as it should. Reaching out to a professional team to configure and deploy hardware takes the headache out of the process for SMB customers.