Microsoft has been on fire this week. Besides releasing a module to Migrate VMWare to Hyper-V, they have released Windows Backup for Organizations!
What it actually does (in plain English)
Windows Backup for organizational accounts saves the parts of the desktop that users care about—core settings and their Microsoft Store app list—so when they sign in on a new, Entra-joined device, Windows offers to put their world back the way it was.
Pins and layout? Check. Store apps? Re-hydrated onto Start like they never left.
Under the hood, you enable the backup and restore experience in Intune. From there, the OOBE flow does the heavy lifting at first sign-in. No “secret imaging USB,” no tribal knowledge.
Why your service desk will love it
1) Break/fix = coffee-length swap
Swap the machine, user signs in, restore runs, Intune handles the rest. No long rebuilds, no users calling the service desk to help set their settings again, it will be just there.
2) Loaners that don’t feel like loaners
Short-term devices should still feel like it’s the teammate’s “machine.” When a unit returns, wipe it and get it ready for the next deployment.
3) Fewer “where’s my stuff?” tickets
Pinned apps, Start layout, and key settings follow the user. Muscle memory stays intact. Which is less overhead for the service desk.
The rollout recipe (what I’d hand my technicians)
1) Prereqs
- Windows 10/11 devices joined to Microsoft Entra ID and managed by Intune.
- Windows Autopilot recommended for hands-off enrollment.
2) Flip the right switches in Intune
- Settings Catalog: enable Windows Backup behaviors for organizational users.
- Enrollment settings: turn on the restore during OOBE experience so users see “restore your apps & settings” at first sign-in.
3) Tech runbook for device swaps
- Assign user to a new Autopilot device (or run Autopilot Reset if repurposing).
- Hand it over; user signs in with Entra ID.
- Let Windows offer the restore; Intune policies and apps flow in behind the scenes.
4) Set expectations: what restores vs. what re-installs
- Restores quickly: user settings, Start pins/layout, Microsoft Store app list.
- Comes from Intune: Win32 and line-of-business apps, security baselines, configuration profiles.
- Lives outside the device: user files via OneDrive KFM and your M365 storage patterns.
Real-world use cases that stop the bleeding
- Mass refresh / evergreen: Ship new hardware, skip gold images, let sign-in + restore light it up.
- Field break/fix: Overnight swap without rebuilding the user’s mental map of their desktop.
- Seasonal/contractor fleets: Fast turn-up, fast tear-down—no bespoke imaging for short-timers.
- Remote hires: Courier a sealed device; no VPN surgery in a living room.
Guardrails & gotchas (so you don’t learn them the hard way)
- Don’t oversell it: UX restoration, not disk cloning.
- App reality: Store apps re-hydrate; Win32/LOB still depend on Intune assignments and install order.
- Pilot first: Test a few personas—power users, frontline, execs—then widen.
- Measure it: Track swap time, “missing app/layout” tickets, and time-to-first-Teams-call.
The leadership elevator pitch
We’re replacing brittle, image-heavy processes with sign-in-and-restore. That means faster onboarding, shorter outages, and a consistent Windows experience across hardware.
Users feel at home faster, and the service desk stops playing desktop archaeologist. It’s built into Windows and the Intune flow we already own—no niche tooling.
TL;DR
Windows Backup for Organizations + Autopilot + Intune gives you a smooth, repeatable way to roll out and swap Windows devices without babysitting every pixel. Turn it on, document the flow, train techs once—reclaim your afternoons.
