Skip to main content
Scaling Operations5 min read

How to Set Up a New Employee's Laptop in Under 60 Minutes

"Manual device setup takes 5-8 hours of IT time per hire. With Intune and Autopilot, it takes under an hour - with no IT person in the room. The full process, step by step."

Author

Lior Refael

Published

Jan 8, 2025

Back to Articles

What manual onboarding actually costs you in time

Most small businesses don't track this number, but it adds up fast. A typical manual device setup for a new hire looks like this:

TaskManual processTime
Install and activate WindowsIT installs from USB or network1-2 hours
Install Office / M365Download, activate, configure email45-90 minutes
Set up security toolsInstall antivirus, configure settings30-60 minutes
Install role-specific appsOne at a time, from various sources1-2 hours
Configure 1Password + other accountsManual setup and sharing30-45 minutes
Total4-7 hours

At €75/hour for IT time, that's €300-€525 per new hire. For a 10-person team that hires 5 people a year, that's €1,500-€2,600 in IT setup time alone - before counting the productivity the new employee loses waiting.

How zero-touch onboarding works

With Microsoft Intune + Windows Autopilot, the process changes entirely:

  • 1You order a laptop from any Microsoft-registered supplier (in Israel and across Europe - they all support Autopilot).
  • 2The supplier ships it directly to the employee.
  • 3The employee opens the box, connects to Wi-Fi, and signs in with their company credentials.
  • 4Everything else happens automatically: Windows configures itself, Office installs, security policies apply, approved apps download.
  • 5The employee is working in 30-45 minutes - with no one else involved.
  • Your IT setup doesn't need to be in the same room, the same city, or the same country.

    What gets deployed automatically

  • Microsoft 365 apps (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel)
  • 1Password browser extension and company vault access
  • Endpoint protection (Microsoft Defender, configured via Intune)
  • BitLocker disk encryption (transparent to the user)
  • Conditional Access policies (enforced at first login)
  • Any role-specific software you've packaged in Intune
  • What happens if the laptop gets lost or stolen

    Remote wipe via Intune takes about 30 seconds. The device is locked and all company data is wiped the next time it connects to the internet. The employee gets a new device, signs in, and is back to their full setup within an hour.

    The same setup works for Macs

    It runs through Apple Business Manager - the Apple equivalent of Windows Autopilot. Setup is similar: you enrol your Apple Business Manager account with Intune, and new Mac purchases from any Apple Authorised Reseller in your country go through the same zero-touch process.

    The Mac setup process is slightly more involved than Windows Autopilot (Apple's MDM profile system works differently), but the end result is the same: a device ready to work within an hour, no hands-on setup needed.

    Infrastructure Glossary

    Still spending half a day setting up each new laptop?

    Book a free 30-minute call. We'll show you exactly what zero-touch onboarding would look like for your team and what it would cost to set up.