Guide G6 Endpoint & devices
A broken laptop is a ticket. An unowned device fleet is a different decision.
Devices and applications often get treated as one generic line item in an IT conversation. In practice, endpoint ownership is three separate jobs: enrolling and provisioning a device (Intune or another MDM), keeping it patched, and retiring it cleanly when someone leaves. Name which job is missing before comparing providers.
G6 · Entry 01 Three different device jobs
Start with the job that is actually missing.
A device is broken now
One laptop, phone, or desktop will not start, connect, or enroll. Bring the device, user, error, and what has already been tried.
No one owns enrollment and patching
Devices join and leave with no consistent Intune/MDM process, and patch cadence for Windows, macOS, and business apps is unclear.
Leadership wants proof of device compliance
A bounded review can confirm encryption, patch status, and enrollment coverage across the current device inventory.
G6 · Entry 02 Decision matrix
Match the symptom to the right first route.
| Observed need | Best first route | Useful evidence | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| One laptop or phone won't work or enroll | Support | Device, user, error, timing | Not a device-fleet review |
| New hires wait days for a working device | Managed IT | Device count, current provisioning steps | Not a one-time fix |
| No one can confirm patch or encryption status | Managed IT or a bounded review | Inventory, patch cadence, enrollment coverage | Not an instant audit |
| Leavers' devices aren't reliably wiped or returned | Managed IT | Offboarding checklist, retrieval record | Not a legal or HR investigation |
G6 · Entry 03 Prepare the brief
Bring these facts to an endpoint-ownership conversation.
- Device count and types: desktop, laptop, mobile, kiosk, or shared.
- Current enrollment approach, if any: Intune, another MDM, or none.
- Who images, provisions, and hands over a new device today.
- How Windows, macOS, and business-app patches are approved and applied.
- What happens to a device when someone leaves the organization - see the onboarding and offboarding guide for the fuller checklist.
- Whether personal devices reach business email or files today.
G6 · Entry 04 What this covers
What this guide covers, and what it does not.
- In scope
- Naming the enrollment, patch-cadence, and retirement gap, and the evidence worth requesting from any device-management route.
- Out of scope
- Hardware brand or purchasing advice, warranty claims, and physical repair. This is a responsibility guide, not a repair shop.
- Possible next decision
- Recurring device-lifecycle ownership, a one-time enrollment project, or a bounded review of current compliance evidence.
G6 Next
Turn “devices are a mess” into a named ownership gap.
Compare the owned-brand doors built for ongoing device and tenant ownership, or read the fuller managed IT guide first.