In late 2014, Vorys rolled out Surface Pro 3 devices as a desktop replacement to users that met an early adapter profile and had a tablet preference. The rollout was very successful, partly because the project team spent a great deal of time determining what configuration choices would maximize our chances for success.
At its heart, the Surface Pro 3 wants to be two machines in one. It wants to be your work computer, and also allow you to access your personal data and apps. This desire to serve two masters might be what eventually did in Windows 8.1, but for our rollout, we wanted to embrace this concept as much as possible, while still adhering to the information governance requirements of the law firm.
Our first major choice was easy: The machines had to be part of our domain, and because of that, some of consumer friendly options, such as what information could be saved on a person’s “Microsoft Live” account, were greatly restricted.
The next major choice facing the team was determining if we would allow users to download apps from the app store. Allowing such actions would be a major change, since it has been two decades since users could install software on their work computer at our firm. However, we believed there were three differentiating factors for the Surface Pro when compared to a normal ultrabook. First -it was much more compact than anything else we offered. Second, many attorneys were impressed by the ability to utilize the active stylus. Finally, you could utilize it as a tablet, without a keyboard, lying flat on the table or desk. The team felt that the best way for us to learn from those early adapters was to allow them to download Windows store (aka Metro) apps what they could discover to improve their experience using the device as a tablet. We did continue to restrict the installation of software on the desktop.
We also had the option to control, to some extent, which applications a user could download or use. We didn’t take advantage of this feature, instead choosing to use education to help users understand what apps might not be useful, and what actions would pose potential information governance risks.
There were many things we ended up restricting, such as requiring a secure login sequence (e.g. Ctrl-ALT-DELETE) before logging into the device. By default, you just swipe up on the lock screen. That choice also meant disabling the “picture login” feature as well. We also disabled OneDrive access. We turned off the Smartsearch feature that would send any term typed into the search box to Bing. As most law firms are likely to do, we have the Surface Pro 3 boot into the desktop by default.
As Windows 10 approaches, we will be examining what we learned, and what improvements are available on the Surface Pro 4. We will post again, and hope you will share your experiences as well.