Ensuring Security and Visibility for Multifamily I.T.

In the steady churn of multifamily properties, a portfolio’s I.T. integrity can get lost. New acquisitions or operator changes can leave a company behind the times – and sometimes vulnerable – when on-boarding information technology, whether making improvements to existing equipment or starting anew to sync with the corporate office. In most cases, upgrades of antiquated equipment or adding a new desktops or laptops are necessary to ensure connection between the property and corporate office. Typically, it’s costly and time consuming for the I.T. team from time of purchase to installation, licensing and onboarding. Getting new or existing users set up adds to the process and can drag out if not well coordinated or the right protocols are not in place. And while I.T. at the corporate level may be up to date, tight and secure, the property may be operating in another time and place while becoming a gateway to security breaches. In recent years, Microsoft’s Windows Autopilot and Intune have alleviated some of the burden so that new devices can be deployed and configured right out of the box. Through the Microsoft Modern Workplace platform, Autopilot and Intune users can manage devices via the cloud. Devices can receive security and management policies directly from there, from any location. They are essentially plug-and-play, offering businesses a fast solution to onboard new users, whether one employee or a whole office. The concept has become a game changer. For multifamily, instead of having to spend thousands of dollars for network hardware to connect back to the corporate office, a monthly subscription fee per user is all it costs beyond the purchase price of equipment. Once the devices are registered to the main account they receive all the security and management policies from Microsoft in a jiffy. The Modern Workplace is a way already over-stressed I.T. staffs can effectively scale with a portfolio’s growth. But as much...