Public preview: Windows 365 alerts for Cloud PCs in grace periods

[AWS]

We are excited to announce the public preview of new alerts for IT admins managing Cloud PCs in Intune to better inform them about Cloud PCs in a grace period. This capability is available for Windows 365 Enterprise customers today!

 

We heard you. You want to receive proactive alerts on Cloud PCs so you can easily take appropriate actions based on this information. This can help reduce risk in situations where an IT admin may not be fully aware of Windows 365 provisioning controls and, therefore, make changes to user licensing or group membership that inadvertently trigger the grace period. Then you need this capability to extend to automated scripts, ensuring comprehensive coverage and proactive notification.

 

With this Windows 365 IT admin alerts, an email is delivered whenever a Cloud PC enters the grace period state. This provides admins with greater awareness of their environment so they can take appropriate actions and acts as a preventive measure against unintended Cloud PC deprovisioning.

 

Windows 365 IT admin alerts offer the following features:

 

• Admins can establish and customize system-based alerts for Cloud PCs in the grace period based on their preferences.
  
• IT admins can define alert rules by selecting from the available options, setting thresholds, specifying frequency, and choosing notification channels for receiving alerts.
  
• IT admins are able to assess their environment and take informed decisions to either reprovision or end the grace period for specific Cloud PCs as needed.
  

 

Enabling the functionality to generate alerts when a Cloud PC enters the grace period is a critical, precautionary measure. It acts as a safety net in scenarios such as Cloud PC license expiration or inadvertent changes made by IT admins to groups, resulting in a Cloud PC being set to deprovision within seven days.

 

Why is this important? Windows 365 Enterprise users are granted a seven-day grace period to continue using a Cloud PC once it enters that state. After the grace period elapses, the user is logged off, loses access to the Cloud PC, and the Cloud PC undergoes deprovisioning. Deprovisioning is a significant and irreversible action. By proactively notifying IT admins, unnecessary deprovisioning of Cloud PCs can be mitigated.

 

The Alerts (preview) in Microsoft Intune

 

 

In the Microsoft Intune admin center, under Tenant admin, you can review the alert history and monitor the status of a Cloud PC alert event, including details such as severity, state, and date.

 

Screenshot of Tenant admin in Alerts (preview) menu

 

Easy-to-understand alert insights

 

 

The event summary page provides a more detailed overview of the specific alert event that needs attention. This enables you to promptly investigate issues related to Cloud PCs in the grace period and gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact.

 

Screenshot of Alerts (preview) menu with a red highlight on the reports “Show all Cloud PCs in grace period”

 

When you select Show all Cloud PCs in grace, you are redirected to the corresponding alert event page, as displayed below. This page offers additional information about the alert event, enabling you to take appropriate actions to resolve the issue.

 

Screenshot of All Cloud PCs tab under the Windows 365 menu with a red highlight over the status of devices in grace period

 

If you select In grace period for a particular Cloud PC, a fly-out will appear, providing details about the impact of Cloud PCs in the grace period. You can then choose to either Reprovision Cloud PC or End the grace period.

 

Screenshot of CPC-SB pop up menu showing the option to “reprovision Cloud PC” or “end grace period”

 

Managing alert rules and email notifications

 

 

With this new capability, you have the flexibility to customize and enable or disable the alert rules, including conditions, settings, and notifications, depending on their specific requirement.

 

Additionally, you have the flexibility to configure your preferred notification methods for events by choosing options such as portal pop-up and email. We also provide support for email localization, allowing you to customize the language in which you prefer to receive alert notifications.

 

Screenshot of Alerts (preview) under the Alert Rules tab showing the optional notification methods

 

Screenshot of the Cloud PCs in grace period menu under the Alert rules tab showing more details on notification options

 

Prerequisites and what's next

 

 

Windows 365 system-based alerts are currently available for Windows 365 Enterprise customers and only with Microsoft Intune. The account needs to have the Intune Global Admin, Intune Admin, or Windows 365 Admin roles assigned.

 

Enhanced IT admin alerts for Cloud PCs that are unable to connect are coming soon. You'll also soon have the ability to proactively notify IT admins when Cloud PCs encounter issues such as unhealthy hosts, persistent connection errors, suspected infrastructure problems, or other systemic issues. These new capabilities will also provide valuable insights to assist in resolving the problem promptly.

 

For a demo on this new alerts capability for Cloud PCs in a grace period, now in public preview, please check out this video:

 

 

 

 

Learn more

 

 

Looking to see what the latest capabilities in Windows 365 alerts look like up close? See our documentation on Alerts in Windows 365.

 

Finally, have feedback or suggestions? Visit this forum to share your ideas and help shape the future of Windows 365!

 

 

Continue the conversation. Find best practices. Bookmark the Windows Tech Community and follow us @MSWindowsITPro on Twitter. Looking for support? Visit Windows on Microsoft Q&A.

 

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