Provision first. Manage after.
StageReady handles day-zero provisioning: from an empty device to an enrolled, ready-to-manage endpoint. Microsoft Intune and tools like ImmyBot focus on managing the device after that. Many MSPs run both as complementary parts of one workflow.
StageReady provisions the device
From a blank disk to a Windows 11 machine enrolled in the client's tenant, without a technician babysitting it.
- Installs Windows 11 from a blank disk
- Registers the device into the client's Autopilot
- Sets region, language, keyboard and timezone
- Everything audited, no credentials on the USB
Your management tool takes over
Once the device is enrolled, ongoing apps, updates, and policy are handled by the management tool you already run.
- Deploys and updates applications
- Applies ongoing policy and configuration
- Patches and maintains over the device's life
- Handled by Microsoft Intune, ImmyBot, or similar
Who does what
The honest version: two of these three columns are better than us at keeping a device healthy. Neither of them gets the device there.
| Capability | StageReady | Intune + Autopilot | ImmyBot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installs Windows on a blank disk | DIY workaround | ||
| Runs before the device is enrolled | |||
| Registers the device into Autopilot | Needs the hardware hash first | After Windows | |
| On the device | No agent | MDM enrollment + IME | A persistent agent |
| BIOS settings before Windows installs | HP & Dell, in WinPE | Dell only, after enrollment | |
| Apps installed before first sign-in | |||
| No credentials on the USB / package | n/a | Enrollment package | |
| Tailor per client without duplicating the setup | Rebuilt in each tenant | Cross-tenant rule hierarchy | |
| Ongoing patching & software maintenance |
Most teams aren't replacing a tool. They're replacing manual work
Fully manual setup
A technician clicks through Windows, enrollment, and settings on every device.
An hour or more of your most expensive time, per device. Results drift between technicians, too.
Plain Microsoft Autopilot
Microsoft's free deployment automation.
Great. We build on it. But getting each device installed and registered into Autopilot is the part Microsoft leaves to you. That's what we automate.
Homemade USB scripts
Community tooling plus in-house PowerShell.
It works until the person who wrote it leaves, or the stick with admin credentials goes missing. StageReady is that setup, professionally maintained, credential-free, multi-client, and audited.