LTIMindtree merges 85K endpoints seamlessly with Microsoft Intune

LTIMindtree, a global technology consulting and digital solutions company, works with organizations to help them reimagine their business models, achieve digital transformation, and position them to scale and grow in the future. Founded in 1996 in Mumbai, India, the company has a team of over 86,000 professionals operating in more than 40 countries.

As part of the merger of two companies, Mindtree and Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI), a new entity, LTIMindtree, was formed. The company aimed to standardize its platform across the enterprise and provide a seamless native experience for its users. To accomplish this, LTIMindtree implemented a best-in-class Microsoft solution rooted in Windows 11 and Microsoft Intune.

Merger drives migration and modernization

The creation of LTIMindtree in 2022 was the catalyst for a modernization and standardization initiative that would unify two organizations under one enterprise. The company began searching for a tech stack that could align with its ecosystem and seamlessly integrate with the IT environment. “We zeroed in on Intune because it gives the flexibility to seamlessly manage the complete endpoint, the patch management, and vulnerability management,” said Ramesh Kumar T, Global Head of Enterprise IT at LTIMindtree.

As a result of the merger, LTIMindtree sought a seamless way to handle data migration and management, along with an efficient solution to optimize device onboarding for users. The company also needed to accommodate the stringent patch management requirements outlined in its client contracts, while ensuring an effective approach to maintaining security and compliance.

The company mandated that all corporate and customer data remain securely within the organization and be accessible only on registered devices. They sought to ensure that data remained within its environment and was accessed only on enrolled devices. LTIMindtree needed to implement policies to safeguard data and prevent it from being downloaded onto unsafe endpoints. To achieve this, they rolled out Microsoft Entra Conditional Access, which was seamlessly integrated into Intune.

“We believed that choosing a solution that didn't integrate seamlessly with our existing environment would result in a fragmented outcome. With this in mind, we focused on deploying the best-fit solution and began rolling out Intune across the organization,” noted Ramesh Kumar T.

With 98% of its users already on the Windows platform and 85,000 endpoints to secure and protect, LTIMindtree implemented a strategy to standardize on Windows 11 across the organization, leveraging Intune's cloud-based endpoint management capabilities.

Unifying with Windows 11 and Intune

To reduce the complexity of merging two large tenants into a single tenant, LTIMindtree began the process of unifying under the Windows 11 platform. The company chose Microsoft because it felt that Microsoft’s reputation for innovation and its ability to provide end-to-end solutions would be the best fit to meet its needs.

LTIMindtree encountered several challenges as the process began. The merger became the catalyst for new priorities around data migration, device onboarding, security, and compliance. To address these complex issues, the newly expanded company leaned into a Windows 11-based solution built upon Intune, using Windows Autopatch and Windows Autopilot. "We decided to adopt Windows 11 Enterprise across the board due to its advanced security capabilities and the continuous support it offers,” stated Sagar Chakwate, Senior Director at LTIMindtree.

Intune, utilizing Microsoft Entra ID and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE), emerged as a transformative solution that not only addressed the infrastructure requirements LTIMindtree had prioritized, but also helped give the company a strong stance for the future. Working closely with teams from Microsoft, including Microsoft 365 (M365) Advanced Cloud Engineering (ACE), Fast Track Engineering, Intune Engineering, Customer Service and Support (CSS), Customer Success, and Unified Support, LTIMindtree began executing its modernization and migration strategy.

After setting up the Intune platform to include all the LTIMindtree endpoints, the company launched a six-month, four-phase rollout that included planning, design, testing, and deployment. The company’s top priority for the deployment was to ensure that the migration was seamless for its users.

Device hardening to reduce security vulnerabilities played a significant role in LTIMindtree’s choice to use Intune. “Intune’s hardening capabilities significantly reduce security vulnerabilities, ensuring our endpoints remain secure and compliant. It excels in accommodating various configurations, enforcing security standards, and supporting application deployments and scripts that are not inherently available in Intune,” said Sagar Chakwate. The company streamlined and automated its updates using Autopatch, keeping all software and drivers current, and further solidifying its security stance.

The planning, design, and testing phases were completed over four months. Following this, the company initiated a phased migration of production systems to ensure uninterrupted service for users and avoid adverse business impact.

After two weeks of training, the company’s IT team began the phased rollout, keeping users informed on the status of the migration through a custom dashboard. They used Autopilot to securely onboard and deploy new devices; it was also key in helping hybrid users perform remote, self-service migrations through the LTIMindtree IT support desk clinic.

“It was really important to us that the process was seamless for all of our users. We had to ensure that users would have the same result whether they were working with IT in-person or remotely,” said Ramesh Kumar T.

Seamless migration for users across 40 countries

With the Windows 11 and Intune solution, LTIMindtree has successfully migrated and modernized more than 85,000 endpoints in 40 countries, enhancing its overall unified device management and strengthening protection against cyberthreats. The company notes that the Microsoft solution deployed seamlessly, without data loss, system crashes, or any need for data reformatting.

With the success of the Intune migration and modernization, LTIMindtree is currently developing plans to expand its use of key Microsoft solutions across the enterprise. Future plans include leveraging Intune Enterprise Application Management (EAM) to simplify application deployment and ensure they remain seamlessly up to date.

The leadership at LTIMindtree is delighted with the success of the rollout. "Thanks to Intune’s capabilities, users were able to resume productivity within 30 to 45 minutes after the migration was completed. This efficiency is truly commendable,” said Sagar Chakwate.

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