Microsoft Corp. wants to take some of the heat off information technology departments with a new service introduced today that provides complete management of an organization’s Windows 10 devices.

Microsoft Managed Desktop gives business users the option of having Microsoft manage all of their Windows 10 machines. Microsoft will provide those users with Windows 10 hardware that’s preconfigured for their needs, plus ongoing Windows 10 feature updates, security updates and other fixes. It will also handle the overall management of those devices for a per-user monthly subscription fee.

The exact costs of MMD will vary per user according to the type of device and size of the customer. Subscribers to MMD will get the full Microsoft 365 Enterprise package, which bundles Windows 10 Enterprise, Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility + Security.

But they will be limited to using select “qualifying devices,” which right now includes only Microsoft’s Surface personal computers. In coming months, PCs from Hewlett-Packard Inc., Dell Technologies Inc. and other companies will also be included in the program, Microsoft said.

MMD has already been trialed with a small number of customers based in the U.S. and the U.K., which have been helping develop and test the service. Now Microsoft is making MMD generally available to all business customers in the U.S. and U.K., ahead of an expansion into Australia, Canada and New Zealand by early 2019. Wider availability beyond those countries is expected by late 2019.

In a blog post today, Microsoft General Manager Bill Karagounis said the company will initially sell the MMD service directly, though it plans to work with partners and resellers at a later date.

Those who do sign up for MMD will be able to unbox their new devices, enter their credentials and see their PCs immediately populated with preset management and security policies, Karagounis said. This should save IT teams hours of time these procedures usually take.

Microsoft will also offer a three-year device refresh cycle for participating customers, which includes next-day replacement of devices, security monitoring and 24/7 support, according to this slide tweeted by analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy:

Analyst Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said the new MMD service is an important step because many enterprises have been asking for this kind of management tool.

“CxOs have been waiting for this for a long time, so it’s good to see Microsoft has listened,” Mueller said. “As with every first version, some caution is always advisable until we get to see exactly how the new offering works and scales. And of course there is the regional rollout to be considered. Still, it will be interesting to see how the existing device management vendors will respond.”

Microsoft also wants to make it clear that the MMD service is being offered only to corporate customers.

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