SCCM 1910 marks one of the most anticipated releases from SCCM since it switched to the current branch release cycle all the way back with SCCM 1511 4 years or so ago.  While 1910 is ripe with new features, it also marks the transition to Microsoft Endpoint Manager.  If you’re not already aware, Brad Anderson (Microsoft’s Corporate VP for Microsoft 365) made an announcement at Microsoft Ignite in November that the following products were being merged into a single platform named Microsoft Endpoint Manager:

• Microsoft Configuration Manager
• Microsoft Intune
• Desktop Analytics
• Device Management Admin Center

We could go on and on about Microsoft Endpoint Manager but that deserves its own blog post (stay tuned!).

Upgrade to 1910

So long as you are on SCCM 1806 or higher, you should see SCCM 1910 available in your console in the Updates and Servicing location.

To see a demo of SCCM, contact us today!

Don’t be alarmed or frustrated if you do not see 1910 available when you are on 1806 or higher.  Microsoft releases this to customers over a period of a few weeks and it might not have made its way to you yet.  No worries….run the “opt-in” PowerShell script to enable fast ring for 1910 and refresh available updates and (voila!) you will see 1910 now available.

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2099733  Fast Ring Opt-in Script

As always, we recommend running the Prerequisite check on the 1910 upgrade to identify and resolve any issues that might cause your update to fail.  Trust us, this will save you lots of time and ibuprofen from the headaches it could create!

After completing your prerequisite checks successfully, swing away and run your installation so that you can take advantage of some new features while getting the latest bug fixes and console updates.

SCCM 1910 New Features

Highlighted below are some of the most useful new features with SCCM 1910.

1. Desktop Analytics Support

1910 integrates with Desktop Analytics which went GA earlier in October.  Desktop Analytics provides insight and automation into around your Windows workstation landscape and helps you stay current.

2. Site Infrastructure

Reclaim Sedo Lock

Clear a lock on any object in the CM console.

Extend/Migrate Configuration Manager to Azure

Clever ability to programmatically create VMs in Azure for Configuration Manager.  Allows you to deploy site servers in Azure that serve as passive site servers, management points, and distribution points.  This can help you introduce cloud SCCM infrastructure for a hybrid environment or can ease your transition from on-prem to cloud if that is your goal.

3. Application Management

Deploy Microsoft Edge

You can now natively deploy Microsoft Edge (version 77 and later) that is running on the Chromium project.

4. Operating System Deployment (OSD)

Task Sequence Power Plans

You can now leverage power plans in an OSD Task Sequence to enable high performance mode and improve the overall speed of your provisioning.

Task Sequence Editor Improvements

You can now search in a task sequence!  Sometimes it’s the little things, but speaking from experience, this is a godsend to quickly find steps in your TS.

OSD Improvements

Listed here are other general improvements to OSD.

• Boot image keyboard layout
• Import single indexes of an OS upgrade package
• Output the results of a Run Command Line step to a variable
• Task Sequence Debugger improvements (see more here about TS Debugger)
• Improved language support

5. Bitlocker Management

In a much-anticipated development, SCCM now natively provides Bitlocker management.  The following capabilities for Bitlocker drive encryption are now provided:

• Deploy Bitlocker client to Windows devices
• Manage encryption policies
• Compliance reports
• Administration and monitoring web sites for key recovery.
• Self-service portal for end users

6. Software Updates

The following enhancements around Software Updates are now available.

Third-Party Catalog Update Catalogs

More granular controls with synchronization from third-party catalog providers.  You can now independently control the synchronization schedule over each catalog.

Delivery Optimization (DO)

You can now choose to use delivery optimization with all Windows Updates instead of just express updates for Windows 10 clients on 1709 or higher.

7. Office 365 ProPlus Management

Office 365 ProPlus Pilot and Health Dashboard

This new dashboard helps you plan, pilot, and perform your O365 ProPlus deployments.  Like Desktop Analytics does with Windows 10, this dashboard gives you insight into your O365 ProPlus landscape to help you identify potential roadblocks and address them prior to deploying the application.

8. Configuration Manager Console

View Active Console Sessions and Message Administrators

1910 introduces the ability to view active console connections and message the administrators via Microsoft Teams

Client Diagnostic Actions

You can now enable and view verbose and debugging logging from a client via the SCCM console.

 

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