SCCM Must Have Tools and blog – 2021 Edition

Based on the popularity of my previous post published in 2018 , 2019 and 2020, I decided to do a 2021 refresh of the SCCM Must have Tools and blog list since there’s always new stuff coming out. To the list of SCCM Must have Tools, I added must-have read blog posts that you could have missed this year.

The tools are listed in no particular order. The list could have been longer but I needed to choose from my top personal list. If you feel that I’ve forgotten your awesome contribution to the SCCM community, please use the comment section and it will be a pleasure to promote it.

SCCM MUST HAVE TOOLS and BLOG LIST

This year was mostly work from home for lots of SCCM/MEMCM administrators. But there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. Some events like MMSOA made an on-premise event which gives a sign that there’s hope for an end of this pandemic. Working from home brings challenges for Windows upgrades and organizations that weren’t ready for remote work. Cloud Management Gateway installs became popular quickly! We also had the release of a new Windows 11 version.

Windows 11 customizations

We start our list with a recent blog post about Windows 11 customization. As for Windows 10, Windows 11 need some customization in the enterprise, as many of the same apps are installed and there are still many scenarios where we want to modify the experience for the end-user. What has changed is the Start Menu!

Jörgen Nilsson from CCMExec has published a complete article on the subject: Windows 11 customizations a first look

WIM Witch v3.0.0 – Configuration Manager Console Extension

WIM Witch allows to edit your Windows WIM file before deployment. This version of WIM Witch brings a new milestone. While it has had the ability to interact with Configuration Manager for a while now, this was done strictly from the WIM Witch console. With this version, the user has the ability to install console extensions into the Configuration Manager console itself, improving the experience and ease of use for Configuration Manager admins.

Developed by Donna Ryan, you can know more about this tool on the tool webpage.

CREATING COMPATIBILITY COLLECTIONS FOR WINDOWS 11

This blog post explain how to created compatibility collections for windows 11 deployment and provide the scripts and files for you to do the same.

Developed by Trevor Jones, the module can be found on GitHub and more documentation also on his website.

CMAppCreator

CMAppCreator’s purpose is to add applications to a MEMCM/ConfigMgr environment in a standardized way, with minimal work effort and through a web app GUI. 

Developed by Christoffer Bennerstedt, the module can be found on his Github repo.

Windows as a Service: Sharing my PreCache and In-Place Upgrade Task Sequences

This blog post describe how to deploy IPU in a specific scenario. A very interesting read. 

I’m also Co-managing my devices and deploy regular updates via Windows Update for Business. Just not feature updates. I fancy the full-control approach, taking the opportunity to update BIOS and drivers while at it. Everything works directly over the Internet via the Cloud Management Gateway. No hard requirements in being on-premises or on VPN. I have previously shared my precache and in-place upgrade task sequences. A lot have happened since then, and I wanted to take the opportunity to share my updated approach in details.

Written by MVP Martin Bengtsson, read the whole story on his website

Win32AppMigrationTool

Win32AppMigrationTool is designed to export the Application and Deployment Data from ConfigMgr to firstly create a .intunewin file and secondly publish the Win32App to Intune.

Developed by MVP Ben Whitmore, the script is available on the product page

IPU Installer

Onevinn IPU Installer, a .Net executable that wraps necessary commands, logic and processes when using a Configuration Manager Application to apply a Windows feature update. You will also meet the Onevinn Deployment Scheduler, a stand-alone complement to Software Center that allows the end-user to schedule installations of Applications and Updates at a time of personal convenience.

Developed by Johan Schrewelius, the script is available on the product page

Windows 11 hardware readiness report for PowerBI

Windows is 11 is out and Microsoft recently added Windows 11 hardware readiness insights to Endpoint Analytics in Microsoft Endpoint Manager allowing you to identify which devices in your Intune tenant are eligible for upgrade and which are not and why.

Developped by Trevor Jones, you can read the full blog article and download the files on his personal blog.

Windows 11 hardware readiness report for SSRS

As for the previous entry, we also made a Windows 11 readiness report to quickly identify which machine are ready for Windows 11. The report don’t need any requirement except running the report.

Developped by MVP Benoit Lecours, you can read the full blog article and download the files.

We hope this list was helpful. Thanks to all the contributors that helped the SCCM community with their tools, blog posts and time.