Workplace Join Registers Unmanaged Devices

Windows Server 2012 R2 offers new functionality that registers unmanaged devices running Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, and Apple iOS into Active Directory (AD). The feature, called Workplace Join, enables a user to verify ownership of a given device to AD. The user can then sign in from that device to corporate resources and services, such as Web applications or AD-federated Office 365, without requiring additional authentication. Workplace Join requires Windows Server 2012 R2 with its AD schema, as well as the most recent Windows clients, and may have licensing implications. Workplace Join also requires that the user have a domain account in AD.

Understanding Workplace Join

Traditionally, Windows PCs for most of an organization’s employees were purchased and managed by the organization, and the device was joined to AD through a process called a domain join, which simultaneously established the trust of the PC to the organization, and the organization to the PC, throughout the life of that device.