MDEP at Ignite 2025 – The Line in the Sand Is Now Crystal Clear
At Enterprise Connect this past March, I presented an update on the state of Microsoft’s Device Ecosystem Platform – better known as MDEP. A lot has changed since then, and this week’s Microsoft Ignite 2025 has now made one thing unmistakably clear – the MDEP era is not coming. It’s here.
If you’re unfamiliar with MDEP and would like the basic explanation, you can read the introductory blog I wrote here earlier in the year. If that’s TL:DR then here’s the short version:
“Microsoft envisioned a unified platform that could standardize and streamline the [Android] experience. The result was MDEP, a custom version of Android that meets Microsoft’s requirements for security, management, and performance. By building MDEP, Microsoft sought to create a more controlled environment where updates, security patches, and new features could be rolled out seamlessly across all devices.”
The Line in the Sand That Changed Everything
Earlier this year I showed two simple slides at Enterprise Connect – one listing the OEMs already on board with MDEP, and one showing who remained on the outside looking in. At that time, it was unclear where Microsoft would draw the boundary between “legacy AOSP Teams devices” and the new world of Teams on MDEP.
We now know exactly where that line is. Microsoft has made it explicit to the industry – ‘…any new Teams-certified device running Android, released after the introduction of MDEP, must commit to MDEP to earn certification…’
Devices do not need to ship with MDEP on day one, but they must commit to the platform and follow the path to certification. That single requirement – stated plainly – forced the hand of nearly every remaining OEM still on the sidelines.
Neat had to announce new hardware at GITEX. Cisco had next-generation products in development. Neither was going to release a major new Teams device without certification, and certification now clearly means MDEP. Whatever the fine-print negotiations looked like behind the scenes, Microsoft’s line in the sand made their decisions inevitable. Within days of each other in September both manufacturers announced commitments to MDEP.
The Newest Additions – DTEN and HP Join the Club
At this week’s Ignite 2025, Microsoft delivered two more big converts. DTEN and HP are now officially committed to MDEP for their upcoming Teams products.
This leaves just one major player from the legacy Android Teams era still holding out – Logitech. Which leads to the obvious question…
Is Logitech’s MDEP Transition Inevitable?
My personal opinion – yes. It’s only a matter of timing. Logitech has extremely successful products in the market that were not built with MDEP-ready architecture. In my opinion, the likely step for Logitech would be replacing the portfolio, not updating the firmware. (Which is not something a company wants to do when they have products on the shelf to sell.) Their newest device, the Rally Board 65, does have hardware capable of running MDEP firmware, suggesting the door is open when Logitech eventually decides the timing is right.
It is, however, baffling to me that Logitech can’t or won’t announce a new MDEP product like its competitors have, and just leave their old portfolio alone for now, also as their competitors have.
This is essentially the last domino to universal MDEP for Android Teams devices. And it will most assuredly fall.
The Big Unanswered Questions Still Stand
Despite the wave of OEM announcements, the industry-level concerns raised in our deep research note (for paid subscribers only) a few months ago remain unresolved.
Among the lingering questions:
- What does it mean when one company effectively controls the OS for nearly every Teams collaboration device?
- How open will MDEP remain once Microsoft’s footprint becomes ubiquitous?
- What will Microsoft do with this increasingly widespread version of Android after it dominates the videoconferencing landscape?
These aren’t academic thoughts – they will shape interoperability, platform choice, certification pathways, and OS independence for years.
Ignite 2025 – Lots of Copilots and Agents, Not Much Teams
Most of Ignite this year has been about AI. And not subtly. There are more copilots at Ignite than you’d find queued up on the tarmac at O’Hare at 8 a.m., and more agents than would be inside the nearby terminal.
Teams and MDEP barely made a ripple amid the AI avalanche. But that doesn’t diminish the incredible progress that Microsoft has made with MDEP. In a remarkably short time, a tiny Microsoft MDEP group – almost comically small for a project this consequential – has built a secure, standardized Android platform that now defines the industry. Talk about punching above your weight.
The Strange Reality – Lots of Commitments, Not Many Products
It’s important to point out however, that committing to MDEP is not the same as shipping MDEP. Commitment is high – deliverables, not so much. A handful of products are available now from companies including Jabra and AudioCodes (among others). Some devices are announced but awaiting certification – including Neat’s new 32-inch Board. But most OEM announcements so far sound more like: “We’re committed, and future products will support MDEP.”
The obvious question: Is that future as in 10 minutes – 10 weeks – 10 months – or 10 years? Choose your own adventure. This reveals an important truth – MDEP commitments today are more political than technical. Public alignment matters. Shipping product will come later. Which again makes Logi Island more baffling.
What Users Will Notice – Probably Nothing
If MDEP is working well, the average Teams user won’t notice it exists. And honestly, why would they? End users don’t care which version of Android powers the conference room. They care that meetings connect quickly and reliably. The real applause – when it eventually comes – will be from IT teams grateful for consistent patching, predictable compliance, and an OS that behaves the same across OEMs. But that day will come only after more MDEP devices actually hit the market. We aren’t there yet.
However, it’s worth repeating something often forgotten in the euphoria around AI and the novelty of MDEP. Teams is good, but it’s not the highest quality video platform available. However, it is the most widely deployed, the most frictionless for enterprise users, and the dominant meeting platform – sitting somewhere north of 60 percent of the enterprise installed base (of Android-based room video systems).
For a company that changed its collaboration stack almost yearly – LCS, OCS, Lync, Skype for Business, Teams – the stability of Teams deserves genuine credit. The only mystery is whether that stability is strategic or simply because the Microsoft people who normally love changing things fast are too busy playing with AI models to touch the collaboration stack. Either way, Teams has been allowed to grow into what it is today, and the market clearly approves.
Final Thought – The MDEP Era Has Arrived
The scorecard now shows nearly every major OEM aligned with Microsoft’s new platform. The device ecosystem is consolidating. The OS direction is locked in. And the industry is entering the next phase of what workplace collaboration looks like. The only remaining uncertainty – and it’s a big one – is what Microsoft intends to do as MDEP becomes the default OS for enterprise meeting rooms. Are the ambitions just to secure Android wherever it is in use in the enterprise, or are there new or hidden desires to expand into new markets for MDEP – such as our long-speculated reentry into the mobile telephony space? That story is still unfolding, and we’ll be watching it closely.