Omnissa Windows Server Management: Bring Servers Into Modern UEM

Omnissa Windows Server Management: The Day Servers Started Behaving

Let's be honest. For years, Windows Server management in the digital workspace world felt a bit like that awkward middle-aged uncle at the family gathering---essential, powerful, but fundamentally disconnected from the cool kids (the desktops, the laptops, the phones). We had our sleek, modern UEM consoles handling every single device our users touched, while our servers lurked in the background, governed by ancient Group Policy Objects and management tools that looked suspiciously like they were designed for a CRT monitor. Well, pour yourself a celebratory coffee, because Omnissa dropped a truth bomb at the recent Omnissa ONE event: Workspace ONE UEM is coming for your Windows Servers.

How the Magic (and the PowerShell) Works

So, how does this transition from legacy control methods to modern UEM actually happen? It's surprisingly elegant, largely because it leverages the infrastructure already in place for Windows desktop management.

Supported Guests: The first step is checking the guest list. Omnissa is supporting all the modern heavy hitters: Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and the shiny new 2025 releases.
The Enrollment Hook: Enrollment is done using the familiar Workspace ONE Intelligent Hub (or the underlying AirWatch Agent). Servers simply navigate to the standard enrollment URL (like the desktops do), or you can use advanced provisioning methods like Drop Ship Provisioning. Crucially, the system identifies the device as a Server OS, putting it into a distinct management bucket.
Policy Parity: Once enrolled, these servers gain access to the same centralized control features that make desktop management so efficient:
- Profiles and Baselines: You can apply standardization and security configurations using UEM Profiles, ensuring your security posture is consistent, measurable, and repeatable. Since the Server OS does not have the OMA-DM client, the Intelligent Hub configures the underlying operating system using ADMX backed policies.
- Software Distribution: Say goodbye to complex, manual installation routines. Deploying critical server applications, patches, and updates is handled directly through Workspace ONE's robust software distribution engine.
- PowerShell is the Engine: The real power move here is that UEM leverages PowerShell execution through the Intelligent Hub for many of the operational changes and configuration tasks. This means that even though it looks like modern MDM, it's using that foundational Windows capability to perform deep, granular configuration changes that server admins require.

Why This Unification is a Lifesaver

In the world of Zero Trust and perpetual patching, having servers siloed off is a security liability and an operational nightmare.

This announcement is a big deal because it eliminates the sprawl. Instead of juggling licenses, dashboards, and operational flows across multiple toolsets (SCCM for servers, UEM for endpoints, Intune for desktops, etc.), you get one console to check: The Workspace ONE UEM Console.

This single-pane-of-glass approach allows for unified security and compliance checks. If a server goes out of compliance (maybe a critical service is stopped, or a baseline drifts), the UEM engine immediately flags it, and you can leverage Freestyle Orchestrator (if you're fancy) to initiate self-healing actions.

The bottom line? Omnissa has formally introduced the servers to the rest of the unified family. They're still powerful, still essential, but now they're finally wearing the same management uniform as everyone else.

Ready to Ditch the GPO Grind?

For a related deep dive on Apple device management, see our guide on Apple Declarative Device Management with Workspace ONE UEM. If you are modernizing conditional access, you might also like our article on Continuous Access Evaluation with Omnissa Access.

If your servers are currently feeling neglected and you're ready to ditch the clunky, legacy tools for a modern, unified management experience, we want to hear from you. Get in touch with us today to explore how Workspace ONE UEM can transform your Windows Server operations.

Citations

Omnissa Community. "New Workspace ONE UEM Device Type: Windows Server (R23)". community.omnissa.com.