Company Portal, MyMassasoit Portal? What is the difference?
The Company Portal, which is installed on your computer through our new device provisioning and management service, Intune, is a piece of software used to provide you the ability to download and install applications to your device without Administrative rights. This is different and distinct from the MyMassasoit Portal, which is located on our website, and provides you access to resources like Banner, Teams, and our Knowledge Base. When you are provided a new computer by ITS, your technician will provide you an overview of how to access the Company Portal, and what applications are available for you to download through it. A few examples are Zoom, GlobalProtect, and Adobe Creative Cloud. Some users will have different applications available to them, based on use case and license assignment.
Locating and using the Company Portal
On your computer, you can easily locate the Company Portal by opening the search bar next to your Start menu, in the bottom center of your screen.
Once located, simply type 'Company Portal' into the search bar, and you will be presented with the option to open the application in the Start menu.
Within the Company Portal you will find a few resources which will be helpful in management of your device. The Home page shows applications recently published, all available for you to install at your leisure. If you navigate to the 'Apps' tab, you can see the library of available applications for download. To download and install an Application, simply select the desired Application, and select 'Install', and the Company Portal will take care of the rest. You will be notified via a pop up in the bottom right of your screen when the installation begins and when it is complete. No more temporary administrator credential requests or visits to the help desk required!
Close up on the Installation pop up
Zoomed out to show the location of the notification on your screen
Other useful features
The Company Portal can be used for a bit more than just installing applications. If you navigate to the 'Help & support' tab, you will find useful resources such as contact information for the Massasoit ITS Help Desk, an FAQ section, and the ability to upload logs to Microsoft to assist us in improving the function of the application.
Why not download Zoom or other applications from their website?
Though it may seem easier in the moment to install an application to your device without our help, or without the Company Portal, it is less secure. We are constantly updating our software available through the Company Portal though an automated updating utility, and this ensures that your device is consistently protected from new vulnerabilities and potential exploits. Your vigilance and reliance on this new tool can help keep our network and end devices safe; you can have a meaningful impact and provide direct contribution to campus wide security.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article explaining the purpose and use case of the Company Portal application. If you have any suggestions for improvements or corrections, please comment below.