# Provisioning vs. Enrollment

> Understand the difference between provisioning, which installs Windows, and enrollment, which connects any device to CapaOne.

Source: https://docs.capaone.com/capaone/getting-started/provisioning-vs-enrollment/  
Product: CapaOne — a separate CapaSystems product; do not apply this page to any other.

**Provisioning** and **enrollment** are two distinct concepts in CapaOne, and they are easy to
confuse. The short version: provisioning is Windows-only and installs the OS. Enrollment is what
connects any device — Windows, Android, or Apple — to CapaOne management.

## Provisioning — Windows only

**Provisioning** (Provision Manager) is about deploying a fresh Windows installation to a
bare-metal device. The device has no usable OS yet — CapaOne boots it over the network (PXE) or
from a USB key, installs Windows from an image, applies the correct drivers, and then
automatically enrolls the device into CapaOne at the end.

Provisioning is exclusively a Windows concept. Android and Apple devices are never provisioned
through CapaOne — they come with their OS preinstalled and go straight to enrollment.

## Enrollment — all platforms

**Enrollment** is the process that registers a device with CapaOne so it can be managed. It
happens on a device that already has an operating system — enrollment just connects it to CapaOne
so it can receive configurations, apps, and policies.

How enrollment works differs per platform:

- **Windows** — the CapaOne agent is installed via MSI or PowerShell. See [Windows Enrollment](/capaone/enrollment/windows-enrollment/).
- **Android** — the device is enrolled through QR code, token, or zero-touch into Android Enterprise. See [Android Enrollment](/capaone/enrollment/android-enrollment/).
- **Apple** — an MDM profile is installed, optionally through Apple Business Manager (DEP) for supervised devices. See [Apple Enrollment](/capaone/enrollment/apple-enrollment/).

## The relationship between the two

Provisioning always ends with enrollment — once Windows is installed, the device is automatically
enrolled into CapaOne. But enrollment does not require provisioning. Most Windows devices in an
organization arrive with Windows already installed and are enrolled directly by installing the
agent, skipping provisioning entirely.

| Scenario | What to use |
|---|---|
| New device needs Windows installed from scratch | Provision Manager — enrollment follows automatically |
| Existing Windows device that needs to be managed | Windows enrollment only |
| Device needs a clean Windows reinstall | Provision Manager |
| Android or Apple device | Enrollment only — provisioning does not apply |

## Further reading

- [Getting Started with Provision Manager](/capaone/provision-manager/getting-started-with-provision-manager/)
- [Windows Enrollment](/capaone/enrollment/windows-enrollment/)
- [Android Enrollment](/capaone/enrollment/android-enrollment/)
- [Apple Enrollment](/capaone/enrollment/apple-enrollment/)