How to Standardize IT Operations Across Multiple Clients

Standardizing IT processes puts oil in the cog of tech stacks, improving efficiency, simplifying onboarding, and supporting better documentation. However, implementing this can be difficult, especially for MSPs, as each client has unique workflows and compliance requirements.

We’ll walk you through IT standardization practices, helping you build a modular, adaptable foundation without breaking uniformity.

Steps to standardize internal IT and MSP operations

Standardization reduces technician error when doing repetitive tasks through automation, improving mean-time-to-resolution (MTTR) and escalations. In addition, automation reduces onboarding effort for new clients, ensures audit-ready documentation, and specifies configuration baselines.

📌 Use Cases: Leverage a scalable, tag-driven standardization framework that enables modular scripts to adapt, applying the correct settings as needed. This allows scripts to adapt per environment and maintain compliance consistently.

📌 Prerequisites:

• RMM platform with tagging, policy inheritance, and multi-client visibility
• Endpoint access to the Registry and PowerShell
• Defined service catalog and deliverables
• Clear naming conventions and tiers
• Documented deviation exceptions per client

Step 1: Use tagging and custom fields to create operational templates

Administrators can leverage the Registry to store custom tags per endpoint or consistently across an environment. Those tags reflect custom logical attributes, allowing broad, sorted queries instead of hardcoding separate names per device.

⚠️ Warning: Misconfigurations in the Registry can break system stability and functionality. (See ⚠️ Things to look out for.)

1. Create a new Registry path for your custom tags.

New-Item -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Org\Standardization” -Force

2. Customize your tags by applying logical attributes.

3. Query existing Registry tags on applicable endpoints through PowerShell scripts.

💡 Note: Logical attribute tags act as machine-readable labels, allowing conditional scripts to enforce correct baseline configurations required by an endpoint.

Step 2: Create modular PowerShell scripts and policies

By using dynamic, modular scripts, machines can automatically detect which action to take depending on an endpoint’s Registry tag. This allows technicians to use the same script across multiple clients by leveraging tags to determine script behavior.

Sample modular PowerShell script:

💡 Note: Using hardcoded scripts when standardizing IT operations can lock you within rigid, hard-to-scale processes. (See ⚠️ Things to look out for)

Step 3: Deploy policies with GPO or RMM that adjust based on the environment

Mixing tag-driven standardization with Group Policy and RMM can help automate and enforce baseline configurations at scale. Policies can help structure your framework, while tag-driven scripts take care of niche system settings that are not GPO native.

⚠️ Important: Test GPOs locally before environment-wide deployment. (See ⚠️ Things to look out for.)

1. Create a global baseline configuration that applies to all managed endpoints.
   • For instance, a password policy applies to all endpoints to maintain security.
2. Deploy conditional GPOs per Organizational Unit (OU) according to tags.
   • Example: Finance workstation tagged as Silver.
     1. Global: Password policy GPO applies.
     2. HR tag: Applies Finance-focused conditional GPOs.
     3. Silver tag: Use modular scripts to match endpoint tier assignment.
3. For shared environments like kiosks, enable Loopback Processing (Merge mode).
   • To do this, navigate the following path:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Group Policy 

• • Configure the setting User Group Policy loopback processing mode to Merge.

4. RMM and MDM tools can act as a substitute when managing devices outside an Active Directory.
   • You can set the same baseline and conditional policies through RMMs and MDMs.
     1. Global profile: Applies to all client endpoints.
     2. Conditional profile: Use tags based on department, tier, or exception.

Step 4: Schedule tasks or scripts to validate standardization practices

Regularly checking endpoint compliance on standardization practices helps maintain consistency by finding untagged devices before policies drift. Automating this practice helps scale the validation process, leaving an auditable trail while lowering MTTR through quick alerts and fixes.

Sample PowerShell script:

💡 Tip: Use an RMM platform like NinjaOne to execute scripts regularly and send alerts for quick remediation when gaps exist.

Step 5: Document exceptions and build override conditions

Exceptions can exist within standardized environments. Instead of breaking global policies, create a structured and documented exception framework that’s enforceable through tags and conditional logic.

Sample structured format for exceptions

• Client: Sample Law
• Exception: Endpoints retain custom anti-virus
• Resolution: Tag devices with LegacyAV; skip global AV scripts through conditional logic.
• Review date: 2025-19-08
• Owner: Sample Tech

Ideal storage locations for centralized recordkeeping

Exceptions can be stored in the following:

• Spreadsheets or shared files for small, easy-to-track environments.
• PSA (Professional Services Automation) when handling multiple clients.
• Custom fields in RMM platforms or Configuration Management Database for large environments.

Integrating scripts through tags:

Assigning custom tags like LegacyAV can be read by scripts, as seen in Step 2’s example, to override global configurations. Using these tags helps baseline configurations stay intact while allowing exceptions to branch off when applying custom configurations.

⚠️ Things to look out for

Troubleshooting issues related to IT standardization

Issues can arise when creating an IT standardization framework, preventing configurations from working as intended while disrupting automated processes. This section outlines common issues and provides solutions to keep standardization practices reliable.

Issue #1: Registry tags fail to apply

Execute scripts with elevated permissions or deploy them using an RMM when writing inside the HKLM hive. Additionally, incomplete RMM and endpoint syncs can hinder bulk action from applying correctly across devices.

For domain-joined environments, review GPOs that may restrict Registry edits, as these can remove tags after a Group Policy refresh.

Issue #2: Wrong policy applies to tagged devices

If tags overlap for each device, the wrong policy can apply, making configuration deployment and documentation harder. Each tag should be uniquely named, consistent, and well-documented to ensure each device only falls within a single category.

Issue #3: GPO is not enforced on endpoints

Open PowerShell on a target endpoint and enter gpupdate /force to force a policy refresh. Additionally, check if the GPO is correctly linked to the appropriate OU and verify if the target device is located inside.

As a diagnostic step, enter gpresult /h result.html on a PowerShell prompt to review all applied GPOs on an endpoint. Inside result.html, expand Denied GPOs and check if the GPO is incorrectly filtered or another GPO is overwriting it.

Issue # 4: Custom scripts fail silently

Include verbose logging (Write-Verbose) for better script transparency, showing where a script failed for a clear audit trail. In addition, add $ErrorActionPreference = ‘Stop’ on custom scripts to avoid silent failures.

Considerations and best practices in IT standardization

When standardizing IT processes, it’s not enough to focus only on Registry tagging and automation through GPOs and RMMs. Compliance, logging, and tracking also require close consideration to ensure consistent performance and quality service delivery.

Data residency or compliance flags

Legal and compliance requirements change depending on a client’s location or industry. Including regional or compliance-based tags, like CA-Privacy for Canadian privacy requirements or HIPAA for healthcare compliance, provides flexibility. This adjusts how scripts log, report, or retain data, ensuring client-aware compliance without using separate frameworks for each client.

Script execution logging

Every script that works around tags should log its decisions, including timestamps, target device, detected tags, and policies applied. This helps prevent silent failures while creating a clear audit trail suitable for compliance reviews and troubleshooting.

Version control

IT standardization practices get revised as time progresses, and creating markers in custom registry paths and scripts ensures version consistency. Additionally, this helps track changes made on an endpoint and ensures compliance.

• Version markers in the Registry:

Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Org\Standardization” -Name “StandardizationVersion” -Value “2.0”

• Version markers in script headers:

# Standardization Version: 2.0

Write-Output “This is a sample script.”

Management changes

Tagging and configuration changes shouldn’t be done on the fly, as they must first undergo documentation and approval. This helps ensure that changes are carefully reviewed before deployment, preventing accidental downtime due to misconfigurations or incompatibility.

NinjaOne services to streamline IT standardization practices

NinjaOne helps IT teams achieve standardization by letting them define policies for patching, monitoring, security, and automation. Instead of configuring devices one by one, admins apply these policies in bulk so every endpoint follows the same rules.

Devices can also be grouped by organization, location, or role, making it easier to enforce consistent practices across diverse environments. By combining policy-driven management with automated scripts, NinjaOne reduces variability, ensures compliance, and keeps IT operations predictable and efficient.

Integrate NinjaOne into IT standardization best practices

Standardizing IT processes for quality service delivery, especially for multiple clients, can be difficult due to differing management requirements. Tagging devices make endpoint policy assignments more nuanced and targeted, while modular scripts help with broad script implementation.

Leverage policies when applying baseline configurations across endpoints, and compound conditions when handling exclusions without breaking standardization. Integrating NinjaOne into standardization frameworks provides better endpoint visibility, consistent policy enforcement, and streamlined automation — reducing variability across IT environments.

Related topics:

• IT Compliance: Definition, Standards, and Risks
• MSP Network Management & Monitoring Explained
• Managed IT Services Guide for 2025