ZCM Authentication also only takes a second.  It sounds as if someone is confusing Explorer.exe Initializing with ZENworks Authentication.  They are very different things.

(Note: At one point of the Login Process....ZCM may toss up a message saying it is logging ....But we never destroy the message when we are done....So it will sit there after ZCM is done and it is just Windows Churning so I do understand why some folks may THINK ZCM is doing something when we are not.)

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Let's imagine the Following Scenario....

You are at work and open a Spreadsheet with important company financial data from a Share on your laptop.  Then you restart your Laptop, close the lid, and go home.  Would it SHOCK you that at this point in-time there is a possibility you are LOGGED into Windows, your Spreadsheet program is running, and the data from the secured spreadsheet may be open?  That if left unattended and someone is able to unlock your PC they could access that network data loaded into memory even if not connected to the network?

Such is the Wonders of ARSO......

When ARSO is enabled and you reboot your PC what happens is that Windows will cache the current creds of the logged on user and details of many running apps.  Upon restart it will automatically logon the user, reopen many apps including data files, and then LOCK the screen.  So when you "THINK" you are logging into Windows you are actually "Unlocking" it and everything is already running.  One reason this was introduced was to minimize complaints about long login times after Windows did automatic updates overnight.

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Why am I bringing this up?  Because the ARSO login actually takes place before any network connectivity and bypasses all credential providers.  So if this is enabled both ZCM and OES logins are normally skipped and you will not be logged in.  Thus both ZCM and OES Clients disable ARSO.

So after a Reboot with ARSO disabled....The Windows Login Screen will appear SOONER since it is not doing a background login and starting of applications.  However, after credentials are entered it will take longer since it will need to load Explorer.exe instead of just unlocking the PC.  

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So what can be done to help Explorer.exe Initialize Faster?

I would suggest trying these registry keys to see if it helps.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Serialize]
"Startupdelayinmsec"=dword:00000000
"WaitforIdleState"=dword:00000000

This prevents the delay in loading applications when Explorer.exe starts.  The ZAPP Windows started MUCH faster when this is set for me.

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Check to see what Applications are running on Startup....Limiting Startup Applications starting in the background can definitely help depending on what is auto-starting.

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Are They users getting new profiles when they login?  That will definitely add time if you are using Volatile Profiles or different users are always logging into a PC.  If you always have different folks walking up to PCs so they need a new profile...Sometimes configuring DLU to use a shared Profile may be useful.