Why is Microsoft Intune the best tool to maintain and support Windows devices?

• Growing rapidly due to its integrated platform approach 
• No local infrastructure 
• Licensing 
• Collection of ready to use configurations with the new settings catalog 
• Autopilot – Simplifying Device Deployment 
• Device Transitions – User Data Management and Integration 
• Apply the same Configuration Profiles to all or multiple customer tenants 
• Deploy the applications to all or multiple customer tenants 

Microsoft is growing rapidly due to its integrated platform approach 

Intune’s integration with the Microsoft M365 stack is its biggest selling point: Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft Defender, Windows, and Windows 365 create a solid foundation for Zero Trust. According to the latest Forrester Unified Endpoint Management report Microsoft has the biggest market share already: 
The Forrester Wave™: Unified Endpoint Management, Q4 2023 

No local infrastructure needed 

The earlier endpoint management UEM and RMM solutions were built for local networks and included management server and other infra components that added immediately extra fixed costs. Microsoft Configuration Manager, SCCM, required instances and licenses for at least one Windows server, SQL server and licenses for the Configuration Manager itself. Then there are also cost of maintaining these components up to date. Other competitive tools have had similar requirements that means in practice that the environments supported should have at least 100 devices to somewhat cover these costs. 

Microsoft Intune is run as a pure SaaS solution with no local component costs which makes it usable for even very small tenants as all costs are included in the client licenses. 

Licensing 

Microsoft 365 Business Premium includes Intune licenses already. In addition to M365 Business Standard the Premium adds advanced cyberthreat protection and device management capabilities. Microsoft 365 Business Premium is built for businesses with up to 300 employees. 

Best collection of ready to use configurations with the new settings catalog 

Configuration Management and Compliance Policies: Modern Replacement for GPOs 

Configuration management and compliance policies have taken over the role of traditional GPOs. This feature allows administrators to configure various settings on devices, ranging from BitLocker settings to user configurations. This new approach eliminates the need for on-premises management and provides flexibility and control over device configurations thus streamlining the administrative process. 

Autopilot – Simplifying Device Deployment  

Autopilot is one of the cornerstone features of Intune. With Autopilot the provisioning of new devices happens directly from the cloud, a process referred to as Zero Touch Provisioning. 

This process significantly reduces the time it takes for a device to go from startup to functional state and ensures a high level of security. Each device’s hardware ID is tied to the business’s tenant, preventing the device from being used elsewhere, and effectively enhancing security and control. 

The device registration can be done by the distributor who ships the new device directly to the end user’s address and this covers the hybrid working places at home as well. 

Device Transitions – User Data Management and Integration 

Intune’s capability to integrate with other M365 services, like OneDrive, streamlines device changes from a user data perspective. 

The functionality of user data management configuration policies ensures that user data is synced and backed up to the cloud. This enables a seamless transition to new devices without data loss. This is just one example of how Intune’s capabilities extend beyond device management to user-centric data management and integration. 

Apply the same Configuration Profiles and applications to multiple customer tenants with the same needs 

Service Providers have needs to be able to support multiple customers in a proper manner to be able to serve their customers with Microsoft Intune. This has been noticed and there are now multi-tenant Intune-based solutions (f.ex. Riihicloud) available for MSPs. This will be discussed in more detail in our next blog post.