Due to the use of more devices in the workplace as well as multi-cloud systems, the complexity of maintaining a secure work environment has increased. Securing corporate data in such an environment presents a formidable challenge. Microsoft Intune, however, is a cloud-based platform that can offer businesses a solution. It is designed to assist organizations in managing and securing their mobile devices, PCs, and applications-making it essential for companies of all sizes and industries.
This comprehensive guide to Microsoft Intune's features, advantages, and support options provides a better view of the service as a whole.
What is Microsoft Intune
Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based endpoint management solution for corporate IT departments that simplifies application and device management, such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and virtual endpoints in the cloud.
With Intune, you can secure data and access on organization-owned and personal devices, enabling you to manage device compliance and reporting features. Furthermore, Intune supports the Microsoft Zero Trust security model, enabling you to implement robust security measures that safeguard your organization's assets and data.
It offers two primary services:
Microsoft Intune Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Microsoft Intune Mobile Device Management is a cloud-based solution that enables organizations to secure and manage mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
Intune MDM offers device inventory tracking, configuration management, application management, device compliance monitoring, and security policy enforcement features, such as blocking access to corporate data from non-compliant devices. IT administrators can set device policies like requiring a passcode or encrypting data both in transit and at rest.
Microsoft Intune Mobile Application Management (MAM)
Microsoft Intune Mobile Application Management is a cloud-based solution that helps organizations manage and secure the mobile applications employees use on their devices.
With Intune MAM, IT administrators can enforce security policies and regulate access to corporate data within applications-without requiring complete control over the device. This enables bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies for employees to use their personal devices (such as a personal iPad or Android phone) to securely access corporate digital assets rather than a corporate-owned device.
Intune MAM offers features like application inventory tracking, configuration management, and data protection policies. IT administrators can set policies for applications like requiring a PIN to access certain apps or encrypting data in transit and at rest. Application compliance monitoring and security regulations enforcement is also possible through the software, such as restricting corporate data sharing outside approved applications.
Microsoft Intune Features
Microsoft Intune provides robust features and capabilities for managing devices and applications across various platforms, such as Android, iOS/iPad, macOS, Windows, and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) operating system used for the “de-Googled” devices popular among cybersecurity professionals.
Below is the Microsoft Intune feature list:
Mobile Device and Identity Management
With Intune Microsoft, you can manage both organization-owned and personally-owned mobile devices. With policies restricting access to resources within an organization and secure identity management capabilities, this service helps organizations create policies for device configuration, ensure compliance with regulations, enforce conditional access rights, and more.
Mobile App Management
Microsoft Intune provides an intuitive mobile app management experience, making the process much more straightforward. You can quickly deploy, upgrade, remove apps, and connect to private app stores. The service also allows enforcement of app protection policies and controls app data access.
Self-Service Features
The Company Portal app provides self-service capabilities that enable employees to reset passwords, install applications, join groups, and more, which reduces calls to IT support teams for these basic tasks.
Integration with Mobile Threat Defence Services
Intune is fully compatible with mobile threat defense services like Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and third-party partner programs. These tools give security teams the power to respond immediately to threats, perform a real-time risk analysis, and automate remediation processes.
Web-Based Admin Center
The Intune admin center is accessible online and designed with endpoint management in mind, as well as offering data-driven reporting capabilities. Administrators can log into the Intune admin center from any device with internet access.
Microsoft Graph REST APIs
The Intune admin center utilizes Microsoft Graph REST APIs to access the Intune service programmatically. Every action within it is a Microsoft Graph call. Microsoft Graph provides a single endpoint for accessing rich data insights in the Microsoft Cloud, including data from 365, Windows, and Enterprise Mobility and Security programs.
Conditional Access
Intune automates policy deployment for apps, including security, device configuration, compliance, conditional access, and more. Once these policies are created, you can deploy them to user groups or device groups; all that's required for receiving them is internet access.
Cloud-Based Identity and Access Management through Azure Active Directory
Intune integrates with Azure Active Directory (AD) to offer cloud-based identity and access management. With this integration, you can manage users, groups, and devices in one place while enforcing policies that secure access to organization resources. It enables a single sign-on experience for users across all their devices, which improves productivity while decreasing the risk of security breaches. Furthermore, this integration enables automated device enrollment and management, making it simpler for IT teams to monitor and secure devices across their organization.
Compliance Management
Intune offers compliance policies to help guarantee your devices and apps meet your organization's security requirements. You can use built-in policies or create custom ones to control access to resources within the organization, monitor device compliance, and apply for conditional access if needed.
Microsoft Intune for Windows Devices
Microsoft Intune provides a way to manage Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, from configuring policies and deploying software to monitoring them. You may also use Windows Defender and Microsoft Defender ATP for endpoint protection and compliance monitoring.
Microsoft Intune Benefits
Microsoft Intune enables businesses to manage and secure their devices, data, and applications from one central console. It offers numerous benefits to organizations, such as enhanced security, increased productivity, streamlined device management, and improved IT operations. In this response, we'll look more into key Microsoft Intune benefits for businesses below:
Access to On-Premise Servers With Intune
Many companies still have on-premise servers for security reasons or other considerations. But this presents a challenge when working remotely since employees still require access to email and corporate data.
Mobile apps can securely access on-premises data by leveraging Intune-managed certificates and standard VPN gateways or proxies. Enrolling devices in Intune and ensuring they adhere to security policies is straightforward.
For example, IT administrators can create Intune policies that require all devices to have a password, encrypt data, and install the latest security updates. Once this is created, IT administrators simply download the Intune Company Portal app and sign in using their credentials; the device will then automatically comply with the security policy. Moreover, administrators are able to view and manage enrolled devices from within Intune's admin center, where they can monitor compliance as well as take remote actions when needed.
Easier Transition to the Cloud With Intune
Microsoft has stated that Intune isn't designed to force companies into moving to the cloud. However, as a cloud-based platform, Intune offers companies an ideal option for companies looking to transition away from on-premise servers. Plus, its cloud architecture is scalable and always up-to-date.
Improved Device Management With Intune
Intune device management gives IT managers centralized insight into all the devices that they need to manage within an organization and allows them to activate remote actions on those devices. The Intune admin center shows information such as:
- Device overview: Shows a visual snapshot of enrolled devices, including the different platforms they are on.
- All devices: Lists all the devices that are currently enrolled in Microsoft Intune. Clicking on a device shows additional details, like hardware, installed apps, policies, and remote actions. The export feature allows a .zip file to be created with a full device list.
- By platform: Shows devices under a specific platform (e.g., Apple, Android).
- Device enrollment: Shows currently enrolled devices and allows you to make changes as needed.
- Policy: Allows various organizational policies to be set.
- Device cleanup rules: Allows automatic removal of inactive devices from Intune.
- Device categories: Allows you to create device categories (e.g., a category called sales could be created, and devices belonging to the sales team could be listed there).
Flexible Licensing Structure With Intune
Cost remains a crucial factor when it comes to subscriptions for Intune. Microsoft's Enterprise Mobility + Security E3 or E5 (E5 including additional robust security features) includes Microsoft Intune and several other MDM functions to provide all the security features that an organization would need to manage both mobile devices and Microsoft 365 effectively. Choosing whether to go with E3 or E5 is much like purchasing a car, you need to consider the features that both offer and the pricing of licensing for both options, and you often need to test drive both before making a decision.
Intune Enhances Office 365
Office 365 clients can use Intune's Mobile Device Management (MDM) to apply granular permissions, access, and connections on individual mobile devices or groups of devices.. This increases data protection on user devices through security policy management, and when necessary, corporate data can be wiped from users' devices while leaving personal data intact through device cleanup rules.
Clients can deploy custom and Microsoft Store apps and use an Intune-managed browser app for a more secure browsing experience. Restrictions on copying, pasting, saving, etc., ensure corporate data remains protected.
Enhancing IT Productivity
- Microsoft Intune simplifies IT operations by deploying centralized software on all enrolled devices. This eliminates the need to manage individual devices and guarantees all users have the latest software and apps.
- Intune simplifies Office management without the need for a containerization app.
- IT can monitor licensing and track hardware configurations and software installations.
- Ultimately, this improves efficiency within IT and powers productivity in the IT work environment.
Microsoft Intune Support
When it comes to seeking support for Microsoft Intune, users have several options at their disposal. These include:
Microsoft Documentation and Resources
Microsoft provides Intune users with extensive documentation and resources, such as:
- Articles
- Guides
- Tutorials
- FAQs
- Technical documentation
- Release notes that keep up-to-date on the newest Intune features and upgrades
Community Support
Intune users can connect with other users and experts through forums, social media, and online communities to share experiences and get advice. The Microsoft Intune Tech Community is a popular forum where they can discuss Intune-related topics and receive help from other users.
Professional Support
Microsoft provides professional support services for more complex issues or situations where more than in-house expertise is needed. These provide direct access to Microsoft engineers who can assist with troubleshooting, technical difficulties, and configuration problems. Professional support is accessible via phone, email, and chat options.
Third-Party Support
Users may seek support from third-party vendors that specialize in Intune support services. These vendors can offer additional expertise and resources not available from Microsoft alone; however, it's essential to note that Microsoft does not endorse or recommend any specific third-party support provider, so users should do their due diligence when selecting one.
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Microsoft Intune Configuration
Deploying Intune can be a complex process, but with proper planning and execution, you can successfully manage your devices and safeguard your organization's data. Here are the steps you should take to deploy Intune:
- Sign up for Intune: To start the deployment process, log in to the Intune admin center and register for Intune. If you already have a subscription, you can log in using that same subscription. Note that Intune is included with Microsoft 365 subscriptions, so if you already have Microsoft 365, you're able to use your existing login information.
- Set Intune Standalone as the MDM authority: To manage your devices with Intune, you must set it as the MDM authority. Doing this allows Intune to manage devices and enforce policies. You can do this by following instructions in the Intune admin center, which involves configuring enrollment restrictions and selecting the groups you want to manage with Intune. Once Intune is set as the MDM authority, you can manage devices and apply policies from the Intune admin center.
- Add your domain account: To manage devices under your domain, , you must add a domain account. Without doing so, domain.onmicrosoft.com will be used automatically as the name. If you're transitioning from Office 365, your domain may already be in Azure AD and can use the same domain name listed in that program.
- Add users and groups: Users and groups are stored in Azure AD, which includes Microsoft 365. Intune administrators can add these users and groups to the admin center, where they will receive any policies created within Intune. If you're switching from Office 365 subscription, all your existing users and groups will remain within Azure AD.
- Create device groups: Device groups are ideal for managing devices without dedicated users, like kiosks shared by shift workers. You can create these groups based on device identity and use them to perform administrative tasks. By configuring device groups before enrollment, device categories will automatically join devices into groups when they enroll.
- Assign Intune licenses: Assigning Intune licenses to your users allows them to enroll their devices in Intune via the Intune admin center.
- Create device platform restrictions: All device platforms can enroll in Intune by default. However, creating a device platform restriction is an effective solution if you want to restrict specific platforms from enrolling. This feature comes in handy if only certain types of devices need management.
- Customize the company portal app: Users use this app to enroll their devices, install apps and get IT to help desk support. Customers may feel more confident using the app by customizing it with your organization's details.
- Create your administrative team: Intune uses role-based access control to limit what users can see and modify. As the global administrator, you assign roles such as Help Desk operator, Application Manager, Intune Role Administrator, and more to users. You have complete control over who can access what information in Intune and help manage devices more effectively.
Microsoft Intune Best Practices
To utilize Microsoft Intune's features and capabilities to the maximum, the following are some Microsoft Intune best practices that you need to perform:
Utilize Azure AD Groups for Access Control
Azure AD groups offer an efficient method for controlling access in your Microsoft Intune environment. By creating distinct groups for different roles, you can assign permissions and control who has what resources. With Azure AD groups, you can target specific devices or users with policies, making applying security settings specifically to these groups more straightforward.
Create a Device Compliance Policy for Each Platform
Device compliance policies allow you to establish specific requirements for devices connected to your network. By creating separate policies per platform, all devices will meet the same standards regardless of type. Keeping track of which devices are compliant and which need updating makes it simpler to detect potential security threats and take appropriate action quickly.
Enforcing Mobile Application Management (MAM) Policies on Apps
Enforcing MAM policies on mobile apps gives you control over how users access and utilize corporate data on their mobile devices. This includes setting restrictions such as prohibiting them from copying or printing sensitive information or blocking file saving locally. By adhering to MAM policies, only authorized personnel can access your organization's information.
Configuring Conditional Access
Conditional access rules determine which users can access corporate resources. This helps protect your data from unauthorized intrusion and ensures that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information. You can configure rules such as requiring a valid device certificate or multi-factor authentication for certain types of data or applications. By configuring these controls, you can ensure that the right people have access to the right data.
Enable Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA provides an extra layer of security to your Intune environment by requiring users to provide two or more authentication factors when logging in. This helps guard against unauthorized access and data breaches as it makes it much harder for attackers to access your system. You can enable MFA through the Azure Active Directory portal, configure different authentication methods, or set up policies that require MFA when accessing specific applications or services.
Establish Dynamic Groups and Assign Licenses
Dynamic groups offer a convenient way to manage many users and devices. You can create them based on criteria like device type, operating system version, or user location. Assigning licenses to these dynamic groups ensures only those who require access to specific applications have them, helping reduce costs by not paying for unused licenses. It also guarantees users get the most out of their Microsoft Intune experience.
Deploy the Intune Company Portal App
- The Intune Company Portal app is a mobile application designed to allow employees to access company resources from their devices.
- The app provides IT admins with control over managing and securing corporate data on those same devices.
- The app can be deployed through Microsoft Store for Business or an MDM solution like Intune.
- Once installed, the Intune Company Portal app enables users to access corporate applications, documents, and other resources.
- IT admins can easily enforce security policies such as device encryption and password requirements.
- By deploying this app, organizations can ensure their corporate data remains secure while allowing employees to utilize their devices for work purposes.
Implement Microsoft Defender ATP
Microsoft Defender ATP is a cloud-based security solution that offers advanced threat protection for your organization's devices. It helps guard against malicious attacks, malware, and other cyber security threats by monitoring the behavior of applications and processes on endpoints. This cloud-based solution offers comprehensive coverage of threat activity, so you can rest assured knowing your organization's devices are constantly under surveillance.
Microsoft Defender ATP provides real-time insight into the health of your environment, enabling you to detect and respond to potential threats quickly. Furthermore, it can enforce compliance policies across all managed devices, guaranteeing they have access to the latest security patches and configurations.
Monitor Your Environment with Reports
- Reports offer a detailed snapshot of your environment, enabling you to identify any potential problems or opportunities for improvement.
- You can use reports to monitor device compliance, application usage, and user activity.
- Reports provide data that allows informed decisions about how best to optimize your Intune deployment.
- If you notice specific devices aren't adhering to your security policies, you can take measures to ensure they become compliant.
- Reports enable you to track the performance of applications and users over time.
- This helps identify trends in usage patterns so you can adjust strategies accordingly.
Manage Windows 10 Devices with Autopilot
Autopilot is a cloud-based service that enables you to quickly and easily deploy Windows 10 devices with minimal effort. It eliminates the need for manual setup, configuration, or imaging of each device-saving time and money. Autopilot effortlessly keeps your devices up-to-date with security patches and feature updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Microsoft Intune Safe?
Microsoft Intune is a safe and secure cloud-based solution that gives IT administrators control over mobile devices, apps, and data. Intune offers multiple security features like device management, application management, data protection, and conditional access for your organization's devices and information. Furthermore, Microsoft has implemented various security controls such as data encryption, network security, and threat protection into Intune's cloud infrastructure.
Microsoft Intune Supported Devices
Below is the list of Microsoft Intune supported devices:
|
Supported Devices |
Versions |
|
Android |
|
|
iOS/iPadOS |
|
|
Linux |
|
|
Windows |
|
What are some Microsoft Intune Alternatives?
Among several options available, here are the top 5 best Microsoft Intune alternatives for managing your organization's mobile devices:
Microsoft Intune vs MobileIron: What's the Difference?
The table below presents the differences between Microsoft Intune and MobileIron:
|
Feature |
MobileIron |
Microsoft Intune |
|
Zero Trust |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Data encryption |
FIPS 140-2 cryptographic modules |
Microsoft Defender Antivirus |
|
Mobile Threat Defense |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Application Management |
Mobile@work, Apps@work, MobileIron Access |
App management, Apple Business Manager, VPP |
|
Integration |
Business cloud service providers, IdPs |
TeamViewer Connector, Microsoft Graph API |
|
Pricing |
Quote-based pricing model |
Three pricing packages starting at $10.60/user |
|
User Experience |
Device agnostic, excellent customer service, need for more documentation |
Great for securing and managing devices, limited support for the diverse environment |
Is Intune Included in EMS?
Microsoft Intune is included in an Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) subscription. To confirm your license, the following steps should be followed:
- Sign in to the Microsoft Intune Admin Center
- Select tenant administration, then tenant status
- Under the tenant details tab, the options MDM authority, total license users, and total Intune licenses will show.
- Select tenant administration, then roles, then my permissions
- Confirm you are an administrator with full permissions
Conclusion
Microsoft Intune is a feature-rich endpoint management solution suitable for organizations of all sizes and industries. From device management and application control to security and compliance monitoring, Intune offers an all-inclusive answer to modern endpoint management problems. Boasting its cloud-based architecture and comprehensive support program, Intune is a formidable asset to IT pros and business owners alike.
If you are curious to discover more about Intune Microsoft and how it can benefit your organization, contact Amaxra-a Microsoft Cloud Partner with extensive expertise in implementing and managing Intune solutions.
We provide expert guidance and support so that you get the most out of your investment, from initial deployment through ongoing management and support. Get in touch today to discover how Intune can benefit your business, and book a consultation with one of their knowledgeable specialists!
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