Microsoft Intune Reviews

We use Microsoft Intune to manage mobile devices across almost all platforms, including Android, Windows, and Linux, which was recently added just a few months ago.

Previously, we relied on on-premises infrastructure using SCCM to manage mobile devices alongside other tools. Intune is a cloud-based solution that empowers administrators to manage cloud devices, implement policies, and deploy applications. While other MDM platforms exist, Intune is a top choice due to its feature set.

Microsoft Intune consolidates our endpoint and security management tools into a single platform. While still under development with new security features on the horizon, the current capabilities offer administrators ample tools to fortify the environment.

Intune simplifies mobile device management by consolidating endpoint and security tools into a single platform. This centralized approach enables IT administrators to efficiently manage various aspects, including Windows updates, Wi-Fi and VPN policies, application restrictions, and user account creation, all within the Intune interface, significantly streamlining the overall management process.

The user experience is quite smooth for most users because administrators handle all necessary configurations. Options like Windows Autopilot and zero-touch deployment enrollment significantly simplify the process, minimizing user intervention and effort required to set up and use devices.

I currently support Microsoft admins and have handled numerous cases related to Enterprise Application Management. Many companies utilize this tool to manage their in-house applications. While not all companies employ this method, most larger organizations do. These companies often deploy their enterprise applications using Intune, which offers a feature that allows admins to protect application data through mobile application management policies. To enable MAM, applications must be wrapped with the Intune Software Development Kit to communicate with Intune services. This process is valuable as it empowers admins to safeguard sensitive data. Intune provides SDK options for both iOS and Windows applications.

There are two methods for automatically updating the application: independent updates within the application itself or updates to the application package managed through Intune. The chosen method depends on the enterprise application's configuration. Recently introduced Azure application registration simplifies the process by requiring registration before deployment, enhancing security through authentication.

We utilize advanced endpoint analytics within the Intune suite, and the recent release of Windows Autopilot's version has expanded the range of analytics tools available to administrators. While Intune provides data on devices and users under its management, more in-depth reports can be accessed through Log Analytics or Azure Monitor. However, Intune's analytics are sufficient for gathering reports on managed devices.

The advanced endpoint analytics feature within the Intune suite allows us to access detailed information about our devices. This includes data on device counts, specific settings for bulk administration or devices, and the ability to filter devices based on our needs.

I have experience with several MDM solutions. While Microsoft Intune is excellent for managing thousands of user devices, it may not be ideal for specific use cases like bulk printer or Jabra device management, which could present challenges. However, Intune shines in organizations with large numbers of users, especially when integrated with existing on-premises infrastructure or SCCM. This integration can streamline operations and reduce staffing needs. For example, a ten-person IT team might only require two to five people dedicated to Intune management with on-premises support. While I cannot provide a full sales pitch, I confidently recommend Intune to anyone seeking a robust MDM solution.

Copilot in Intune is valuable when integrated with back-end data, such as our existing tools and libraries. This integration empowers administrators to assess information effectively. However, the tool's effectiveness hinges on the quality of data input and query formulation. As users are still familiarizing themselves with Copilot, its adoption varies across environments, with some users enabling it and others disabling it.

Copilot in Intune simplifies IT operations by quickly responding to inquiries about integrated systems. Users won't need to search for specific details as Copilot offers a variety of solutions.

Intune offers more than device management; it also aids in user management. Regardless of the platform, Intune provides various options for device enrollment. Intune prevents mixing personal and corporate data, whether using a corporate or personal device. It also offers robust security features, enabling granular control over user access to applications, resources, and other tools.

In a hybrid environment, security management depends on whether devices are co-managed and how policies are configured in Intune. Intune offers various features, including remote actions, to address these scenarios. However, I discovered an issue with BYOD devices on iOS: wiping an enrolled device deletes all data, not just corporate data. This is a problem that needs to be addressed internally.

With the endpoint privilege management feature, the admin can create an EPM policy. If a user tries to access a resource, the admin will be prompted to grant or deny access based on the policy.

Suppose I need to access data, logs, or files on a Windows device that a global administrator restricts or requires approval for. In that case, I can configure an EPM policy to remind users that additional authorization is necessary. For instance, I encountered cases where users frequently mistakenly assigned test applications to production environments. To prevent this without restricting access or privileges, we configured an EPM policy to prompt users specifically when assigning that application to a production environment. This approach demonstrates how EPM policies can be tailored to address various requirements.

EPM provides an additional layer of authentication for accessing a resource, application, or permission. For ASR, we can define rules by which users can access the resources.

Intune has significantly improved productivity by simplifying tasks like certificate authority restoration. For example, using a deployed CA server certificate, I've set up a Wi-Fi profile with auto-authentication. Previously, expiring certificates required manual reissuance, but Intune automates this process by revoking certificates when they approach their expiration threshold. This threshold, configurable within the certificate profile, can be set as a percentage of the certificate's lifespan. A revocation request is triggered when the threshold is reached, ensuring a new certificate is issued for the device or user profile before the old one expires.

Intune's integration with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Security for both cloud and co-managed devices is beneficial because it offers a centralized platform. We can directly assign licenses within Intune instead of using the separate M365 admin portal to create users, simplifying the process. Intune synchronizes features and functions from M365, streamlining management. However, purchasing new licenses still requires accessing the admin center. Despite this, Intune effectively synchronizes information to endpoints.

While conditional access isn't solely limited to Intune, we can also effectively implement and manage conditional access policies through Azure. However, Intune significantly simplifies application deployment, mobile application management, and policy enforcement, such as restricting user access to specific applications, thereby enhancing overall environment security. Furthermore, Intune automates numerous tasks previously requiring manual configuration by administrators, streamlining the process by creating simple policies for desired outcomes.

There are specific devices we can focus on. For example, due to GMS restrictions in China, we face limitations. However, BlackBerry UEM can enroll Android devices as Android Enterprise, though the exact method is unclear. We could explore whether Intune can replicate this functionality. Since GMS is unavailable in China, we currently rely on device administrator enrollment for managing Android devices there. This suggests potential opportunities to develop solutions or collaborate with Chinese partners to create new features within Intune for managing Android devices in the Chinese market.

I have been using Microsoft Intune for three years.

While some specific tenants experience occasional outages and bugs, our monitoring team is actively tracking an upcoming issue affecting certain tenants in specific regions. Both the support and broader teams are diligently working to resolve this. Aside from this, Microsoft Intune is demonstrating overall stability.

If an organization has the budget, they can easily scale Microsoft Intune.

Microsoft's technical support for Microsoft Intune and the broader Microsoft environment consists of several tiers. Customers can choose between broad commercial support, Pro support, or Premier support, the latter including dedicated Customer Success Account Managers and Incident Managers to facilitate access to specialized engineers. Support engineers are categorized into levels one, two, and three. We collaborate weekly with global subject matter experts to address ongoing issues and cases. For complex or backend problems, we engage the product group using a specific request form. While Microsoft previously employed support staff primarily in the US and Canada, they now utilize vendors in India and the Philippines, offering varying levels of expertise. To enhance support quality, Microsoft should invest in training these engineers and consider opportunities for full-time employment, rather than incurring the costs of recruiting and training new staff.

An organization migrating to the cloud typically requires an Azure subscription as a starting point. While our FastTrack Team offers full migration solutions, IT administrators can also independently move operations to the cloud by purchasing an Azure subscription, tenant, and licenses and configuring policies, privileges, and workloads. Existing on-premises infrastructure can be synced to the cloud using Azure AD Connect, enabling management within a hybrid or pure Azure AD environment. The ease of migration depends on the administrator's experience, and Microsoft support is available for those requiring assistance.

One to two solution architects are enough for the deployment.

Several factors influence the time required for deployment. For instance, with a user base of 100, deployment can be achieved within a week. However, environments with thousands of users and devices, especially on-premises setups, present greater challenges. Customers or administrators migrating to the cloud and adopting Intune often follow a phased approach. They typically start by deploying and testing a subset of policies to assess manageability and feasibility before proceeding with application deployment. As a result, the overall deployment timeline varies significantly across organizations and can extend to several weeks.

Microsoft services are slightly more expensive than competitors but offer advantages and disadvantages. Even if they charge a premium, they aim to provide equal value.

I have experience with SOTI MobiControl, Jamf Pro, and AirWatch. SOTI MobiControl excels at managing specific devices, offering a list of compatible models upon request. Intune, however, struggles with printer management and Zebra device compatibility. Its network security features are limited due to ongoing development, and it lacks in-built policies for third-party applications, hindering compatibility and communication with external devices and manufacturers. While custom policies can be implemented, comprehensive built-in options would be beneficial.

I would rate Microsoft Intune eight out of ten.

Intune requires no maintenance after initial deployment, but ongoing subscriptions are necessary for each user as individual licenses are needed monthly. Microsoft continually updates the service to support the latest operating systems and applications, so ensuring our environment is up-to-date is crucial for optimal performance.

Microsoft Intune is a good tool, and to simplify operations, I recommend a full cloud environment over a hybrid environment.

Public Cloud

We are mainly using Microsoft Intune for the security of people who are working from home. It is being used for BYOD.

We enforce and push policies and enforce security requirements through Microsoft Intune. We also use it for deploying applications and monitoring the devices remotely.

Microsoft Intune has simplified our mobile application management a lot. Managing devices that are in users' homes is very tough without Microsoft Intune. Remote management is very easy because of Microsoft Intune.

For maintaining our device security, the best feature is that it works with Azure Active Directory Premium One license. There is conditional access, which is something very unique, so if a machine is compliant and Microsoft Intune is installed on it, only then users can access our Office 365 data. It is not just a feature of Microsoft Intune but also of AD P1.

Microsoft Intune brings all of our endpoint and security management tools into one place. It has made our IT and security operations easy. With a single console, we can manage our devices.

Microsoft Intune provides full endpoint visibility and IT control across device platforms.

Microsoft Intune is simple, and it does not interfere at all with users. Users do not even know that Microsoft Intune is installed on the machine.

Application deployment through Microsoft Intune has affected the IT productivity in our organization. Previously, our IT department used to take remote control of the machine using some software. They used to manually do the installation, whereas now, they can simultaneously push an application on all the machines through Microsoft Intune. That saves us a lot of time and manpower.

Microsoft Intune has been helpful for securing hybrid work and protecting data on company and BYO devices. We have deployed BitLocker policies through Microsoft Intune to ensure that the data is encrypted on those devices. We have also disabled USB pen drives and other things on remote machines.

Microsoft Intune has improved our IT productivity a lot because we have remote users. If our users were local, it would not help much, but because we have remote users across the country, it helps a lot.

The improvement in IT productivity has also saved us costs. Previously, we needed more people to do the installations, remote monitoring, and all that, whereas now, with the single console of Microsoft Intune, all these tasks are much easier. A single person can manage hundreds of computers. We need three people less now.

Microsoft Intune has helped to reduce the risk of security breaches in our organization.

Microsoft Intune has helped us to consolidate vendors. With Microsoft Intune, security management is there and mobile device management is also there. Both these things could have been from a different vendor.

Microsoft Intune integrates well with other Microsoft products. It works well with other Microsoft products. There is a seamless integration.

Being able to manage the devices remotely is most valuable. We can push security requirements through Microsoft Intune. We previously used to do this through group policy for Active Directory, and now, we use Microsoft Intune for managing devices. This is the best thing about Microsoft Intune.

Apart from Microsoft Windows, we can do remote device management of Android and iOS devices. We can enforce security policies for Android and iOS devices.

The user interface of Microsoft Intune is good. It is easy to use.

Cost is the biggest factor for us right now. Microsoft Intune and AD P1 together in a bundle is a good thing to have, but it is very costly compared to other products in the market. Otherwise, Microsoft Intune is the best.

Their support can also be better.

I have been using Microsoft Intune for the last two years.

It is very stable. I have not had any issues. I would rate it a 9 out of 10 for stability.

It is definitely scalable. I would rate it a 9 out of 10 for scalability.

Their response time is poor, and the resolution capability is not good. Even after having a call with their customer care, there is a 50/50 chance of them solving the problem.

I would rate their support a 6 out of 10.

Neutral

We did not buy any similar solution previously.

For some customers, it is a hybrid deployment, and for some customers, it is a pure cloud deployment. Our customers are medium and large enterprises. They are not small businesses.

Its deployment is of medium complexity. If it is a hybrid environment, it is fairly complex. If it is a pure cloud environment, it is easy.

The deployment duration depends on the number of users we have or the number of computers we have. For a setup with 100 users or 100 computers, it takes about two weeks. It may require some troubleshooting and tweaking.

One person is required for its deployment.

It does not require much maintenance from our side. It is normally always up to date. Once it is set, we do not need to touch it.

I recently got to know that the AD P1 license is compulsory to use Intune Autopilot, which was surprising for me. Earlier, this was not the case. It is the wrong thing to do. We now need to purchase AD P1 licenses for us and for our customers. I would rate it a 7 out of 10 for pricing.

We evaluated a few solutions.

I would recommend Microsoft Intune to others. If somebody has a Microsoft environment, Microsoft Intune is definitely the best solution for managing people who are working from home or remotely. 

It is improving day by day. New features are coming up.

I would rate Microsoft Intune a 7 out of 10.

Microsoft Intune is used mainly for employee environments where we deploy patches, apply hardening on assets, and ensure compliance of assets with the internal compliance baseline.

The compliance view is interesting, and the facility to keep Microsoft Windows and the rest of the suite up-to-date without having any third-party software is definitely valuable. Microsoft Intune is integrated for Windows updates and related functions.

The main value of Microsoft Intune is better asset management from a security perspective, ensuring that the security baseline is enforced on all devices, including mobile devices. It allows us to avoid manually deploying and checking the security baseline on new assets as it's enforced by Microsoft Intune by design.

Software or patch management solutions must be complemented with something beyond Microsoft Intune because it doesn't upgrade or manage a list of integrated packages and lacks the capacity to upgrade all kinds of software on computers. Improvement can be made by better integration with the full landscape of software lifecycle management on assets, rather than requiring a third party that connects to Microsoft Intune for deployment.

In terms of deployment experience in the company, I have been deploying it for approximately five or six years, though I haven't been involved in administration.

The stability is very good.

The scalability is very good, and we don't have any issues with it.

The support is good, rating approximately eight or nine out of ten.

The cost depends on the package with Microsoft, but with the premium package, it's good. With the E5 license I've implemented in the past, it's all-inclusive.

We don't use Copilot in Microsoft Intune. We are globally a Microsoft shop, so it's the key software we use for security, deployment, and related functions. I rate Microsoft Intune 8 out of 10.

Public Cloud

Other

We use Microsoft Intune for both application management and deployment for new users. Applications are packaged within Intune and then deployed to the end user's machines or devices, specifically targeting designated user groups.

Intune allows us to manage all our devices from one location.

The ability to manage all our devices from a single platform has significantly enhanced our security and IT operations. Previously, we relied on multiple applications, such as Ivanti and SCCM, to manage devices and security.

Intune is easier to use than SCCM. As a SaaS application, its services are GUI-based, simplifying its overall complexity.

We use Intune's advanced endpoint analytics to report the number of compliant devices, apply remediation, see the reasons for non-compliance, and track the number of BYOD devices. We can integrate third-party tools like ServiceNow if we need reporting or analytics that are unavailable through Intune.

Copilot's integration with our teams and Outlook has streamlined our workflow. It simplifies tasks like drafting emails and creating Word documents or PowerPoint presentations by providing helpful suggestions. Additionally, Copilot's independent profile allows us to reference documents from our OneDrive and seamlessly incorporate them into our emails. We can even leverage Copilot to reference Intune and integrate it into our various cloud data. Although Copilot is still in its early stages, its potential is evident. As we continue to use it, it will gather more data and refine its capabilities, offering even more features and benefits to end-users. Currently, we primarily use Copilot for drafting emails, creating presentations, and similar tasks, but its future applications are promising.

Intune helps protect data on both corporate-owned and BYOD devices in hybrid work environments. Devices can be registered through the company portal, and Intune can restrict their access to local storage, preventing unauthorized data downloads.

The endpoint privilege management feature helps restrict users' access. For instance, if they are accessing Outlook, they should not be able to access their local drives, preventing them from uploading or downloading anything from their corporate email. This feature enables those types of security settings.

Intune has significantly improved our productivity. Thanks to Intune and Autopilot, tasks that previously required four to five hours of IT effort can now be completed in just one hour. This translates to a 75 percent increase in IT productivity.

Intune has significantly reduced costs from a resource perspective. Thanks to Autopilot, scripting, and automation within Intune, a junior person can now complete tasks that previously required two engineers. This efficiency has resulted in a 50 percent cost reduction.

Intune has allowed us to consolidate other tools, such as SCCM and Jamf, reducing the need for additional licenses.  

The automatic patch management feature in the Intune Suite is helpful.

Intune has all the features enabled for Windows devices but needs to be improved on iOS and Apple devices. 

I have been using Microsoft Intune for one and a half years.

The response time from technical support has increased over time. Contacting their support remains straightforward, but while we used to receive a response within one hour, it now takes three to four hours for a Microsoft engineer to respond. The quality of their response has stayed the same.

Positive

Before implementing Intune, we used SCCM. We switched to Intune because of their advancements. We still use SCCM exclusively for server-related deployments, managing server-related applications, and patching. Everything for end-user devices has been moved to Intune. As for other similar tools, Jamf, which we used for iOS device management, can now be retired or decommissioned from our infrastructure since we can also manage iOS devices through Intune.

The deployment of Intune is straightforward, as it's a SaaS-based application. We set up our Intune connector and Azure Active Directory or the Azure AD Connect server to synchronize objects to Azure. Once that's done, we can manage our devices through Intune.

I rate Microsoft Intune nine out of ten.

The integration of Intune Suite with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Security is included in our E5 license, providing us with the Intune license at no additional cost. This eliminates the need to purchase a separate Intune license, saving us money and streamlining our licensing.

Public Cloud

Microsoft Azure

I used Microsoft Intune for compliance policies, configuration policies, and Intune enrollment.

We implemented Microsoft Intune to manage mobile devices in bulk and enforce management policies.

Intune was deployed in a hybrid environment. Devices were initially onboarded to Azure Active Directory and then enrolled in Intune. All devices originated from a local Active Directory.

Intune brought all of our endpoint and security management tools into one place. 

Having our endpoint and security management tools in one place saves time, and I have most of the information in one dashboard.

From an administrative and user standpoint, Intune offers a beneficial and secure user experience.

I have had a great experience with enterprise application management for app discovery, deployment, and automatic updating because it automates all the procedures.

Intune improved our data governance, security, central management, and policy application. I realized these benefits after two to three months of seeing how Intune works.

Intune effectively secures hybrid work environments and safeguards company data, especially on BYOD devices. Through Intune, we can monitor all devices accessing company data and manage them centrally, which is crucial.

Intune affected IT productivity in our organization by governing company data, securing global data, and saving time, all through central management.

It helped our organization save 50 percent of costs by integrating Office 365 and Intune into one license. We didn't have to use third-party software for mobile device management.

Intune helped consolidate vendors. This consolidation has dramatically improved our security posture.

The vendor consolidation helped reduce our licensing costs.

The integrated capabilities of Intune within the Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Security suites are essential for managing cloud and co-managed devices. They provide a comprehensive solution under a single license, eliminating the need to install agents from third-party vendors and saving significant time and effort.

The compliance and configuration policies in Microsoft Intune are the most valuable features, saving significant time compared to manual implementation. The security integration with Microsoft Defender is also valuable.

Although Intune is from the same provider, its integration with other Microsoft products, like Microsoft Defender or Microsoft Purview, could be improved. Regarding synchronization, there are occasional delays in updating a device's status. Integrating Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Defender, and Entra, requires enhanced synchronization capabilities.

I have been using Microsoft Intune for almost three years.

I would rate the stability of Microsoft Intune eight out of ten.

I would rate the scalability of Microsoft Intune eight out of ten.

Intune has too many capabilities. Deploying it is not straightforward, but it gets easier once you understand how it works.

For 200 devices, the deployment took us almost three months to complete.

In conjunction with Microsoft Defender, Intune has significantly reduced our spending on third-party endpoint security solutions. For instance, we previously used Check Point, but after implementing Intune and Defender, we discontinued using it, resulting in substantial cost savings.

Our Office 365 Business Premium license, including Office 365 and Intune Management, offers excellent value.

I would rate Microsoft Intune eight out of ten.

I would recommend Microsoft Intune to others.

Intune offers a wide array of capabilities, and even after extensive familiarity with the platform, it's difficult to fully grasp its potential. To effectively implement Intune, it's recommended to conduct thorough research, primarily through online resources, to understand specific requirements and capabilities in advance.

Hybrid Cloud

Microsoft Azure

You can use Intune to manage devices for any size project, from a small business to an enterprise-level project. You can manage hundreds of thousands of devices. Intune can manage on-prem and cloud services. We are working with large enterprises mostly.

Intune encompasses all devices, applications, and policies that can be deployed within an organization through a single portal. In the event of an outage, it simplifies the management and resolution of issues or policy adjustments. It allows for the management of security profiles, applications, and devices from one portal across any operating system platform.

Consolidating everything in one location enhances the efficiency and productivity of IT administrators. Since adopting Intune, our IT team's productivity has increased by 20 to 30 percent. Additionally, the integration of Copilot has further improved our efficiency by 5 to 10 percent.

However, there are exceptions. Certain applications cannot be deployed easily via Intune. Win32 deployment is necessary for these, which can be challenging as it demands extensive testing to release a custom package from Intune. More innovation is needed to deploy custom applications, which would greatly benefit us. For most enterprise scenarios, application deployment is relatively straightforward.

Hybrid environments call for innovation, particularly with hybrid enrollments using GPO. While most autopilot hybrid scenarios and co-management run smoothly, I have encountered issues with hybrid GPO enrollments due to their complexity.

Intune is a leading secure solution in the Indian market. It allows the creation of any conceivable security policy. With the addition of Purview and DLP modules and integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, security has never been a concern, and our security posture is nearly impeccable.

Intune has also facilitated vendor consolidation. It is our primary recommendation for an MDM solution because it offers the productivity and features that would otherwise require integration of multiple solutions from other vendors. The industry is now transitioning from on-premises Intune to cloud-based management.

Intune enables the deployment of any security solution. Although it does not integrate, it allows for the deployment of a wide range of security measures.

I appreciate how Intune consolidates everything in one location. For instance, it allows the setup of conditional access for applications and devices directly within Intune. The segregation feature within Intune devices is also beneficial. Devices can be categorized by Windows, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Android, and sorted by platform, eliminating the need to navigate the devices section.

The app management feature has seen significant improvements. Initially, navigating the app section was quite challenging, but now, all my concerns have been addressed. It's possible to deploy or manage any application, with reports and app-protection policies accessible in the same section, which is quite convenient.

I would rate the user experience at nine out of 10. Having utilized various MDM solutions from Microsoft, Cisco, and VMware, I find Intune to be superior. We employ Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and DLP policies in Purview, along with multiple security policies such as baselines and BitLocker for encryption. This integration simplifies the administration of security features from other tools in one place.

The most sophisticated analytics we've utilized are group policy analytics. As a consultant, I often handle multiple migrations, primarily from on-premises to the cloud. Group policy analytics are particularly useful in these scenarios as we migrate on-premises policies. If Intune lacks support, we must either start anew or seek alternatives.

Copilot is beneficial as it supports various CSPs or policies. Despite extensive use, one cannot be fully versed in everything about Intune. Whenever there's confusion, Copilot is a valuable resource to clarify and ensure the feasibility of creations within Intune. Copilot assists in profile creation and assignment considerations.

My perspective on tools like Copilot is that they are artificial; the intelligence aspect is still emerging in the AI industry. Nevertheless, Copilot is a well-maintained and informed tool.

Microsoft currently restricts deployment to PowerShell or XML scripts, so it would be beneficial to support additional scripts such as command scripts, C languages, or TypeScript to enhance systematic compliance.

While the UI has been updated, it could be made more accessible. Navigating to a specific section in Intune requires multiple clicks through different areas before arriving at the intended destination, indicating the UI could benefit from further improvement.

The process of application discovery and deployment is relatively seamless. Nonetheless, there is room for enhancement in the reporting aspect. Intune still lacks comprehensive reports, and notably, its failure reporting does not succinctly communicate the full extent of an error.

I have used Intune for more than six and a half years. 

I rate Intune 10 out of 10 for stability.

With Linux and Chrome OS now supported, the scalability has reached 100 percent. Every device or endpoint operating on our OS can be enrolled in Intune. 

I would rate Microsoft support as four out of ten. Support is an area where Microsoft could significantly improve. I had an issue with Microsoft Azure recently, and after raising a ticket, it took two and a half weeks to receive a response. There is a need for enhanced support across all their product offerings.

Neutral

We have utilized Cisco Meraki, VMware Workspace ONE, and Jamf for managing Apple devices. However, Intune stands out among these options because it overcomes application deployment limitations that others have. While some support only Apple or Windows devices, Intune excels in compatibility, supporting Android as well. Moreover, Intune can implement more security policies than any other MDM solution available.

Hybrid enrollment is typically complex, yet cloud autopilot simplifies the process considerably. It's possible for anyone to grasp cloud deployment within five to ten minutes. While the most intricate enrollments, involving thousands of devices, may take two to three weeks, a cloud-based deployment can be accomplished in approximately one week.

This was completely in-house.

Intune is considered moderately priced. It is available as part of a bundle with Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 licenses. While the E5 licenses are somewhat costly, Intune offers some more affordable solutions.

Yes, we evaluated Cisco Meraki and VMware workspace One.

I give Microsoft Intune a rating of nine out of ten. Intune stands out as one of the top solutions in the market, and its capabilities are expanding with the integration of cloud PCs, Chrome OS, and Linux systems. For any large enterprise, I endorse both Intune and Defender.

The recent CrowdStrike outage, which is the largest in IT history, affected only systems without Microsoft Defender but with CrowdStrike. This incident underscores the importance for enterprises to transition towards deploying Intune and Defender for enhanced security.

Public Cloud

Microsoft Azure

We use Intune to manage endpoints as a centralized enterprise solution. Instead of relying on Active Directory or an on-premise system, we directly manage employee devices using Microsoft Intune. Intune, a cloud-based SaaS product, simplifies endpoint management. From a user perspective, it's an improvement. Users no longer need to be on the office network. They can set up their devices anywhere with an internet connection, whether at home or another location.

Security is also enhanced. By using Intune as a mobile device management solution, we can implement security controls and restrictions on endpoints. Intune helps us achieve a balance between user experience and security.

Managing remote employee devices with Microsoft Intune is easy. Intune acts as a central platform for deploying controls, policies, and applications to our endpoints. It simplifies the delivery of these configurations to our remote workforce.

Intune simplifies our mobile application management. Once implemented across the organization, it will eliminate our reliance on on-premises solutions. Previously, managing endpoints required using our System Center Configuration Manager. Now, Microsoft offers a unified solution called Microsoft Endpoint Manager. Intune, a key component of this suite, allows for convenient device enrollment over the internet, streamlining endpoint organization.

Intune helps bring our endpoints and security management tools into one place.

Consolidating endpoints and security management tools simplifies IT and security operations. This unified approach offers a single solution or console for all tasks. Role-based access control ensures each administrator only sees and modifies what's relevant to their role. For example, the security team can access Intune solely for security-related functions, while the patch management team has its own set of permissions. This centralized management is significantly easier to handle than using multiple third-party tools. Intune provides a comprehensive solution where everyone can configure settings – security, endpoints, controls, etc. – within a single platform.

Intune offers endpoint visibility and IT control across various device platforms. It simplifies troubleshooting and device management compared to other solutions. Intune excels in providing a comprehensive solution. We can manage applications, security controls, and patching processes all within Intune. This eliminates the need to rely on three separate solutions. With Intune, everything is consolidated into a single platform, allowing for combined reporting and streamlined issue resolution.

Enrolling endpoints with Intune is a breeze! The overall user experience is excellent, easily a nine out of ten.

There are three critical features of Intune for maintaining our devices' security. Endpoint encryption ensures data on the device is scrambled even if it's lost or stolen. Intune supports BitLocker encryption for Windows devices and file-level encryption for Mac devices. Defender is a comprehensive security solution that helps protect devices from malware, viruses, and other threats. Compliance policies in Intune allow us to define security requirements for devices. These policies can enforce encryption, complex passwords, and other security settings. If a device doesn't meet the compliance policy, it can be restricted from accessing organizational resources. Intune can also send notifications to users or administrators when a device becomes non-compliant.

In the initial stages of migrating from our on-premises solution to Intune, we relied on device compliance policies. We configured these policies to require the latest antivirus signatures, specifically targeting developer devices. This ensured compliance and minimized the risk of non-compliance impacting their work. While compliance policies were initially used, we've since transitioned to Microsoft Defender, which now plays a major role in our device security strategy.

Intune's application deployment feature has significantly improved efficiency in our IT department. As one of its key functionalities, Intune allows deployment of a variety of applications with different extensions, such as .DXE or .MSI files. However, for applications requiring custom license scripts, batch files, or executables, Intune provides its own Windows app deployment toolkit. This toolkit facilitates the conversion of these files into a format compatible with the Intune app store and its update system.

The user interface is easy to navigate. Microsoft provides monthly updates that introduce new features. Previously, they provided pie chart visualizations for complaint and policy control status reports. These have been transitioned to standard chart formats. Overall, the UI continues to improve with each Microsoft update.

Company-owned devices are subject to a different set of policies. These policies may be very strict, restricting certain functionalities, or they may prioritize security above all else. On the other hand, for BYOD programs, we provide users with certain privileges for their mobile devices and laptops. We create a secure, isolated environment in a sandbox to manage the devices within that environment. Security is a major consideration for both BYOD and company-owned devices.

Intune has increased our IT productivity for patching and security by around 15 percent.

Microsoft Intune helps our organization reduce the risk of security breaches by eight percent by deploying zero-day patches in conjunction with Defender and Sentinel.

Intune has helped us consolidate vendors with the driver deployment and onboarding.

We manage configurations for Microsoft 365, co-managed devices, Azure, Defender security controls, and DLP controls within Intune. This centralized platform allows us to configure roughly 80 percent of these services and controls in a single location.

A valuable feature is user enrollment, where users can enroll their devices in their organizations themselves. This streamlines the process and saves IT time.

Another key benefit is zero-day productivity. During enrollment, the user has access to the applications and settings the organization needs them to have, making them ready to work immediately. Intune essentially pre-configures the device based on the user and organization during enrollment.

Finally, Intune offers easy patch management for various endpoints, including Windows 10, 11, and Macs. Deploying upgrades and monthly patches is significantly simpler compared to other solutions, both from Microsoft and third-party vendors.

The current Intune reporting functionality could benefit from some improvements. Specifically, a report that tracks patch deployment status would be valuable. Ideally, I'd like a report that provides device-level details on applications and controls deployed. However, it seems like other organizations might be more interested in control-centric reports, showing details like what control was deployed, the number of devices affected, and other relevant device data. Overall, reporting is the area where we're encountering the most challenges with Intune.

I've been using Microsoft Intune as a comprehensive solution for the past six years. While I had some experience with it before 2019, it was limited to mobile device management. Since 2019, I've been managing the full Intune suite as an administrator, overseeing Windows endpoints, Mac endpoints, Android and iOS.

I would rate the stability of Microsoft Intune eight out of ten.

Microsoft Intune excels in scalability, earning it a nine out of ten rating. It empowers organizations to migrate to the cloud and manage all their endpoints seamlessly. This includes a wide range of platforms like Windows, macOS, mobile devices, and even Linux. Intune simplifies endpoint management by offering a centralized solution for all these platforms.

The response time and technical knowledge of the support team is not what it used to be.

Neutral

We previously used an on-premises solution, Microsoft Endpoint Manager, to manage our devices. The pandemic necessitated a shift to the cloud.

The initial deployment of Intune can be complex because it is linked to Microsoft Entra, which itself is a complex product. This complexity depends on the desired outcome. Intune's deployment complexity hinges on whether users will enroll their devices themselves or if the IT team will enroll them and grant access. A proper pre-assessment is crucial to determine if Intune's complexity aligns with our desired outcome.

Our deployment took two months to complete because of the internal security approvals we required.

Three administrators were required for the deployment.

The price for Intune is fair.

I would rate Microsoft Intune eight out of ten. There are some improvements concerning the reports and there are other design-related concerns that we are looking at in Intune.

We don't have the tunnel option because we primarily work in a restricted computer environment. Our organization uses Microsoft Intune to manage applications within a dedicated sandbox environment. We perform frequent updates to ensure everything is current.

During the initial onboarding process, we encountered some challenges, and multiple teams were involved in resolving them. For example, users from India might experience issues like broken URLs or restricted access due to their ISPs. Similarly, in China, certain URLs might be blocked by some internet service providers. To address these issues, we initially involved additional administrators from each region on the administrative side. However, we've since transitioned to a centralized management structure with a core team of five to six members overseeing the entire organization.

We maintain a separate development Intune environment for User Acceptance Testing specific to the Asia Pacific region. Since our production environment is also located in Asia Pacific, we essentially have two Intune instances: one for development and one for production. We also have around 290,000 devices.

We have a team of five Intune administrators. The only maintenance required for Intune is the updates.

I recommend Microsoft Intune.

Based on the number of users and devices you're enrolling, I recommend having separate UAT and production Intune environments for larger deployments. For simpler environments, a single Intune license is sufficient to manage your devices and integrate with your Enterprise and Microsoft 365 solutions.

Public Cloud

Microsoft Azure

While Microsoft Intune offers centralized management and policy enforcement, it doesn't consolidate all endpoint and security management tools into a single platform. To comprehensively safeguard systems, additional solutions such as Microsoft Defender for Endpoint are necessary.

Achieving comprehensive endpoint visibility and IT control across various device platforms is a complex task, considering the diversity and freedom inherent in different systems. However, when it comes to deploying and managing devices like tablets, mobile phones, laptops, and specialized devices in Germany, a systematic and organized approach is crucial. Particularly noteworthy is the ability to configure IoT devices, such as numerous thermostats, water control systems, or sprinkler devices. Without a solution like Intune, scaling becomes a challenging issue, especially when dealing with thousands of such devices. Therefore, the use of a system like Intune becomes imperative in addressing these scaling challenges and ensuring effective device management.

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate my user experience with Intune as a six. The lack of intuitiveness makes it cumbersome to track and understand what needs configuration, especially when dealing with aspects like OneDrive and having to cross-reference settings across different areas of Intune.

In the context of securing hybrid work with Intune, our experience involved a two-day effort to configure the certificate for the Conditional Access server. However, once this initial setup was completed, we successfully configured VPN access for mobile phones. Despite the initial complexity, especially for a large company, Intune delivered on its advertised promises and proved effective in fulfilling the intended security functions.

Intune's effectiveness in securing data on company and BYOD devices is based on distributing security configuration data. While valuable, Intune has limitations, and comprehensive protection against cyber threats requires a sophisticated approach, including hybrid artificial intelligence solutions like Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. While Intune aids in system configuration, detecting and preventing attacks demands a more advanced defense strategy, comparable to sophisticated endpoint protection. Hybrid AI, with continuous human input, enhances threat evaluation, recognizing nuanced situations like suspicious timings in actions on developer endpoints.

It positively impacted IT productivity within the organization by enabling the secure addition of thousands of mobile phones to the VPN. In this regard, it performed effectively.

It played a crucial role in mitigating the risk of security breaches by securely distributing VPN certificates. While effective in this aspect, it's important to note that this alone is not sufficient. Endpoint security, such as developer endpoints, is analogous to having specialized tools for reading and managing complex systems.

It significantly contributed to cost savings. Manual configuration for each mobile phone would have taken approximately an hour per device per year, amounting to three or four thousand hours annually. However, with Intune, we accomplished the task in two days for five thousand devices, equivalent to around one hundred sixty hours. This resulted in substantial efficiency, reducing the effort from an ongoing five thousand hours per year to a one-time investment of a hundred sixty hours.

One of the most valuable aspects of Microsoft Intune is its seamless integration with Azure Active Directory, offering capabilities akin to Group Policy Objects. This integration provides a centralized platform for managing and enforcing policies, ensuring the stability of configuration data across devices, resembling the familiar functionalities of traditional group policies in an on-premises Active Directory environment.

In utilizing Intune's endpoint privilege management feature, I've primarily focused on configuring VPN access and certificates, although I'm not an Intune specialist. It's versatile enough for both configuring VPN access and managing large-scale IoT servers. For instance, in building management systems, especially in large structures like bank buildings, where numerous actuators are involved, configuring and securing them becomes a complex task. Intune proves valuable in this context. However, it's essential to recognize that while Intune serves as a powerful tool, relying solely on it is insufficient for comprehensive system security.

The integration of Intune capabilities with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Security is crucial. As mentioned earlier, securing your machine requires tools like a developer endpoint, and relying solely on Intune may not be sufficient. While Intune allows configuration and deployment of Defender for Endpoints, having a dedicated tool is essential. The unique selling point of Microsoft lies in its seamless integration, especially notable for those working with Linux systems, where Microsoft's comprehensive integration sets it apart.

In terms of configuration, my experience with Intune is somewhat mixed. The configuration tool appears to be scattered throughout the Intune interface, requiring frequent navigation back and forth. The web interface, while functional, isn't particularly user-friendly, leading me to find PowerShell a preferable option. However, using PowerShell involves investing time in developing scripts. The challenge lies in the complexity of navigating between profiles and MDM configurations. Multiple windows need to be open simultaneously to grasp the overall configuration landscape.

I wish there was an improvement in the configuration process, as currently, it involves navigating through different locations with multiple windows open. Having a dedicated configuration server that assists in modifying the configuration service, and creating personalized structures, interfaces, and web services could enhance usability.

I have been working with it for three years. 

When evaluating stability, it's essential to consider the multitude of adversarial attempts, particularly from military opponents engaging in hacking activities. Microsoft has demonstrated its capability to withstand and defend against such sophisticated attacks, setting a high standard for security.

Considering the extensive number of support calls, I believe Microsoft handles them as effectively as possible. I would rate its customer service and support eight out of ten.

Positive

In the past, we utilized Windows services.

The number of people required for deployment depends on the specific tasks at hand. For instance, implementing the VPN solution involved five individuals, including specialists for firewalls and virtualization for the server endpoint. If the focus is solely on Intune-related tasks, one expert may be sufficient. However, in typical scenarios where Intune is used for onboarding machines or mobile device management, you'll need administrators with access to the relevant machines. It functions as a collaborative administration tool, and the required personnel would depend on the number of departments involved.

The pricing is inherently reasonable, as Microsoft leverages market insights to maintain the total cost of ownership at around ninety to ninety-five percent of what would be incurred in an on-premise scenario. Microsoft products inherently benefit from economies of scale and global reach, making them cost-effective.

It aids in vendor consolidation; otherwise, we would have had to manually configure around three thousand mobile phones.

It impacts the security posture positively when you are aware of what you configure and can update configurations promptly. However, as mentioned, the need for artificial intelligence in Endpoint Protection remains crucial.

I would recommend subscribing to reputable YouTube channels that focus on Intune or related topics. Building a strong foundation and gaining practical experience is crucial to understanding the intricacies of Intune. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

It serves as our EDM, enabling remote computer management. We install various applications directly for users, granting us administrator-level control over the computers.

We utilize it exclusively within the IT department to manage all hardware from a single location.

It consolidates all endpoint and security management tools into a single platform. This allows us to efficiently determine the required applications for each employee. Having Azure Active Directory integrated into the complete environment further simplifies the process. Additionally, its compatibility with Android-based devices is a significant advantage, enabling the management of both Windows PCs and Android devices from a unified platform.

It offers complete visibility and IT control across various device platforms, saving us a significant amount of time. The alternative, handling devices individually each time there's a change in employee or any other scenario, is much more time-consuming.

When it comes to the user experience of Intune, the initial setup is quite straightforward, but delving deeper into its functionalities demands additional training and familiarity. This complexity can be considered a drawback. The policies that can be configured sometimes lack clarity, and understanding the limitations for users who aren't global admins can be unclear.

We don't utilize the MAM tunnel feature for remote access to corporate resources. Instead, we rely on TeamViewer for remote support when dealing with any issues.

It significantly enhanced our organization's efficiency, particularly in terms of time savings. While I don't have the specific numbers at the moment, the impact was substantial. Especially when we operated with a small IT team, the investment in the license cost was undoubtedly worthwhile.

In terms of securing hybrid work environments and safeguarding data on company and personal devices, there's flexibility to fine-tune policies for preventing certain actions. Currently, our approach restricts employees from installing unauthorized software, acting as a deterrent to Shadow IT. However, we haven't explored the full spectrum of possibilities with policies to uncover additional security measures.

The impact of Intune on the organization's security is essentially a peace of mind for me. If there's ever a report of a stolen computer, I can swiftly lock it without much concern. The speed at which this can be done is particularly reassuring, especially in the current landscape of hybrid work where such incidents tend to occur more frequently than before.

It has significantly impacted IT productivity in our organization. Onboarding and offboarding processes have become much faster. Simply Intuning the device and managing it through the internal portal or even within the VPN network streamlines the workflow. This is especially beneficial since our company supports hybrid work, extending flexibility to the IT staff as well. Inventory management has also seen a notable improvement, with less time spent. Now, we not only have a count of devices but also know which accounts they are associated with. Compared to our previous reliance on paper and Excel, this is a whole new level of efficiency. Overall, it has been an extremely positive experience for us.

While it's challenging to directly quantify cost savings, Microsoft Intune has certainly resulted in significant time savings for our organization. As we didn't have a comparable system before, it wasn't a matter of moving from something else to Intune. However, the investment has proven valuable, especially evident in the offboarding process. Previously taking fifteen to twenty minutes per device, it has now been streamlined to just a few clicks, around five minutes. This efficiency has been particularly impressive and has undoubtedly saved us considerable time.

Its most valuable aspect is the seamless onboarding and offboarding of new users, whether it's for a computer or a mobile device. This process is remarkably straightforward. Additionally, while not explicitly security features, there are safeguards in place that enhance safety. For instance, if a user reports their computer as stolen, you can promptly lock it and erase all data remotely. This means you can secure the hardware even without physical possession of the device. It goes beyond safeguarding just the Microsoft 365 user account; it extends protection to the hardware itself. It also served as a means to efficiently manage our inventory. Through Intune, I could easily access a comprehensive list of all the computers, tablets, and company-owned devices. This streamlined the process of accounting for new devices in our stock, eliminating the need for separate tracking outside of the Intune platform.

The capabilities of the Intune suite are seamlessly integrated with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Security. This integration, especially with Microsoft 365, is crucial for us as it enables clear visibility into the association of devices with specific employees. Additionally, it facilitates tracking the usage of applications by different groups. The integration with Azure Active Directory further enhances the importance of the overall integration for our operations.

It would be beneficial to have a more straightforward understanding of Intune's capabilities, presented in a simplified manner. This way, one wouldn't need to be an Intune specialist or spend hours trying to grasp the intricacies of policies and functionalities. While I've used Intune extensively and have practical experience, I've found that to explore its full potential, significant time is needed for both understanding capabilities and seeking out relevant training. The current understanding of what actions or functionalities are available for configuration is not as clear as it could be. Enhancing the clarity of these policies, whether in terms of functionality or features, would be beneficial for users managing Intune.

I have been working with it for three years.

It provides excellent stability. We didn't face any downtime. I would rate it ten out of ten.

Scalability has been excellent. We began with a pilot involving just a few devices and swiftly expanded to over two hundred without experiencing any degradation in performance or functionality. I would rate it ten out of ten.

In terms of tech support or customer support, our experience has been somewhat mixed. Since we work with partners rather than directly with Microsoft Intune, and these partners are internal and cross-charged within the same company, there have been instances where support was not entirely satisfactory. This could be attributed to a lack of in-depth understanding on their part. However, it's important to note that they are not directly affiliated with Microsoft, and the level of support might vary accordingly.

The initial setup was complex.

Our setup is hybrid, specifically with Active Directory. The initial configuration necessitated an on-premises presence. However, once the setup is complete, the entire system operates in the cloud, making it predominantly cloud-based after the initial on-premises setup. I was involved in certain aspects of the deployment process. The complexity arose not necessarily from the intricacies of the tasks themselves but from the coordination required. As we lacked global admin privileges, there was a need for extensive collaboration between our team, global admins, and the Intune team at Microsoft.

In terms of maintenance, once it's up and running, there's not much ongoing effort required. It's essentially a set-and-forget situation. Occasionally, we might need to handle reports and views, especially when there's a new release. In such cases, there might be minor adjustments, like making something visible or invisible, but overall, the maintenance workload is minimal.

Regarding the pricing, my experience was with a nonprofit, where we enjoyed a substantial discount. While I can't provide insights from a business perspective, it's worth noting that the pricing may differ significantly, and the discount we received might not be reflective of standard business rates.

It's advisable to start with a straightforward approach, avoiding unnecessary complexity initially. However, it's equally important to have a well-thought-out plan for maximizing the platform's capabilities. Assign someone the responsibility of owning and creating a roadmap for ongoing improvements and enhancements. The idea is not just to go live and consider the implementation complete; rather, to plan for continuous refinement and utilization of additional features over time. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

Hybrid Cloud

Microsoft Azure

We were using SCCM to build and manage our machines and to control the AV, and everybody left the offices for the pandemic. We did not have an external management point. Oh. And we realized we lacked a method of control. After hassling Microsoft over a question of semantics, we finally got our answer, and we quickly scrambled over two weeks to push out Defender while everybody was still in the office. The other part was to move toward Intune. 

We started testing that and went in both directions. We tried domain and nondomain. We eventually worked backward, redid it again, and took all of our workstations off the domain. Now, none of our workstations are running on the domain. We build everything from Intune. The company gets a list ahead of time from vendors like Dell or HP, so we can have a laptop sent directly to an individual without ever touching it. They sign in, and it simply asks for their password. 

The biggest benefits of Intune are the ability to push changes and the added security. When we moved forward with Defender, we onboarded all those machines automatically. That helps dramatically. For a while, we were left with machines that weren't protected. We could see where people had done things they shouldn't have done, and Defender saved our skins a few times. It didn't happen a lot, but it happened enough that it made us glad we made that decision. 

Intune has enabled us to manage our remote workers' devices, which has been especially helpful since the start of the pandemic. My guys spend less time troubleshooting. If they're going to spend more than about an hour on an issue, it's a little easier to just reset the machine and reinstall everything again. It saves a lot of time. 

We're a much smaller group, so it worked out better for us. We've been able to push out products that we hadn't planned on. We had to push out certificates because we decided to go with a Cloud RADIUS provider and moved to certificate-based authentication for wireless. We've leveraged that same certificate to turn on 802.1x in all our offices to secure the wired networks. And all of these things have made it possible to roll out DNS filtering. Once again, all through Intune. We could enable all these pieces that we would need to turn on one by one with Intune in place.  

The company needed something that could be agnostic, so it didn't matter where it was. Half our workforce doesn't work in the office. We've downsized our primary office, and leased over half of it to other companies with subleasing. We don't need as much space anymore. Our workers are still working, and they're not required to be in the office more than three days away. Intune ensures that everyone can work remotely and securely. You can't log into our Office 365 environment from a non-managed device. Almost everything is in Office 365. We use nearly every piece of it. We use Teams for communications and switched to Azure Virtual Desktop at the end of 2019. We were a Skype customer then, so it wasn't hard to switch. 

We continued to shrink our footprint as we adopted more and more SaaS offerings. Unfortunately, finance and some other use cases cannot be in the cloud. You still need on-premise Bloomberg terminals, and other companies require you to have circuits to run them. We have to redirect certain things, which is why we have the VDI in place for a handful of users who require those internal resources when they work remotely. Intune is what made all that easy and possible. I don't think we would ever change that. My guys like it. It has simplified things. 

At the end of the day, we do touch the machines, but we don't need to. And we know if we didn't have to. Previously, a machine got left in an office, and we just walked through somebody wiping it, where you assign it to them, and they log back into it. In the worst-case scenario, we can just pull something off a shelf like that.

We had to learn the hard way which machines work in our environment. It's nothing against the company, but we will no longer buy Dell because their business platforms only use Intel chips, and we can no longer afford to use Intel chips. It doesn't work for our needs. I can get AMD chipsets that are generally cheaper and perform better. They aren't throttled for some of our applications the way Intel chips do. People have been happier since we made that migration a little over a year ago. 

We replaced many machines and onboarded people after acquiring a couple of other companies, and they were shocked at the difference between the machines we gave them and what they were used to working with. They just had always put up with that, and so had we. With Intune, it didn't matter what we purchased because it already had Windows loaded on. It was simple and easy to move forward.

Intune has reduced our build time from four hours per build to an hour or an hour and a half on a slow day. That's getting the Office 365 stuff to download and install. The other apps are secondary. When somebody logs in to a machine, the apps start downloading. We could give somebody a machine they've never seen before, have them sign in, and they're ready to work in an hour and a half. That's a tremendous amount of time saved, and there's nothing left for us to do.  We just make sure everybody who's supposed to be in a group has the assigned apps that the group needs to have. They're installed automatically.

The biggest problem we ever have is when something goes out of date after 30 days when nobody has logged into it. We do have a problem trying to get those back online. We've been working with Microsoft to resolve that problem, but that's been the only issue that we've had in the last few years.

Out of the box, Intune works reasonably well. They will continue to think of new ways to improve. Some of the policies could use some work to align more with what people are used to, but it's getting there. It's coming along, and I'd like to see how Security Copilot comes into play. You could have Copilot build things based on what you request. It could help put policies in place and look at your current policies. 

Unfortunately, we've had stuff out there for four years, and it's not working properly. A tool like Copilot could assess my policies, find weaknesses, and tell me where to make changes. That would be a great benefit.

I've had a constant battle with the DLP component, and no they're not going to have a choice. If they want to go with Copilot, we will need to start classifying documentation whether we want it or not. There will be a big fight when I get back of it. There's a fight. If you want you want you say you want copilot when it comes out, but if we have a classified stuff, it's not gonna work the way you wanna too. I heard so. Yeah. That's a problem. I heard someone talking about

We started testing Intune at the start of the pandemic, and at the time, it didn't seem to be quite as ready as they claimed it was. It was still being pieced together when we adopted it. However, it worked out well. While everybody else was scrambling during the pandemic to get on Teams and Azure Virtual Desktop, we had done that in the previous December, so by pure luck, we were ready to walk out the door. 

And I think it's scalable, honestly, but it's it's also about mentality, whether you believe it's you wanna spend the time to make sure that it's scalable. You know, I I I don't think I've been a big fan of getting away from domain services for the longest time. Think I don't see the point anymore. It's we use it very rarely. I so, you know, everything should be cloud based. It's a way to go. I mean, if you can run it that way,

We don't usually deal with Microsoft much. We have a CSP in place. However, sometimes we're dealing with a backend problem, and the CSP will take longer, so we'll go straight to Microsoft. When that occurs, Microsoft typically handles those issues reasonably quickly. When I contact Microsoft, I usually go through several engineers before I get to someone who can help. That's normal, but it doesn't drag out.  

Years ago, when we paid for enterprise support, I felt it dragged on forever because I went through the same process. I'd talk to a first-level engineer, and we had to escalate to tier three before we finally got somebody who understood what was going on. They would see the problem but not know how to fix it. They never had a resolution half the time.

The initial setup was easy, but we had lots of time during the pandemic. I had that all set up in my living room that first summer, working on it remotely. There were some pains because it wasn't all there yet. It wasn't until about July 2020 that most of the pieces were in place. It took another year before the rest was solid. However, to be fair, people adopting Intune now will get a mostly finished product.

Intune has a cost advantage if you get it with a bundled Microsoft license. If you have E3 licenses, you already have access to Intune, so you're not paying anything extra. That's a huge savings right there. Back in the day, people always wanted Office, but they didn't wanna pay for it, so you would use Open Office. That was my go-to 10 years ago. Now, I recommend the opposite. You need an Office 365 account. Don't think it is as paying for Office. That's not what you're buying.

For $7 dollars a month, you're getting a terabyte of storage in OneDrive and all the apps. You won't get that from Google. It's about cost, and it's even better if you get those bonuses with it. 

I rate Intune eight out of 10. I've never seen anything perfect, but it is an excellent fit for our environment. This is the smallest company I've ever worked for in my professional career, so it works well for us.