Microsoft Intune is a comprehensive solution for mobile application management and mobile device management, securing various endpoints like Windows, Android, and Apple devices. It excels in managing BYOD scenarios, employing work profiles to segregate personal and company data, and ensuring device configuration and compliance with company policies.
Intune provides a centralized management solution, although its suitability depends on specific needs and comparisons with alternatives like Jamf, Kandji, or ManageEngine. Overall, Intune is a sufficient solution for general use cases requiring essential device management and data security.
The Intune Analytics section is quite useful, especially for Windows upgrades on remote devices. We frequently utilize it to assess compliance and gather analytics on upgradable devices, including TPM and Secure Boot support, and memory capacity. This allows us to identify devices that meet the requirements for Windows 11 and proceed with deployment accordingly. It's particularly valuable for managing Windows 10 to Windows 11 upgrade scenarios.
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a valuable tool that I use daily for creating proposals, summarizing Teams meetings, and generating content in Word and PowerPoint. It's even helpful in Outlook on occasion. Additionally, both Bing Enterprise and the standard Copilot in Edge are particularly useful when integrated with Customer Data Protection. This integration allows Copilot to securely access company data, including emails, presentations, and documents, to provide relevant recommendations and answers to queries.
Intune secures Bring Your Own Devices through network access management and work profiles, separating personal and company data. Additionally, it utilizes Defender for Endpoint for device security and facilitates deployment. Features like cloud app security, Microsoft Purview, and data loss prevention further enhance security and compliance, depending on the Microsoft 365 package, protecting both devices and data.
Privilege Access Management sits mostly on Entra ID and is deployed through Intune.
The primary challenge lies in managing employee devices, particularly differentiating between personal and corporate devices. Personal devices often face pushback against deploying security measures, while corporate-owned devices can be managed more securely and effectively. For instance, if a corporate device is lost or stolen, Intune enables remote wiping to protect company data.
Intune has helped in integrating Windows Update for Business to ensure machines are compliant. It provides functionality for workflow management on devices and separating company data from personal data. It is also used for deploying security and compliance capabilities depending on the Office 365 package used.
I find Microsoft Intune valuable primarily for its Windows management capabilities, along with its Android Enterprise and Apple device management for mobile devices. The mobile application management features enable BYOD support and work profiles on personal phones, enhancing security and control. Additionally, Intune excels in configuration and compliance management for Windows 10, ensuring devices receive timely updates and adhere to organizational standards.
While Intune effectively handles basic functionalities such as device management, data separation, and updates, it may present challenges with update times and limited advanced features.
Intune is not the most user-friendly mobile device management platform available. Compared to Jamf, AirWatch, or VMware Workspace ONE, it is not as intuitive or easy to navigate.
The primary challenge with Intune's enterprise application management feature is its focus on the Microsoft application stack. This limitation makes managing third-party applications difficult, as there is no centralized store or streamlined process for batch operations. Intune lacks the robust support for third-party applications.
Microsoft frequently changes its offerings, so features previously included in Intune might now require Intune Suite. For example, managing device certificates, once an Intune feature, now requires this separate package. Essentially, Microsoft releases new features but places them in Intune Suite, requiring an additional purchase for functionality we might expect in the standard Intune license. This ever-evolving strategy means staying current with Intune can become costly.
I have been using Microsoft Intune for almost five years.
Microsoft's product support can be inadequate, with slow response times and unsatisfactory resolutions impacting the overall user experience. This contrasts with Jamf's support, which is generally perceived as superior due to its responsiveness and effectiveness.
Microsoft Intune's costliness stems from licensing fees and the overhead associated with its management, user experience, and device remediation. While its licensing costs are high, the platform's limitations in manageability and user experience customization further contribute to the overall expense. Unlike Jamf, which offers greater flexibility and remedial capabilities, Intune's intrusive, yes or no approach limits user customization and potentially increases support needs. Therefore, determining Intune's true cost of ownership is subjective and depends on how these factors are measured.
I have evaluated Jamf, Kandji, ManageEngine, and VMWare Workspace ONE.
I would rate Microsoft Intune a six out of ten. Its management is not user-friendly, and device additions can take up to 24 hours to synchronize, unlike Jamf, which updates within 15 minutes. This delay is problematic for immediate remediation actions, such as removing harmful content or addressing device exposure, where a 24-hour wait is unacceptable.
It is advisable to prepare for the complexities of Intune and consider Jamf for better support and manageability if working alone. If you plan to use Microsoft Intune, be prepared for manageability and potential delays in changes and support responses.