Many small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) are faced with the challenge of equipping their IT infrastructure for mobile working and cloud services. The local Active Directory (AD) and the Group Policy Objects (GPOs) are then no longer sufficient as the sole control authority. Modern and central device management (Mobile Device Management, MDM) requires more than just moving data and applications to the cloud: the company data and the devices on which it is stored must also be protected outside the company’s own network.
Microsoft has now integrated its MDM product Intune, which manages all types of end devices, as a cloud offering into the Microsoft 365 (M365) business and enterprise plans. As more and more customers move from on-premises Office to the cloud offering, many companies are already including Intune as part of their M365 license – at no additional cost. Administrators must carefully plan their transition to or adoption of Intune.
- Microsoft’s Mobile Device Management Intune manages a company’s devices, including Windows PCs, and applications from the cloud.
- It is part of many Microsoft 365 license plans, making it a cost-effective package.
- For small and medium-sized companies, Intune is an alternative to WSUS, which Microsoft is no longer developing further.
- Switching to Intune requires thorough preparation and customized configuration.
Aaron Siller is an experienced cloud architect and managing director of siller.consulting GmbH. He supports the introduction of Microsoft 365 and the securing of cloud infrastructures.
The article provides important basic information about Intune, application tips and concrete steps for implementation and avoiding errors.
That was the excerpt from our heise-Plus article “MDM from the cloud: This is how the switch to Microsoft Intune works”. With a heise Plus subscription you can read the entire article.
