Here’s a sobering fact: if you don’t have the right controls in place, the multiple devices used by your team members become a serious security risk.
Businesses today are almost completely reliant on devices, juggling laptops, phones and tablets across on-site, office and remote work. They’re all carrying sensitive data, and they all need to be connected to critical business systems.
How do you manage oversight and keep everything safe? Intune MDM (Mobile Device Management), available on the Microsoft 365 Business Premium tier, has been designed to help businesses do exactly this. Today we’re going to learn all about it.
What is Microsoft Intune MDM?
According to Microsoft, “Intune is a cloud-based endpoint management solution. It manages user access to organisational resources and simplifies app and device management across your many devices, including mobile devices, desktop computers, and virtual endpoints.”
In this way, Intune brings control and visibility to the range of devices your team uses. You set the rules for device behaviour, app management and compliance, and it applies them. It works across all platforms – Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux and even virtual endpoints – and is operated from a browser-based central dashboard. You can even apply it to both business and personal devices.
Think of it as a remote command centre of all your endpoints. Easy to set up, seamless to use and extremely effective in securing your organisational devices, protecting your company data and keeping staff operating.
Core Intune Functions That Make a Difference
Centralised Setup
Centralised SetupNew devices can be configured straight out of the box. Once enrolled, they receive Wi-Fi details, VPN settings, security rules, and approved apps automatically. That cuts down IT support time and helps employees get to work faster.
Policy Enforcement
Intune applies your policies consistently across every device. Require encryption? Done. Want to block access if a device is out of date? Also done. Compliance is maintained without manual chasing.
Application Management
The built-in app experience lets you manage apps from a personalised app store. You can push out Microsoft 365 apps, line-of-business tools, or third-party apps to users. You can also restrict unapproved apps that put data at risk. On personal devices, business data stays separate from personal files, protecting both sides. If a phone is lost, Intune can selectively remove corporate emails and files without wiping someone’s personal photos.
Security Tools and Mobile Threat Defence Integration
Intune can be paired with multi-factor authentication and conditional access to add another layer of defence against unauthorised logins. It also integrates with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to boost the security of your endpoints. This helps block access to company systems from compromised devices. You can analyse risk in real time, draw up policies on threat response and automate remediation processes.
Reporting and Visibility
From the Intune admin centre, IT staff get a live picture of what’s happening across devices. Which are compliant, which are missing patches, and which users might be introducing risk—all of this is clear at a glance.
Intune Benefits
Intune boasts an impressive array of features. But what are the real-world benefits this offers to businesses? Here are a few:
Reduced Complexity
Management of devices is all done from the one platform. There’s no juggling of different systems for different device types.
Stronger Security Posture
Company data stays protected through enforced encryption, password rules and compliance standards you can set as high as you need. If a device goes missing, you can remote wipe and lock it.
Support for BYOD
Bring-Your-Own-Device programs are easier to manage with Intune. Staff get to use their preferred devices while your organisation protects its data.
Scalability
If you’re on a growth trajectory, Intune will adapt and grow alongside you. It doesn’t matter if you got 20 users or 2000, it scales up or down as you need it.
Practical Examples of Intune
- A Brisbane law firm rolls out Intune so staff can use their personal mobile phones without risking confidential client files. Corporate data is isolated from personal apps, so business and private life stay separate.
- A mining services company equips field engineers with rugged tablets to use on-site. Through Intune, those tablets receive patches and security updates automatically, even when they’re thousands of kilometres away.
- A growing retailer uses Intune to configure new laptops for head office staff. The devices can be easily configured before staff take possession of them. They’re secure and good-to-go.
Things to Remember
It’s difficult to sum up Intune in a few points, but if let’s try drill down into what makes this such an effective tool:
- Logging into a single central dashboard gives you control of all your company devices, from mobile phones to laptops.
- The security policies you create are automatically enforced by Intune. This saves masses of time doing manual work.
- Company data is kept secure on both business and personal devices.
- Like the other Microsoft 365 offerings (which it integrates with), Intune scales easily so can grow with your organisation.
Talk to Smile IT About Intune MDM
If you want the visibility, security and control necessary to stay on top of a huge array of mobile devices in your organisation, Microsoft Intune is a solid option. Largely used by businesses using the Microsoft 365 stack of productivity apps, it’s a scalable solution designed to accommodate corporate growth. At Smile IT, we recommend all our clients make the switch to the Business Premium tier, which includes Intune as well as many other security features.
In this way, you can protect your company data and systems while still embracing remote work and mobile employees. Everyone stays productive and peace of mind is assured.
Need help with strategically setting up Intune in a way that suits your business? That’s what we do at Smile IT. Give us a call today and lets chat about how we can make your business safer and your team more productive!
When he’s not writing tech articles or turning IT startups into established and consistent managed service providers, Peter Drummond can be found kitesurfing on the Gold Coast or hanging out with his family!