In the last year, 82% of businesses have allowed employees to work using their own devices, as part of a BYOD program. Such a program has benefits for businesses and employees alike, with businesses saving £280/year by not offering work-issued devices, and allowing employees to carry a single device.

However, when considering the array of devices that are used within a business, the number and variety can be staggering.

From phones to laptops, to tablets, each with its own models and operating systems, this creates a challenge for businesses to manage these devices and the applications they are running.

For this reason, many businesses implement a Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM) solution, such as Microsoft Intune

If your business is looking to do so, or considering migrating from another solution to Intune, this guide will answer all your questions and explain how we can help you through the process.

What is Mobile Device Management (MDM)?

Mobile Device Management, or MDM, are a category of software solutions that monitor, manage and secure mobile endpoints, such as phones, tablets, laptops and even IoT devices.

Using an MDM solution gives IT administrators the ability to enrol devices, control device configuration, protect data and manage the compliance of devices. As the majority of MDM solutions are cloud-based, these mobile endpoints can be managed remotely, and therefore are beneficial for any businesses that have remote or hybrid employees.

What is Mobile Application Management (MAM)?

Mobile Application Management, or MAM, are a set of software solutions and features that allow businesses to manage the applications on end-user mobile devices.

MDM and MAM work together to enable IT administrators to control and secure organisational data, which is essential for any business with a BYOD program. MAM solutions also simplify update and patch management, which greatly reduces an organisation’s cyber risk.

What is Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based Mobile Device Management and Mobile Application Management solution from Microsoft, which is part of the endpoint management product family.

Key Features

Manage Users and Devices

With Microsoft Intune, IT administrators can manage users’ identities and their devices remotely. This functionality is essential for any business’s endpoint management strategy as it enables them to authorise and authenticate access to company resources, manage user identity settings and protect them from cyberattacks.

Microsoft Intune is particularly powerful as it is compatible with nearly all on-premises, cloud, mobile, desktop and virtualised devices across all common operating systems.

Automate Policy Deployment

Microsoft Intune helps protect company data by ensuring that users and devices compliance requirements through policies. Some of these policies include:

Defining rules and settings of devices, such as minimum operating system, and ensuring disk encryption
Create actions that apply to non-compliant devices
Block users and devices that are non-compliant

This feature saves businesses time and money, especially as the policy deployment can be completed remotely.

Integrate with Threat Defense Services

Intune is most effective when it is used with a Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) solution, as the alerts from the MTD solution can block access to corporate data, and allow access after the threat has been remediated.

Microsoft has a powerful MTD solution, Defender for Endpoint, which connects flawlessly with Intune, but there are also connectors for most common MTD solutions, such as Check Point Harmony Mobile, Sophos Mobile and Symantec Endpoint Protection Mobile.

Manage Applications

Mobile Device Management is only half of the story, as IT administrators also need to be able to manage applications to ensure all users have the applications they need to work effectively, and they are up to date to decrease the risk of a cyberattack.

Microsoft Intune has tools to add and assign apps, configure app settings, update apps and more.

Benefits

Improve Security Posture

Using Microsoft Intune gives businesses the tools required to improve their security posture and protect corporate data being accessed by personal and work devices. The ability to connect Intune with Mobile Threat Defense solutions also increases functionality to scan devices and detect and remediate threats.

The use of Intune is also helpful for businesses that need to prove compliance, as it enables IT administrators to view data and reports that measure compliance with security settings.

These features are essential for any business that has a remote or hybrid workforce, as without a Mobile Device Management and Mobile Application Management solution, devices could be compromised or not secure and the business would not know.

Maximise Productivity

Microsoft Intune can maximise productivity for employees through a variety of features and functionality. One way is through the Mobile Application Management features, as this functionality ensures that all employees have the applications necessary for their role, from day one.

Many features within Intune improve both productivity and security posture. For example, employees can use Windows Hello for Business instead of passwords. This allows employees to use a PIN or biometrics, such as fingerprint or facial recognition to sign in to devices and applications more quickly and easily.

Similarly, with Intune, IT administrators can enable Single Sign-On (SSO) using Azure Active Directory. SSO can save employees significant time as they only need to authenticate once and they have access to all applications and systems necessary for work.

Enable a BYOD Program

BYOD is commonplace in many businesses in 2023, but with a comprehensive MDM and MAM solution, such a program can carry significant security risks. With Intune, employees can use their personal devices for work, without putting the company at risk of a data breach.

Similarly, Intune can be set up on personal devices in a manner that ensures that employees retain their privacy, whilst giving IT administrators enough control to protect the company.

Microsoft Intune vs. The Competition

There are several Mobile Device Management and Mobile Application Management solutions on the market. Some of these include Hexnode, Jumpcloud, Miradore and NinjaOne.

For many businesses, Intune has more than enough features and functionality to meet all requirements, however, some other solutions have fewer features but also cost less. Similarly, some competing solutions, such as NinjaOne, work well as an addition to Microsoft Intune, rather than a replacement.

How We Can Help

Whilst Microsoft Intune is one of the market leaders in the MDM and MAM space, it may not be the right solution for your business. That’s where the expertise of a Managed Service Provider (MSP) is helpful. Working with an MSP, like ourselves, gives you access to a team that can assess your requirements, and select and implement the right MDM and MAM solution for your team.

We can also provide ongoing support to ensure your business is getting the most out of the solution.

If you want to find out more about the MDM and MAM capabilities of Microsoft Intune and other alternatives, contact us today and we will be happy to help.