Microsoft Intune - Modern Endpoint Management in the Cloud

 

What is Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service that focuses on mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM). Its part of Microsofts Endpoint Manager suite, which integrates with Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM) and Desktop Analytics to provide a unified endpoint management solution across various device platforms, including Windows, iOS, macOS, and Android.

Think of Intune as your central command center in the cloud for managing and securing all the devices your users use to access company resources. Whether its a company-owned laptop, a personal phone used for email, or a tablet in a shared workspace, Intune allows you to configure settings, enforce security policies, deploy applications, and protect company data.

What is it for?

Intune addresses the challenges of managing an increasingly diverse and mobile workforce. Heres a breakdown of its key purposes:

  • Device Management (MDM): Enroll and manage devices (corporate-owned and personal) to ensure they meet organizational security standards.
  • Application Management (MAM): Deploy, configure, update, and protect applications on managed devices.
  • Data Protection: Implement policies to prevent data leakage and control access to corporate information.
  • Compliance Enforcement: Define and enforce device compliance rules, ensuring only healthy and secure devices can access company resources.
  • Simplified IT Administration: Provides a centralized, web-based console for managing all endpoints, reducing the complexity of traditional on-premises management tools.
  • Modern Work Enablement: Supports flexible workstyles by enabling secure access to resources from virtually anywhere, on any device.

Accessing the Microsoft Intune Admin Center

To begin using Intune, youll access the Microsoft Intune admin center through a web browser. Youll need an account with the appropriate administrative privileges (e.g., a Global Administrator or an Intune Administrator role).

  1. Open your web browser and navigate to https://endpoint.microsoft.com/
  2. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 administrator account credentials.
  3. Once authenticated, you will be directed to the Microsoft Intune admin center. This is your central hub for managing Intune.

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Navigating the Intune Admin Center

The left-hand navigation pane provides access to the various sections of Intune:

  • Home: A customizable dashboard providing an overview of your Intune environment.
  • Devices: This section is where you manage enrolled devices, view compliance status, perform remote actions (like wipe or restart), and configure enrollment settings.
  • Users: Manage user accounts and groups that are associated with Intune policies.
  • Groups: Create and manage Azure AD groups, which are fundamental for targeting Intune policies and applications.
  • Apps: Deploy, manage, and monitor applications for various platforms.
  • Endpoint security: Configure security policies like antivirus, firewall, disk encryption, and attack surface reduction.
  • Reports: Generate reports on device compliance, app installations, policy assignments, and more.
  • Tenant administration: Manage tenant-wide settings, including connectors (like Managed Google Play), roles, and audit logs

Setting the MDM Authority

The Mobile Device Management (MDM) authority determines how you manage your devices. For Intune standalone deployments, this should be set to Microsoft Intune.

  1. Navigate to Tenant administration > Tenant setup > Tenant status
  2. Review the MDM authority. In a new tenant, you might see an option to set it. If it's already set to "Microsoft Intune," you're good to go.

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Setting up Company Branding

Customizing the user experience during enrollment helps build trust and makes the process feel official.

  1. Navigate to Tenant administration > Customization.

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Here, you can configure:

Default branding: The primary branding applied to your tenant.

Custom branding: Create specific branding for different sign-in scenarios or languages.

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2. Under Default branding, click Edit.

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3. Configure the settings:

Banner logo: Upload your company logo (appears on the sign-in page).

Background image: Customize the background of the sign-in page.

User hint text: Provide guidance for users during sign-in.

Sign-in page text: Add custom text or links.

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4. After configuring the other appropiate settings based on organization requirements, Click Save to apply your branding.

Next Steps in the Series:

In the subsequent articles, we will dive deeper into:

  • Device Enrollment: Configuring enrollment restrictions and methods (including Windows Autopilot and Android Enterprise)
  • Configuration Policies: Creating policies to enforce security settings and configure device features.
  • Compliance Policies: Defining rules for device health and setting actions for non-compliant devices.
  • Application Management: Deploying and managing applications for different platforms.
  • Conditional Access: Implementing identity-based access controls based on device compliance and other factors.

Stay tuned for the next article, where we'll explore device enrollment in detail!

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