As a team grows, keeping track of laptops and phones by hand gets harder. Microsoft Intune is a cloud service for managing devices and apps, and many small businesses already have access to it through their Microsoft 365 licences.
What Intune is
Intune lets an administrator apply settings, deploy apps and set requirements on devices that are enrolled in it, without needing the device to be on the office network. It works alongside Microsoft Entra ID, which handles sign-in and identity.
What it can help with
- Enrolling and setting up new devices consistently.
- Applying configuration settings and security requirements.
- Deploying and updating applications.
- Managing how Windows and other operating systems are updated.
- Checking whether devices meet your requirements before they access company data.
- Removing company data from a lost or retired device.
What you need
Intune is included in some Microsoft 365 business and enterprise plans, and it can also be bought separately. Licensing changes over time, so confirm what your current plan includes before planning a rollout.
Company devices and personal devices
Managing a company-owned laptop is different from managing a personal phone. You will usually want stronger control of company-owned devices and a lighter touch on personal ones, protecting company data without managing someone’s whole device. Decide which approach fits your business.
Start small
- Decide which devices and which problems you want to address first.
- Begin with a small test group.
- Agree the basic standards, such as encryption and update settings.
- Roll out in stages and gather feedback.
- Document what you decided and why.
This article is an introduction. Features and licensing change, so refer to Microsoft’s current documentation for details.