What Is Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is Microsoft's cloud-based service for managing and protecting business devices and applications.
Instead of configuring every laptop or phone individually, a business can create policies centrally and apply them to the appropriate users and devices.
Intune can be used with Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads and Android devices, as well as other supported platforms.
Why Would a Small Business Need It?
When a company only has one or two computers, managing them manually may not seem difficult.
But imagine the business grows to ten employees, each with a laptop and perhaps a work phone.
You now need to think about:
- ✓Whether devices are properly secured
- ✓Which applications should be installed
- ✓Whether encryption is enabled
- ✓Whether devices meet your security requirements
- ✓What happens when a laptop or phone is lost
- ✓How company access is removed when somebody leaves
Intune helps manage these things consistently instead of relying on somebody remembering to configure every device by hand.
Intune Can Manage Your Business Devices
Devices can be enrolled into Intune so that the business can apply approved settings and security requirements.
For example, you might require company Windows laptops to:
- ✓Use disk encryption
- ✓Have appropriate password or sign-in settings
- ✓Receive required security configurations
- ✓Run approved business applications
- ✓Meet defined compliance requirements
Rather than treating every computer as a completely separate machine, Intune allows the business to manage devices according to common policies.
It Can Install and Manage Applications
Intune is not just about device settings.
It can also be used to deploy and manage applications.
For example, a new company laptop could receive the applications that employee needs without somebody manually visiting the device and installing everything one program at a time.
Company Portal
Web browsers
Business applications
Security software
Applications can be assigned to particular users or groups, helping different teams receive the software appropriate to their jobs.
What Does “Device Compliance” Mean?
You may hear the word compliance frequently when people talk about Intune.
It simply means checking whether a device meets the security rules your organisation has defined.
For example, you might decide that a business laptop should be encrypted and meet certain security requirements before it is considered compliant.
Intune can report whether devices meet those rules.
When combined with Microsoft Entra Conditional Access, that compliance information can also be used when deciding whether a device should be allowed to access company resources.
Intune and Conditional Access Work Together
This is where Intune becomes particularly powerful.
Microsoft Entra Conditional Access can make access decisions based on information about the user, application and device.
For example, a business could create a policy that requires a device to meet its compliance requirements before allowing access to certain company resources.
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Microsoft checks the user's identity and device
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Device meets the required rules
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Access is allowed
This gives the business much greater control than simply asking whether somebody knows the correct password.
What If a Laptop or Phone Is Lost?
A lost device is not just a hardware problem.
The bigger concern may be the company information stored on it or accessible through it.
Depending on the device, configuration and management method, Intune provides remote management actions that can help administrators respond to lost, stolen or retired devices.
This is one reason centrally managed business devices are easier to protect than devices that nobody has visibility or control over.
Does Intune Mean Controlling Employees' Personal Phones?
Not necessarily.
Intune supports different approaches depending on whether a device belongs to the business or the employee.
A company-owned device can be fully enrolled and managed.
For personal devices, businesses can also use application protection approaches that focus on protecting company information inside supported work applications rather than managing everything on the phone.
What About Setting Up New Laptops?
Intune can also form part of a much more streamlined process for preparing new Windows computers.
With technologies such as Windows Autopilot, an organisation can prepare devices so that business settings, policies and applications are applied as part of the user's setup experience.
Instead of IT manually building every computer from scratch, the user can receive the device and sign in with their work account while the organisation's configuration is applied.
For a growing business, this can make replacing or adding computers considerably easier.
Intune Helps When Employees Leave Too
Device management is not only about setting equipment up.
Businesses also need a sensible process when somebody leaves.
You may need to remove company access, retire a device, protect company information and prepare business-owned equipment for another employee.
Having devices centrally managed makes that process far more controlled than discovering afterwards that an old laptop or phone still has access to company resources.
Is Microsoft Intune Included With Microsoft 365?
Intune is available through several Microsoft licensing options.
For many small businesses, the most relevant package is Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which combines Microsoft 365 productivity services with additional identity, device-management and security capabilities.
Business Basic and Business Standard do not provide the same Intune device-management entitlement as Business Premium.
If device management and Conditional Access are becoming important requirements, that can be one of the main reasons a business considers moving to Business Premium.
Does Every Small Business Need Intune?
No.
A very small business with one or two devices and straightforward requirements may not need central device management immediately.
But Intune becomes increasingly useful as the number of employees and devices grows, particularly when:
- ✓Staff work remotely
- ✓The company supplies laptops or phones
- ✓Employees access sensitive business information
- ✓You want consistent security settings across devices
- ✓You need better control over new starters and leavers
The question is less about company size and more about how important the devices have become to the business.
The CloudMonsta View
Microsoft Intune can sound like an enterprise IT product, but the basic idea is actually very straightforward.
Your employees rely on laptops, phones and applications to access company information.
Intune gives the business a structured way to manage those devices and applications rather than leaving each one to look after itself.
For businesses already using Microsoft 365, particularly Business Premium, it can become an important part of creating a more secure and manageable IT environment as the company grows.