Item: Microsoft Intune
Rating: 8
Author: Joe Aldeguer

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Endpoint Manager (Microsoft Intune + SCCM)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

First off let me clarify my product review only covers Microsoft Intune now called Microsoft Endpoint Manager. I used it to manage all of macOS and Windows 10 computers to deploy apps, compliance policies, configuration profiles, Windows autopilot, and to onboard my devices to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Windows Autopilot
Integrates well with Apple devices
Good tech support
Runs in the cloud there is no need to put up an on-premises server

Cons

Deploying more apps besides Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Office 365 app
Microsoft needs to make it easier to deploy exe, pkg, and msi apps without having to go through the manual process of re-packaging these apps using tools from github like intuneapputil
Add a feature to push out software updates for 3rd party apps

Most Important Features

Windows Autopilot
Ability to remote wipe and lock devices in case it is stolen or lost
Push out configuration profiles to secure endpoints
Push out Azure conditional access to endpoints
Have the ability to see which of my devices are out compliance

Return on Investment

It is a good addition to my O365 IT infrastructure
Still lacks some of the features I need managing 3rd party software updates and deployments
Easy to deploy and setup

Alternatives Considered

I prefer to go with what is already available from Microsoft to manage my IT infrastructure. My preference is to reduce the number of vendors I have to work with.

Key Insights

Do you think Microsoft Intune delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Microsoft Intune's feature set?

Did Microsoft Intune live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Microsoft Intune go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Microsoft Intune again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Amazon Lightsail, Microsoft Teams, Calendly

Likelihood to Recommend

Windows Autopilot makes provisioning user Windows PC laptops a breeze. A user only needs to turn on the laptop, join it to their local WiFi, login with their O365 account then sit back and let Windows Autopilot handle the app installations required for work, configure the laptop settings to meet my organization requirements. I have seen this all completed in less than 30 minutes depending on how fast the internet connection is.

Where Microsoft Intune needs to improve I think is the part where it can push out software updates to 3rd party apps. Right now I have to use Automox to fill in this gap.

Microsoft Endpoint Manager (Microsoft Intune + SCCM) Support

Support Rating

Whenever I get stuck implementing Microsoft Intune I found it easy to get the support I needed from Microsoft.

Microsoft Intune Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

I went with the Microsoft 365 E5 bundled license for my organization.

Exceptional Examples of Microsoft Intune Support

It was when I needed help onboarding my macOS devices to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint through Microsoft Intune. Tech support was able to walk me through the step-by-step process. He even provided me the documentation that I am using now when I need to set it all up for other organizations.

Using Microsoft Endpoint Manager (Microsoft Intune + SCCM)

Usability

There is some learning curve to get over to get comfortable using Microsoft Intune but it is worthwhile if you put in the time to know the product well. If you manage a Windows environment, Windows Autopilot alone will help reduce some of the tedious tasks of managing Windows 10 computers.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Easy to use Convenient Feel confident using	Slow to learn Lots to learn

Easy Tasks

Windows Autopilot
Configuration profile deployments
Remote locking devices

Difficult Tasks

Preparing LOB apps which use exe, pkg and msi installers
Configuration settings you can control via group policy is less compared to what you can configure in configuration profiles
Not enough 3rd party software available if you want to use the Microsoft Store for Business to deploy apps to users or devices

Comments

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A close to perfect MDM solution

Software Version