Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based solution for mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM). It enables you to monitor and secure any internet-connected device — whether company-owned or personal — that employees use for work. By controlling how your business data is accessed across all devices, Intune becomes an essential part of the Microsoft 365 environment.
Microsoft Intune: What It Is and How It Works
Microsoft Intune enhances digital security by controlling how devices and applications are used across iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac. It supports both Mobile Device Management (MDM) for full device control and Mobile Application Management (MAM) for securing apps and data on personal devices. Operating in the cloud, Intune lets you enforce policies, protect data, and ensure devices stay compliant with the latest standards — keeping your business secure and flexible.
What Happens After a Device Is Enrolled in Intune?
Once a device is enrolled in Intune MDM, it appears in your endpoint management dashboard alongside all other devices accessing company resources. From there, you can monitor compliance, review installed apps, apply policies, and track device behavior. Intune also strengthens security by automatically enrolling devices in BitLocker encryption and securely managing recovery keys — ensuring your data stays protected even if a device is lost or disconnected. This means that as soon as a device is brought under Intune management, BitLocker is enabled to provide a strong layer of encryption for your company’s information. Even if a user misplaces their recovery key or the device is offline, Intune maintains its own set of recovery keys, allowing you to restore access and keep critical data secure without missing a beat.
Intune MDM: Security and Control for Enrolled Devices
Once a device is enrolled in Intune, you can manage it to meet your security and compliance standards. This includes tracking enrolled devices, enforcing security rules (like blocking jailbroken phones), pushing certificates for Wi-Fi or VPN access, running compliance reports, and removing organizational data—or even wiping the device if needed.
These capabilities fall under MDM, best suited for corporate-owned devices. For personal devices, MAM is recommended, since it protects company data without affecting personal files.
MAM (Mobile Application Management) is Intune’s lightweight option for managing personal devices, giving you control over specific apps rather than the entire device. For instance, if a user accesses sensitive data in Excel Online, MAM lets you restrict actions like printing, screenshots, or downloads—protecting company information while allowing access from personal devices.
With MAM, you can:
- Apply App Protection Policies: Enforce restrictions such as blocking screenshots, printing, or downloads within protected apps, so sensitive business data stays secure even on non-company devices.
- Configure App-Specific Functions: Easily enable features like auto-save or push out configuration changes to specific apps, all without touching the user’s personal files or settings elsewhere on the device.
- Monitor Usage Metrics: Track which apps are being used and review usage statistics, providing valuable insight into which tools employees rely on most.
- Perform Selective Wipes: If someone leaves the company or loses their device, you can remotely remove only the organization’s data from managed apps, leaving personal information untouched.
MAM provides a flexible layer of protection for organizations embracing BYOD (bring your own device), making it easy to balance security with user privacy and convenience.
It’s important to note that Intune features vary by Windows version. Windows 10 Professional supports basic Intune functions but cannot manage advanced features like BitLocker. In contrast, Windows 10 Enterprise E5 unlocks the full range of Intune capabilities, providing maximum security and management options.
If your organization uses Azure AD Premium 1 or 2, Intune can integrate with Conditional Access to enhance security. Conditional Access ensures devices meet required criteria—like enrolling in multi-factor authentication (MFA)—before accessing company resources. By linking Intune compliance profiles with Azure’s Conditional Access policies, you can block non-compliant devices from accessing your systems, providing an added layer of protection.
To put this in perspective, Conditional Access acts as a gatekeeper, making sure users and devices satisfy certain conditions before entry is granted. For example, if your policy requires MFA, Conditional Access will enforce that every user completes MFA enrollment before they’re allowed in. Similarly, when Intune compliance profiles are connected to these access protocols, only devices that meet your organization’s specific security standards can access sensitive data—everyone else is kept out. This seamless cooperation between Intune and Azure helps you strengthen your security posture and ensure only trusted users and devices get through.
Intune is part of Microsoft’s suite of Office 365 management tools designed to help protect your company and its data. With cybersecurity threats evolving constantly, it’s essential to stay current on best practices to keep information safe. In an era when news of security breaches is all too common, taking proactive steps to protect sensitive information has never been more critical.
But as attackers develop increasingly sophisticated methods, it’s just as important to ensure your organization’s security strategies keep pace. Partnering with experts committed to security can help ensure your organization is always protected and up-to-date in a rapidly changing threat landscape.
