Modernize Windows Endpoint Management with Microsoft Intune
Managing endpoints (desktops, laptops, mobile devices, etc.) is essential for security, compliance, and efficiency in any organization. Unmanaged devices pose a massive security risk – each device can be a gateway for cyberattacks if not properly secured.
In this blog post, we will dig into practical tips on:
- why it is important to manage devices and how effectively do it,
- how you should (as soon as now) retire your Windows 10 and upgrade to Windows 11,
- how you use Intune into your advantage and
- how you boost your security with device management, conditional access and more.
Why Manage Devices?
Device management ensures devices are secured, up-to-date, and compliant with company policies, protecting corporate data from unauthorized access. With a proper endpoint management solution, IT administrators can remotely deploy software and updates, enforce security settings, monitor device health, and even wipe lost/stolen devices to prevent data breaches. This centralized control not only bolsters security but also improves operational efficiency.
For example, pushing a configuration change or OS update to hundreds of devices can be done in minutes through a management console, rather than manually handling each device.
In an era of remote and hybrid work, having a robust device management strategy allows employees to work anywhere with confidence that their devices meet security requirements and corporate standards. In short, effective endpoint management increases security, supports user productivity, and helps maintain regulatory compliance across the device fleet.
Windows 10 Retirement: Time to Upgrade to Windows 11
One urgent reason to invest in modern endpoint management now is the impending end-of-support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. After this date, Microsoft will stop releasing security updates for Windows 10, leaving any remaining Windows 10 devices vulnerable to new threats. Unless you acquire expensive extended security support, ESU.
Running an unsupported OS not only increases the risk of malware and ransomware (since newly discovered vulnerabilities won’t be patched) but also can lead to compliance and regulatory issues in many industries. Moreover, over time, modern applications and hardware will drop compatibility with Windows 10, causing productivity problems and forcing organizations to maintain outdated, insecure software if they don’t upgrade.
Upgrading to Windows 11 offers significant benefits beyond just staying supported. Windows 11 is built with a security-by-default approach, requiring modern hardware features like TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, and enabling virtualization-based security out of the box. Microsoft reports that new Windows 11 PCs have seen 62% fewer security incidents and a 3× reduction in firmware attacks compared to Windows 10 PCs, thanks to these advanced protections.
In addition, Windows 11 provides productivity enhancements (faster resume, improved window management with Snap Layouts, etc.) and a familiar yet streamlined user experience, which helps users transition smoothly. From an IT perspective, moving to Windows 11 is an opportunity to modernize your device fleet – it often goes together with refreshing older hardware that doesn’t meet Windows 11 requirements (such as devices lacking TPM 2.0 or UEFI firmware).
By planning Windows 11 upgrades now, you can avoid the last-minute scramble before Windows 10’s retirement and ensure your users benefit from a more secure, efficient OS. Modern endpoint management tools (like Microsoft Intune, discussed below) can streamline the upgrade process – assessing device readiness, automating upgrade deployments, and enforcing post-upgrade security compliance – so the transition is smooth and low-risk.
Compliant Devices, Conditional Access, and Zero Trust Security
Modern device management isn’t just about pushing apps or settings – it’s integral to an organization’s security posture and Zero Trust strategy. In a Zero Trust architecture, each access attempt to corporate resources must be explicitly verified for both user identity and device health. A “compliant” device (one that meets your security requirements) becomes another key factor for access control.
Microsoft Intune enables you to define compliance policies – for example, requiring devices to have disk encryption, a healthy antivirus status, a strong password, and the latest security updates. Intune continuously evaluates managed devices against these policies and reports a device’s compliance status (compliant or non-compliant).
This compliance status can then be integrated into Microsoft Entra ID Conditional Access policies (Entra ID is the new name for Azure AD) to enforce security. In practice, that means you can require that only devices marked “Compliant” in Intune are allowed to access corporate apps and data. If a device falls out of compliance (say, it’s missing critical patches or has been jailbroken), Entra ID Conditional Access will block that device from data and application access until the issues are remedied.
Ensuring that only healthy, trusted devices can access company resources is vital for enterprise security – it shuts down a common entry point for attackers (unmanaged or insecure endpoints). Microsoft has embraced this internally: all user devices at Microsoft must be enrolled in device management, and device health is verified each time a device attempts to access resources.
In short, device compliance is a core pillar of Zero Trust. By using Intune + Conditional Access, organizations implement real-time device risk checks as part of authentication, alongside verifying user identity and MFA. This dramatically reduces the chance of a breach, as even a stolen password won’t grant access if the device is untrusted. It also improves compliance with regulations, since only secured devices handle sensitive data.
Furthermore, robust device management supports other Zero Trust principles, like “assume breach” (if a device is compromised, its access can be quickly revoked or wiped) and “least privilege” (you can target policies to only the appropriate users/devices). Overall, treating device state as a security signal and enforcing conditional access based on device compliance helps enable an effective Zero Trust posture.
Embracing Pure Cloud Management with Intune
Historically, Windows device management was done with on-premises tools like Active Directory (for identity and Group Policy) and System Center Configuration Manager (now called MECM) for software deployment and updates. While powerful, those approaches were built for a world of on-site networks and company-issued desktops. Today’s IT environment is very different – users work from anywhere, often outside the corporate network perimeter, on a variety of device platforms.
Cloud-based management has become the new standard. Microsoft Intune is a cloud-native Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solution that enables centralized management of devices regardless of their location or network. Intune supports not just Windows, but also macOS, iOS/iPadOS, Android, and even Linux, all from a unified console. This is ideal for modern workplaces with diverse device ecosystems.
The benefits of moving to pure cloud management
The benefits of moving to pure cloud management with Intune are enormous:
No on-premises infrastructure needed
Intune is entirely cloud-based – no more maintaining SCCM servers or VPN access for remote management. Devices communicate with Intune over the internet from anywhere. This drastically reduces infrastructure costs and complexity.
Eliminating on-premises device management servers and legacy domain controllers can simplify your architecture and lower your total cost of ownership.
Reduced costs
Intune is typically included in Microsoft 365 E3/E5 or Enterprise Mobility + Security subscriptions, so many organizations already own it.
Manage anywhere, anytime
Because it’s cloud managed, IT can push policies, apps, or updates to devices without those devices ever needing to connect to a corporate network. There’s no need for devices to be on VPN or sitting in the office to receive updates.
Whether an employee is at home, in a cafe, or traveling, their device stays managed and secure. This was crucial as remote work became the norm – Intune was built for the “work-from-anywhere” era.
Modern policies and security features
Intune uses MDM (Mobile Device Management) policies instead of traditional Group Policy. While Group Policy only works when devices are on the AD domain network, Intune’s MDM policies apply over the internet and can achieve most of the same configurations in a simpler way.
Intune also integrates tightly with other Microsoft 365 security tools: for example, it works with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to report device risk, and it surfaces device health signals into Entra ID Conditional Access as described earlier. Conditional Access (CA) in Entra ID is natively supported, allowing you to enforce policies like “require compliant device” easily. These modern, cloud-based security controls support a Zero Trust approach far better than legacy on-prem tools.
Integration with the Microsoft ecosystem
Intune is part of the Microsoft 365 and Entra ID ecosystem, meaning it works seamlessly with Office 365, Teams, OneDrive, and other services. Entra ID is the backbone for device identity in Intune – Intune-managed devices can be Entra ID joined devices, which allows a device to be recognized as corporate-owned and managed purely in the cloud.
Entra ID joined devices get all the cloud benefits such as single sign-on to SaaS apps and Conditional Access compliance tagging. In short, Intune brings your device management into the same cloud platform as your identity and productivity tools, which simplifies administration.
Autopilot and Zero-Touch Provisioning
Intune works together with Windows Autopilot, a cloud deployment service that allows new Windows devices to be provisioned with minimal IT intervention. With Autopilot, you can ship a laptop directly from the manufacturer to an employee; when the user signs in with their work account, the device automatically joins your organization’s Entra ID, enrolls in Intune, and applies all your policies and apps – all without IT having to install the PC manually from image.
This streamlines device rollout significantly. Autopilot can pre-configure Windows settings, enforce security (e.g. enabling BitLocker encryption out of the box), install required software, and even rename the device – the end-user simply connects to Wi-Fi and signs in to get a fully setup machine. For IT pros, this means far less time spent on deploying devices and a much faster delivery of new equipment. Coupled with Intune, Autopilot makes onboarding or replacing devices extremely efficient and consistent across the board.
Entra ID Join vs. Hybrid AD Join
In moving to pure cloud management, organizations often ask us whether to use Hybrid Join (joining devices to both on-prem AD and Azure AD) or go straight to Entra ID Join (cloud-only). While hybrid join can be a useful bridge in some scenarios, Microsoft’s recommended approach for modern environments is to use Entra ID Join for new devices. Entra ID joined devices, managed solely by Intune, have fewer dependencies on legacy infrastructure. They are not tethered to on-premises domain controllers, which means no need for constant VPN or network line-of-sight to AD to enforce policies. All policies come from Intune (MDM) and all authentication is via Entra ID.
The benefits are clear: you eliminate the need for on-prem AD group policies for those devices, yet still enforce security via Intune MDM policies. You also cut out potential points of failure and attack (an on-prem domain controller or legacy network).
In fact, for most organizations embracing cloud management, on-prem Active Directory becomes largely optional for Windows endpoints – many are shifting to cloud-only identity for devices. This reduces cost and complexity (no more maintaining AD just for device joins) and aligns with cloud-first applications. Hybrid join is often used as a temporary step for devices that must still access on-prem resources or during a transition period. But if possible, skipping the hybrid step and going straight to Entra ID join is ideal for new deployments.
In summary, moving away from Active Directory dependency (and tools like MECM) frees your organization to fully leverage cloud innovation and support users anywhere.
Scalability and Future-Readiness
Cloud management scales effortlessly. Whether you have 100 devices or 100,000, Intune can handle provisioning, policy enforcement, and reporting without adding infrastructure. Microsoft is continuously adding new features to Intune (often transparently to customers, since it’s a cloud service). Capabilities like advanced analytics, AI-driven remediation (e.g. using Microsoft Copilot in Intune), and seamless integration with new Windows features arrive in Intune regularly.
By adopting Intune, you position your organization to take advantage of these innovations immediately. In essence, cloud management is the future of endpoint management, and Intune is at the forefront of that trend.
In summary, pure cloud device management with Intune offers a more streamlined, powerful way to manage Windows (and other platform) devices. It enhances security via modern tools, saves IT overhead by removing on-prem systems, and improves user experiences with approaches like zero-touch deployment.
The next section of this blog will outline how to transition to this modern management model.
Guide: Steps to Modernizing Endpoint Management
Modernizing your endpoint management may sound like a big task, especially if you have an existing Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (MECM/SCCM) deployment or many domain-joined PCs.
Below is a step-by-step guide that many of our customers have successfully followed. By following these steps, business leaders can confidently guide their organizations through the transition to modern endpoint management with Microsoft Intune, achieving a more secure, efficient, and flexible management of Windows devices. Each phase builds on the last, ensuring a controlled transition that addresses technical requirements while managing change for users and IT teams.
Assessment – Analyze Current State:
Evaluate your organization’s current endpoint management setup (tools, policies, device inventory, security posture) to establish a baseline. Understanding where you stand helps pinpoint needs for modernization.
Define Desired State:
Set clear endpoint management objectives and requirements based on the assessment, aligned with Intune’s capabilities. This includes deciding on configuration policies, application deployment methods, device security measures (e.g. Microsoft Defender integration), compliance standards, and provisioning processes (such as using Windows Autopilot for new devices).
Gap Analysis:
Identify gaps between the current state and the desired future state. Determine what is missing or needs improvement (for example, policy coverage, security controls or device handling not currently possible) and highlight the risks and opportunities in moving to Intune.
Prioritize Initiatives:
Rank the required modernization tasks by impact and urgency. Focus on quick wins (high-impact changes that are easy to implement) and critical security or compliance fixes first. This prioritization ensures you tackle the most beneficial changes early, building momentum and support.
Roadmap & Timeline:
Develop a phased implementation roadmap. Assign priorities to phases and set a timeline with milestones for each phase (pilot, broader rollouts, etc.). Having a clear timeline helps align stakeholders and set expectations for when various groups or devices will transition.
Pilot Deployment:
Begin with a limited-scope pilot – a small group of devices/users as an initial rollout. Deploy Intune to this pilot group to test configurations (profiles, compliance policies, Conditional Access, etc.) and gather feedback. Ensure pilot users are aware they are first adopters and encourage their feedback to refine settings and documentation before wider deployment.
Rollout Strategy:
Plan the full deployment approach for the remaining devices once the pilot is successful. Decide whether to migrate existing devices into Intune management (for instance, via co-management or enrolling them into Intune) or to adopt a device lifecycle approach where new Intune-managed devices replace old ones over time. Often a mix of both is used: some devices may be enrolled into Intune directly, while others transition when they are refreshed or replaced (leveraging Autopilot for zero-touch onboarding of new hardware). Also determine the rollout sequencing (by department, location, device type, etc.) for a smooth transition.
Full Rollout and Support:
Execute the broader rollout in phases according to your roadmap, continuously monitoring progress and adjusting as needed. Ensure your IT support teams are well-prepared to assist – involve helpdesk and support staff early during planning and pilot phases so they gain experience with Intune. Provide clear communication and training to end-users throughout the process (e.g. announce upcoming changes, provide how-to guides or workshops), to facilitate user adoption and minimize disruption.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Device management is not just a technical necessity, but a strategic imperative for IT departments in modern organizations. By proactively managing endpoints with tools like Microsoft Intune, you protect your company’s data, improve user productivity, and set the stage for future innovation.
Let’s recap the key points from this article:
Managing devices is crucial because it locks down security risks, ensures compliance with policies/regulations, and simplifies IT operations (imagine updating 1000 PCs with one click instead of touching each one). Especially with remote work and BYOD trends, a solid device management strategy is non-negotiable.
Windows 10 End-of-Life (Oct 2025) is a pressing deadline. Organizations should act now to upgrade aging Windows 10 devices to Windows 11. Windows 11 brings substantial security improvements (built-in protections like TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, etc.) and performance benefits, making the effort worthwhile. Failing to upgrade will leave devices vulnerable and unsupported, so this is both an operational and a security priority.
“Compliant devices” as a concept have become key to secure IT. By using Intune’s compliance policies and Entra ID’s Conditional Access, you treat device health as a gating factor for access. This ensures that only devices meeting your security bar (up-to-date, protected, policy-compliant) can reach your sensitive apps and data. This approach is a cornerstone of Zero Trust security – never trust an unmanaged or non-compliant endpoint. It significantly lowers the risk of breaches and data leaks.
Pure cloud management with Microsoft Intune brings numerous benefits over traditional on-premise management. Intune enables unified endpoint management from the cloud, covering Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android in one platform. It eliminates the need for on-site servers and legacy network dependencies, which cuts costs and simplifies administration.
Entra ID cloud-joined devices managed by Intune do not require VPNs or on-prem AD to get policies, making life easier for both IT and end-users. Intune’s integration with security tools (Defender, Conditional Access) means better protection, and its support for Autopilot means far easier deployments. In short, Intune + Entra ID = a modern, cloud-first management solution that is scalable and ready for the future.
Windows Autopilot and Entra ID Join are game-changers. Autopilot allows zero-touch provisioning of devices to employees, speeding up deployment and ensuring each machine is configured consistently and securely from day one. Entra ID Join (formerly Azure AD) frees devices from the old Active Directory tether, enabling true cloud-native operation and easier implementation of Conditional Access and MFA. Together, these capabilities help remove old Active Directory dependencies like imaging and group policy, which in turn reduces your technical debt and attack surface.
A phased approach can successfully modernize endpoint management. By gradually moving workloads to Intune, co-managing during transition, and adopting cloud-only management for new devices, organizations can transition without disrupting productivity. Real-world examples show that this journey leads to tangible improvements – stronger security compliance, higher update success rates, and ultimately a simpler IT environment to maintain. Planning and best practices (with possible expert guidance) make the process smoother.
In conclusion, moving to Microsoft Intune and a cloud-based endpoint management model is an investment that pays off in agility, security, and future readiness. With Windows 10’s retirement on the horizon and cyber threats ever-present, now is the time for IT leaders to evaluate their device management strategy. Adopting Intune and modern management not only addresses immediate needs (like Windows 11 upgrades and conditional access compliance) but also positions your organization for long-term success with a Zero Trust security framework and a flexible, cloud-centric infrastructure.
As an IT professional responsible for devices in your organization, consider this blog a call to action: embrace modern endpoint management to protect your devices and empower your users. By leveraging Microsoft Intune, Windows 11, and Entra ID, you can create a robust, secure, and efficient device ecosystem – one that meets today’s needs and is ready for tomorrow’s challenges.
The journey to cloud-first endpoint management is a proven path to stronger security posture, lower costs, and happier users. Now is the perfect time to start that journey and leave the old paradigms (like outdated OS versions and on-prem device management) behind. Your future self – and your users – will thank you for it.
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