What Is Microsoft Intune? A Simple Guide to Modern Device Management (and Why You Still Need IT Asset Management)

Imagine you’re managing IT for a 300-person company. A new Windows security update is released, and it needs to be installed across every company laptop.

Without a tool like Intune, your options are…not great:

• Ask every employee to install the update themselves (some will, some won’t, some will break something)
• Try to remote into each device manually (time-consuming and messy)
• Or travel to different offices and handle it on-site (completely unrealistic)

With Microsoft Intune, you can:

1. Enroll all company devices into Intune.
2. Create a policy that requires that specific Windows security update.
3. Let Intune push the update remotely to all devices that meet your criteria.

Devices regularly check in with Intune to see if there are new policies or required updates. When they do, they’ll automatically receive the latest configuration—no user action needed beyond being online.

In my experience, this is where most IT teams feel an immediate sigh of relief: you regain control of your environment without constant manual chasing.

One common misconception is that Intune is only for Windows devices. That’s not quite true.

Microsoft Intune supports multiple operating systems and device types, including:

• Windows PCs and laptops
• macOS devices
• iOS and iPadOS
• Android phones and tablets

This means you can have a mixed environment—Windows laptops, iPhones, Android devices, maybe a few Macs—and still manage them all from a single cloud-based console.

This multi-platform support is especially useful if your organization:

• Allows Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
• Has executives who prefer Macs while the rest of the company runs Windows
• Employs field staff who mostly work from smartphones or tablets

Intune doesn’t replace every management tool for every OS, but it does give you a unified way to enforce security and access rules across your entire device fleet.

Once a device is enrolled into Intune, you can start applying policies that define how that device should behave.

Common Intune device policies include:

• Requiring a password or PIN to unlock devices
• Enforcing two-factor or multi-factor authentication (MFA) for access to company resources
• Controlling which apps can be installed or used on the device
• Blocking risky apps or unapproved software

Instead of hoping users choose strong passwords and safe apps, Intune lets you enforce security standards centrally.

For example, you could require that:

• Every device must have a password with a minimum length and complexity
• Devices automatically lock after a period of inactivity
• Only approved productivity apps (like Outlook, Teams, or a specific CRM app) can access corporate data

To be honest, this takes a lot of the guesswork and user error out of the equation. You set the rules once and let Intune handle enforcement.

One of the biggest advantages of a cloud-based MDM like Intune is remote software management.

With Intune, IT teams can:

• Install applications remotely on enrolled devices
• Push updates for existing software
• Enforce OS and app patching to keep everything up to date

This is crucial from a cybersecurity standpoint. Unpatched devices are a common entry point for malware and attacks. Intune helps you:

• Make sure all devices are running the latest security patches
• Set schedules so updates happen outside of working hours where possible
• Track compliance so you can see which devices are up to date and which are lagging behind

The best part is that you don’t have to rely on end users clicking “Update later” forever. Intune lets you define how strict or flexible you want to be about applying updates.

Device loss and theft are a reality—laptops get left in taxis, phones get stolen, tablets disappear from conference rooms. You can’t control that entirely, but you can control what happens to the company data on those devices.

Microsoft Intune supports features like:

• Device encryption – ensuring that if someone gets hold of the hardware, they can’t just pull data off it easily
• Remote wipe – the ability to erase data from a lost or stolen device
• Selective wipe – on personal (BYOD) devices, you can wipe corporate data without touching personal photos, apps, etc.

This means if an employee’s laptop is stolen:

1. You can mark the device as lost.
2. Trigger a remote wipe of company data.
3. Update your inventory and security status accordingly.

It’s not magic—there are still limitations, especially if a device hasn’t been online for a while—but it dramatically reduces the risk compared to doing nothing.

With Intune, employees can use their own:

• Smartphones
• Laptops
• Tablets

…to access company apps and data, while IT still retains control over how that data is handled.

Instead of fully taking over someone’s personal device, Intune can:

• Manage only the work-related apps and data (via mobile application management)
• Enforce security for corporate emails, files, and apps
• Remove corporate data if the person leaves the company or the device is compromised

This strikes a better balance between:

• User privacy – their personal photos, messages, and apps stay theirs
• Company security – corporate data remains protected and removable

Surprisingly, when this is explained clearly, most employees are okay with some level of management on their devices—especially when they realize IT isn’t snooping through their personal stuff, but just protecting company data.

Intune also plays a role in conditional access and compliance.

In practice, this looks like:

• Only allowing access to certain apps or data if the device meets specific security requirements (for example, it’s encrypted, locked with a PIN, and up to date)
• Blocking access from devices that are out of compliance or rooted/jailbroken

So even if a user logs in with correct credentials, they might still be denied access if:

• Their device doesn’t have the latest security updates
• They’ve disabled required security features

This approach dramatically tightens your overall security posture without creating too much friction for users who are following the rules.

Here’s a simple way to think about it.

Microsoft Intune is excellent for:

• Enforcing device security policies
• Managing apps and configurations
• Handling remote updates, patching, and wipes
• Supporting BYOD with app-level management

However, Intune is not designed to be your single source of truth for all IT assets. It does not fully cover things like:

• Comprehensive hardware asset tracking (across all vendors and device types)
• Managing accessories such as mice, monitors, docks, keyboards, etc.
• Tracking and managing software licenses across different tools and vendors
• Pulling and consolidating warranty information from hardware providers in one clear view

In other words, Intune is about managing device behavior and security, not about giving you a complete, clean inventory of everything you own, who has it, and what state it’s in over its entire lifecycle.

That’s exactly where a dedicated IT asset management tool comes in.

A specialized IT asset management platform, such as BlueTally, sits next to Intune in your stack and fills in the gaps.

Using BlueTally as an example, here’s what an ITAM solution can add on top of Intune:

• Single point of truth for your entire IT inventory: Instead of having scattered lists, spreadsheets, and partial data in different systems, you get one central dashboard.
• Automatic import from Intune and other MDMs: Devices from Intune, Jamf, and Kandji can be pulled automatically into one place.
• Accessory management: Track items like monitors, mice, keyboards, headsets, and other peripherals that Intune typically doesn’t manage.
• Software license tracking: Keep an eye on who is using which licenses, avoid over-purchasing, and ensure compliance.
• Warranty information: Automatically pull warranty details from vendors like Dell and Lenovo, so you know which devices are still covered and which are nearing end-of-life.

Instead of manually juggling spreadsheets and trying to reconcile them with Intune data, an ITAM tool gives you:

• Lifecycle visibility – from purchase, assignment, and warranty to retirement
• Operational efficiency – fewer manual updates and fewer surprises
• Better budgeting and planning – you know when devices need replacing or when warranties expire

From a practical standpoint, this combination is powerful:

• Intune keeps devices secure, configured, and controlled.
• IT Asset Management software keeps your inventory, accessories, and licenses organized and transparent.

You don’t have to choose one or the other—they solve different but related problems.

Here’s a simplified scenario.

1. New employee onboarding
- HR requests a laptop and accessories for a new hire.
- IT checks the IT asset management system to see available inventory.
- They assign a laptop, monitor, keyboard, and mouse to the user in the ITAM tool.
- The laptop is enrolled into Microsoft Intune and automatically receives baseline security policies and required apps.

2. Ongoing device management
- Intune ensures the device stays encrypted, patched, and compliant.
- If a new security update is released, IT deploys it via Intune.
- The ITAM platform keeps track of who has the device, when it was assigned, and its warranty status.

3. Device issue or loss
- An employee reports their laptop stolen.
- IT uses Intune to perform a remote wipe of the device.
- In the ITAM system, they mark the asset as lost/stolen and see whether it’s under warranty.
- If needed, they order a replacement and reassign a new asset to the user.

4. Planning and reporting
- Management asks for a report on hardware lifecycle and upcoming replacement costs.
- IT pulls this from the IT asset management tool, which has all devices, accessories, warranties, and statuses.
- If there are compliance questions or security posture concerns, Intune provides device compliance views and policy coverage.

In this kind of setup, Intune and ITAM software aren’t competing tools—they’re complementary layers of your IT management strategy.

If you’re considering this journey, a simple path might be:

1. Standardize device enrollment
- Make sure every new device is enrolled into Intune from day one.

2. Define core security policies
- Start with basics: passwords/PINs, encryption, OS updates, and required apps.

3. Introduce an IT asset management tool
- Connect it to Intune (and any other MDMs you use, like Jamf or Kandji).
- Import your existing assets from spreadsheets and clean up your inventory.

4. Expand over time
- Add accessories, software licenses, and warranties to your ITAM.
- Refine Intune policies as your security posture matures.

You don’t need to do everything in one big bang. A phased approach is usually more realistic and easier for your team to handle.