Originally published on March 27, 2024
Any technology investment requires a commitment to deploy, optimize, and provide ongoing operational maintenance. However, initial deployments involving mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM), along with enabling policies governing the usage of these solutions, are rewarding but have become a challenging deployment process.
In this article, we'll explore how organizations can achieve successful deployment of Microsoft Intune while discussing its challenges and benefits. Intune's proactive approach toward mobile device environment protection helps organizations reach their goals with a solid return on investment, all while overcoming various challenges in mobile threat defense, endpoint access, and advanced threat analytics.
If you're looking to follow the best practices with Intune, check out our guide here!
Like any IT platform deployment, there are always challenges. Microsoft Intune suite also has its share of challenges.
Sync Issues: Sync issues will occur within Intune because the Intune cloud infrastructure and Azure AD group's members sync at different times. This issue could cause a mixed user and device group assignment. Adding user group filtering may solve this issue.
Connectivity Issues: Intune's cloud-based platform and Azure Active Directory (AD) will lose connectivity with the user's device. Using the Microsoft 365 admin center's Network Connectivity test will help troubleshoot this issue with the user devices and their mobile apps.
Device Enrollment: Unsuccessful enrollment, device retirement, and uninstall application features sometimes fail during execution. Security engineers can re-enroll devices on a group or individual basis by checking the system logs for errors while troubleshooting the platform with Microsoft support.
Application Deployment Issues: Deploying applications with the MAM function with Intune is typically very successful. However, some third-party in-house custom apps could have deployment issues if not appropriately packaged. We recommend repackaging the application and deploying it against your test group before resending it to affected devices.
Enabling Incorrect Policies: If a device cannot meet the proper policies, device compliance and health checks will help determine if the user has all the correct policies. If not, security can either wipe the device, unenroll and re-enroll it, or make another attempt to send the policies to groups or individuals.
Data Becoming Unsecured on the Device: Protecting data on the local device is a critical feature for an MDM solution. If the device managed by Intune cannot receive the container, it should be wiped and re-enabled. Ensuring the container on the device is working is essential in protecting organization data.
Incapability with the Device OS versions: Intune may not support some operating system versions during the initial device enrollment process. Older versions of Linux or outdated iOS releases must be fixed or updated before moving to Intune. During your planning stage for Intune, determine which devices in your organization are to be replaced or upgraded before the initial enrollment process.
Challenges with the management console: Microsoft Intune management console delivers several features for MDM/MAM, asset management, and compliance. Yet, with any IT operations platform, the console of any device management solutions will become challenging. Many of Intune's features have become difficult to configure as new capabilities have been added. Working with firms like Hypershift, their professional services can assist with the most complex configurations and operations.
AD Integration cannot authenticate the users: Often, failure to authenticate an Intune user/device starts with the initial configuration of device management. Here is a solution: Make sure that your username is in the format: <username>@<domain>.
Continuous authentication method problems: Integrating with MFA is often complex. MFA solutions offer several dual authentication methods, including texting pin codes, biometrics, and delivering passwords by email. These delivery methods have security vulnerabilities. Hackers using a Distributed Denial-of-Service(DDoS) attack against Microsoft Azure AD infrastructure will impact Intune users.
Before, during, and after the Microsoft Intune deployment, organizations need to create a list of success factors to govern their strategy for MDM/MAM. Just deploying MDM with Intune is only partially successful. Like other IT operations platforms, Intune requires several entities to be configured, updated, and monitored well after deploying the first device.
Here is a list of success factors organizations still strive towards when deploying Intune.
Reducing the cost of managing devices and application deployment is a cornerstone of Intune. Combining separate MDM/MAM solutions helps lower costs and operational complexity. Intune also helps organizations future-proof their MDM/MAM for additional devices.
Without a success factor for cost savings and operational complexity reduction, deploying Intune could become a lesser priority.
Intune is an adaptive security control enabler. This platform helps an organization maintain compliance by hardening devices, enforcing user policies, and protecting organization data. However, users find Intune and its capability intrusive, challenging to access, and the reason for slow application performance on their devices.
Some organizations struggle to balance the need to be secure and compliant with the need to reduce help desk tickets from users who are unhappy with the organization's MDM/MAM strategy. However, for an organization to conduct business in finance, healthcare, or government, MDM/MAM must ensure the firm complies with privacy mandates.
Mobile devices, iPads, and laptops are favorite targets of hackers. Hackers often rely on these devices not to be connected to the corporate network for some time. This time of disconnection leads to these devices lacking recent software updates, making them vulnerable. Organizations benefit from MDM/MAM from Intune because the ability to validate a device before allowing access to resources is essential to maintaining proper compliance levels.
Like other IT operations platforms, monitoring is a critical function for all organizations after the deployment of Intune. Organizations must staff and budget for proper monitoring, incident response, and remediation. A significant component in maintaining positive compliance status is having an effective monitoring capability with experienced corporate resources.
Without an effective monitoring strategy, the dollars and time spent by human capital resources led to investments that did not produce the expected results.
Microsoft Intune delivers many benefits for device security to their customers, including:
These benefits help organizations maximize their investment in Microsoft Intune and prove their overall MDM and MAM strategy in the future.
Organizations wanting to succeed in their MDM/MAM deployment must start by creating achievable and realistic success factors and goals. With a precise roadmap, the deployment can have a smooth rollout, and the expected results will be achieved.
Our firm specializes in deploying MDM/MAM. Our combination of cybersecurity policy creation, managed services, cloud security, and Microsoft Intune/SCCM experience and expertise deliver results with every engagement.
We understand how quickly IT projects can spin out of control. Our commitment to designing, implementing, testing, and operating Microsoft solutions is critical to your success. Our team helps in every phase of the MDM/MAM journey, including offering a managed services strategy. If your teams need additional air cover for support cases, 24x7 monitoring, or a complete outsourced solution, we are here to help.
Let Hypershift help you navigate forward with better technology.