Microsoft Intune Deep Dive

Microsoft Intune, now part of the Microsoft Endpoint Manager suite under the Intune brand, is the dominant MDM platform for organizations already invested in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Its deep integration with Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) makes hybrid join and conditional access enforcement largely seamless.

Enrollment begins with the deployment profile. For Windows devices, Autopilot profiles push out-of-box experience settings, assign devices to groups, and apply configuration profiles before the first user ever touches the device. For iOS and macOS, Apple Business Manager integration enables zero-touch enrollment via DEP.

Configuration profiles are the workhorse of Intune management. They cover everything from VPN and Wi-Fi settings to kernel extension policies on macOS. For security baselines, Microsoft publishes benchmark-aligned templates that map to CIS and DISA STIG controls — deploying them saves weeks of manual policy authoring.

Conditional access policies are where Intune's power becomes apparent. You can require that only Intune-enrolled, compliant devices receive tokens for sensitive applications. The device compliance policy evaluates BitLocker status, OS version, Defender status, and firewall state before marking a device compliant.

# Check Intune compliance via MS Graph
GET https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/deviceManagement/managedDevices?
  $filter=complianceState eq 'noncompliant'&
  $select=deviceName,operatingSystem,complianceState,lastSyncDateTime