Office 365 MDM vs Microsoft Intune
Mobile Device Management (MDM) is a useful option for a large number of organisations that want to manage their mobile devices securely (Android, iOS, and Windows).
Fortunately, many subscriptions to Office 365 include MDM. You can use Microsoft Intune to manage your mobile devices in addition to MDM for Office 365.
As opposed to MDM, Intune is not an Office 365 integrated feature. You can purchase it as a paid subscription using Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS).
The MDM includes both, so what is the difference? Let me tell you how I view and compare these two Microsoft offerings.
Office 365 includes an integrated MDM feature, while Intune is a stand-alone, Office 365 platform. Maybe you want to think of MDM as a part of Microsoft Intune to understand the difference better.
MDM is not technically related to Intune, and it’s not a subset of Intune. The only reason I said I thought this was because Intune offers everything, plus more, MDM for Office 365. Intune is a mobile administration platform based on the cloud.
Intune is a comprehensive solution, which offers not just MDM, but also MAM. For companies supporting Bring your device (BYOD), MAM is particularly useful because it allows you to deploy and manage mobile apps. Intune options:
- Office 365 Intune – Device Management
- Microsoft Intune – Device Management, App Management Much More
Because Intune incorporates many Office 365 services in many ways, it gives you much more control over your mobile devices. It can deploy business apps, Microsoft Store apps, and even certificates, Wi-Fi, VPN, and email profiles. Intune also includes the Intune Managed Browser, which enables users to navigate the web securely. The following architecture demonstrates the integration of Microsoft Intune with Microsoft Azure.
Let’s compare Office 365 Intune and Microsoft Intune. The table below is based on information from Microsoft and gives you a much better idea of which solution is the best fit for you.
| Office 365 MDM | Microsoft Intune | |||||||||
| Comes with | Microsoft 365 Apps Microsoft 365 Business Basic Microsoft 365 Business Standard Office 365 E1 Office 365 E3 Office 365 E5 Microsoft 365 Business Premium Microsoft 365 Firstline 3 Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 Microsoft 365 Education A1 Microsoft 365 Education A3 Microsoft 365 Education A5 | Microsoft 365 Business Premium Microsoft 365 Firstline 3 Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 Microsoft 365 Education A1 Microsoft 365 Education A3 Microsoft 365 Education A5 Microsoft Intune Enterprise Mobility & Security E3 Enterprise Mobility & Security E5 | ||||||||
| Supported Device |
|
| ||||||||
| Device Compliance | Limited, Subject to device OS | Supported | ||||||||
| Conditional Access | Limited to Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Outlook services | Azure AD P1 Device & Apps based conditional access* | ||||||||
| Remote Actions | Limited to Retire, Wipe, Delete | Advance options like:
| ||||||||
| Email Profile Configuration | Available | Available | ||||||||
| Wi-Fi Profile Configuration | Not Available | Available | ||||||||
| VPN Profile Configuration | Not Available | Available | ||||||||
| Deploy Line-of-Business Apps | Not Available | Available | ||||||||
| App Protection Policies | Not Available | Available | ||||||||
| Browser Management | Not Available | Available | ||||||||
| Zero Touch Enrollment | Not Available | Available |
Hope the above-given information will help you compare and select MDM for Office 365 Intune and Microsoft Intune for licensing or other purposes. You will handle computers with MDM for Office 365 and those like Microsoft Intune, and they do not trip on each other.
