In the modern workplace, chances are that your employees are using their in their own devices for work, which often results in unsecure access to company files. This creates a challenge because organizations need to be able to secure their company’s data on these devices without violating personal information. Also, if an employee leaves the organization, it’s important to have a means to avoid wiping their personal information from their devices.
With your company’s valuable data in mind, Microsoft has created two device management services that allow you to secure your organization’s data - no matter what device is being used. Microsoft Intune and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager are both good options for device management, but it can often be hard to determine which option is best for your business. Sometimes it’s better to run a hybrid of them both.
Below is an outline of all three options, including the hybrid option.
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) is all about enabling your organizations IT team to quickly deploy new devices and manage the sea of servers and PCs in your network.
- Rollout new machines easily with quick OS deployment and imaging
- Support a wide range of devices such as PC, Windows Servers, Linux, Unix, and even Mac OS X
- Take full control of your environment with comprehensive PC management where you can set up group policies, custom reporting, login scripts, and more
Microsoft Intune
Microsoft Intune works by enabling organizations to provide their employees with the ability to access company data from anywhere on almost any device all while ensuring the data is secure. As a cloud-only MDM solution, it requires no on-premises resources and can be managed by a web console from anywhere in the world.
- Easy cloud deployment in a relatively short timeframe
- Allows users to enroll and manage their devices alongside the ability to install corporate application
- No infrastructure needed which eliminates the need to maintain hardware or infrastructure
- Secure company data by being able to request a passcode reset, lock a device, and even fully wipe a device if a device unenrolls, is lost, or stolen
Microsoft SCCM and Intune Hybrid
If you already have on-premises infrastructure but want the powerful features of Intune, there is always the option of a hybrid system where Intune is used as a delivery channel for policies, profiles, and applications. Configuration Manager is used for on-premises infrastructure to store and administer content and manage the actual devices. If a company already has a large investment in Configuration Manager and wants to be able to extend those features to mobile devices, a hybrid solution is the right way for you. This hybrid solution gives you a single point of control which means you are using the same infrastructure and admin console you use to manage your PCs and servers, to manage mobile devices with Intune.
- Consistent self-service no matter what type of device
- Automatic access configuration which means that enrolled devices will automatically get the preferred VPN, Wi-Fi, email, and authentication settings
- Manage both your Windows PC and servers, Macs, and Linux/Unix servers as well as mobile devices all through a single admin console
- Automatically update software on needed devices
Conclusion
If you are looking for an easy out of the box solution for Mobile Device Management, then Microsoft Intune can be a good choice for you. If your organization is solely focused on the management of desktop devices and you want to be able to deploy and image machines quickly then System Center Configuration Manager can be a good choice. But if you are already utilizing Configuration Manager or really want to create a unified device management system for your Windows PCs, servers, and mobile devices then the Intune and SCCM hybrid solution is a perfect fit.
For help analyzing which solution is the best for your organization make sure to contact us today!
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