Microsoft Intune Plan 2: Features and Why It’s the Ideal Choice for Advanced Enterprise Mobility Management

Microsoft Intune Plan 2: Features and Why It’s the Ideal Choice for Advanced Enterprise Mobility Management

While Microsoft Intune Plan 1 provides a robust foundation for device and application management, Microsoft Intune Plan 2 takes it a step further, offering a more comprehensive set of advanced capabilities designed to meet the growing demands of modern enterprise environments. Plan 2 caters to organizations that need enhanced security features, greater control, and deeper integration with advanced endpoint management tools. It extends the functionality of Plan 1 with additional tools aimed at organizations with complex security and compliance requirements.

What is Microsoft Intune Plan 2?

Microsoft Intune Plan 2 is an upgraded tier of Microsoft’s Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) offering that builds upon the foundational features provided by Plan 1. It includes the complete set of features found in Plan 1, with added benefits such as advanced device and application management, enhanced security policies, and more granular configuration control. Intune Plan 2 is designed to help organizations secure, manage, and monitor complex and diverse environments more effectively, particularly as businesses scale and adopt more sophisticated use cases such as advanced endpoint protection and automation.

Key Features of Microsoft Intune Plan 2

1. Advanced Mobile Device Management (MDM) Features

Intune Plan 2 builds on the mobile device management capabilities of Plan 1 by introducing more granular control over device configurations and policies. This is particularly beneficial for organizations that manage a large, diverse fleet of devices that require more detailed policy enforcement.

• Enhanced compliance policies: Intune Plan 2 allows the creation of more granular compliance policies based on device type, operating system, and other attributes. This enables highly tailored configurations that meet specific organizational needs.

• Cross-platform support: Plan 2 expands on cross-platform management, supporting a wide range of devices with more robust management features for macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android platforms.

2. Advanced Mobile Application Management (MAM) with App Protection Policies

Plan 2 enhances mobile application management with more comprehensive app protection policies, particularly critical for organizations that require stringent data protection and access controls.

• Application wrapping: Intune Plan 2 allows administrators to wrap apps in security policies that ensure they meet organizational security standards. This is especially important for custom or third-party apps that may not natively support mobile management features.

• App configuration policies: The ability to configure apps based on dynamic conditions, such as role-based access, enhances flexibility and customization for different employee groups.

3. Comprehensive Endpoint Security Management

For enterprises with a heightened need for endpoint protection, Intune Plan 2 provides enhanced endpoint security management, leveraging integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. This allows IT admins to not only manage devices but actively protect them against emerging threats.

• Advanced threat protection: Intune Plan 2 integrates more deeply with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to provide real-time protection, threat detection, and response capabilities. This includes automated actions to mitigate risks based on detected threats.

• Compliance with industry regulations: The plan provides tools that help organizations ensure their devices and endpoints are compliant with strict industry standards such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR.

• Risk-based conditional access: Plan 2 supports more advanced risk-based conditional access, allowing access to corporate resources to be determined based on the security posture of the device. This includes detecting security risks such as malware or out-of-date patches and automatically blocking access or enforcing remediation actions.

4. Advanced Windows Autopilot Capabilities

While Intune Plan 1 offers Windows Autopilot for device provisioning, Plan 2 takes this to the next level with additional features that enhance deployment flexibility and scalability.

• Dynamic provisioning profiles: Intune Plan 2 supports dynamic provisioning profiles for specific organizational roles, enabling more complex, multi-stage setup processes based on user needs or device type.

• User-driven and IT-driven deployment: Plan 2 enables both IT-driven and user-driven provisioning options, allowing employees to self-deploy their devices without requiring IT intervention, which is particularly useful for remote and hybrid workforces.

5. Intune Device Compliance Reporting and Analytics

Intune Plan 2 offers advanced reporting and analytics capabilities that go beyond the basic features in Plan 1. With this level of insight, IT administrators gain a deeper understanding of device and application health, security compliance, and usage trends.

• Advanced device health reports: Plan 2 offers more detailed and customizable reporting on device health, including information on security patches, operating system updates, and device configuration status. This enables IT teams to proactively address potential issues before they escalate.

• Data-driven decision-making: The enhanced analytics capabilities help administrators make informed decisions about security policy changes, compliance gaps, and resource allocation.

6. Granular Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

For enterprises with large IT teams, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) in Intune Plan 2 provides more granular control over who can perform which administrative tasks within the console.

• Custom roles and permissions: IT admins can create custom roles with specific permissions, ensuring that individuals only have access to the parts of the system they need to perform their job functions. This reduces the risk of accidental configuration errors or malicious activity from insider threats.

• Delegated management: Plan 2 allows for delegated management, enabling different teams or departments within an organization to manage their own set of devices and applications while still adhering to overall organizational policies.

7. Azure AD Premium Integration

One of the key differentiators of Intune Plan 2 is its integration with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Premium. This provides enhanced identity and access management capabilities that go beyond what is available in Plan 1.

• Identity protection and governance: Plan 2 leverages Azure AD’s advanced identity protection and governance features, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), identity conditional access policies, and risk-based authentication decisions.

• Conditional access with detailed risk signals: Plan 2 integrates more risk signals into conditional access policies, including user behavior analytics and environmental data, offering more flexibility in managing secure access to corporate resources.

8. Autonomous IT with Automated Workflows

Intune Plan 2 allows organizations to set up automated workflows, further reducing the manual effort required for device and application management. These automated workflows can trigger based on specific conditions, such as when a device is not compliant with a policy or when an employee moves to a new role.

• Policy-driven automation: With automated workflows, organizations can automatically enforce compliance, initiate remediation actions, and provide notifications without needing human intervention. This is especially useful for large organizations where manual monitoring is impractical.

• Integration with Power Automate: Intune Plan 2 integrates with Power Automate, enabling more advanced automation scenarios that span across various services in the Microsoft ecosystem, reducing complexity and improving operational efficiency.

Why Choose Microsoft Intune Plan 2?

1. Robust Security for the Modern Enterprise

Intune Plan 2 provides enhanced security features, including advanced endpoint protection, integration with Microsoft Defender, and risk-based conditional access. It is ideal for enterprises with heightened security and compliance requirements or those that operate in regulated industries.

2. Advanced Analytics and Reporting

With Plan 2, IT teams can harness powerful analytics and reporting tools to monitor the health of devices and applications, ensure compliance, and take proactive action to resolve issues. This data-driven approach ensures that enterprises are always ahead of potential risks and security threats.

3. Greater Control Over Device and Application Management

For large organizations with complex infrastructure, Plan 2 offers more granular controls over device management, app deployment, and policy enforcement. The ability to customize roles and permissions with RBAC ensures that only authorized personnel can access sensitive management capabilities.

4. Seamless Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem

Just like Plan 1, Intune Plan 2 seamlessly integrates with the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem, including Azure AD, Microsoft Defender, and Windows Autopilot. This tight integration streamlines operations and simplifies management across various IT domains.

5. Scalable and Future-Proof for Large Enterprises

Plan 2 is designed for scalability, catering to large enterprises with diverse and dynamic IT environments. The added capabilities — such as automated workflows and advanced analytics — ensure that as organizations grow, they can manage a larger, more diverse fleet of devices and applications with ease.