A lost laptop, a former employee’s mobile phone or an unmanaged home PC can create a security problem long before anyone notices. An Intune review gives your business a clear view of how devices, applications and access are being managed across Microsoft 365, and whether the current setup genuinely supports secure, productive work.
For SMEs, Microsoft Intune can be an excellent platform. It helps IT teams enrol and configure devices remotely, enforce security rules, deploy approved software and remove company data when a device is lost or a member of staff leaves. But purchasing the licences is only the starting point. The value comes from setting it up around the way your people work, the data they handle and the risks your business needs to control.
What an Intune review should tell you
A useful review is not simply a list of settings marked green or red. It should answer practical business questions: Which devices can access company information? Are they protected to an agreed standard? Can staff work without unnecessary restrictions? If someone leaves today, can access and data be removed promptly?
The review should cover Windows computers, Apple Macs, iPhones, iPads and Android devices where relevant. It should also consider personally owned devices. A bring-your-own-device policy may be right for a small team, but it needs different controls from a company-owned laptop. Treating every device in the same way can either leave gaps or make everyday work unnecessarily difficult.
At the end of the assessment, decision-makers should have a prioritised plan rather than a technical report that sits unread. That plan should identify immediate security risks, improvements that will reduce helpdesk effort, and longer-term actions that support growth, compliance and hybrid working.
Where endpoint management commonly falls short
Many organisations have Intune switched on but only partly configured. This is understandable. Microsoft 365 environments often grow in stages, with staff joining, devices changing and new security requirements appearing after the initial rollout. The result can be a mix of well-managed devices, legacy machines and exceptions that no one has reviewed for some time.
Device enrolment and ownership
The first issue is often visibility. If a device is not enrolled, it may still be accessing email, SharePoint or Teams without meeting the standards expected of a company device. A review checks whether enrolled devices are correctly identified as corporate or personal, whether old records have been removed, and whether the enrolment process is straightforward for new starters.
For company-owned Windows devices, automated provisioning can save significant time. A laptop can be sent directly to a new employee and configured with the correct policies and applications when they sign in. This is particularly useful for multi-site businesses and teams that work remotely. However, it needs careful testing so that the first-day experience is reliable and staff are not delayed by missing applications or repeated sign-in prompts.
Security policies that reflect real risk
A security policy should protect the organisation without turning every member of staff into an exception case. Intune can enforce encryption, screen-lock rules, operating system updates, antivirus settings and firewall controls. It can also assess whether a device is compliant before allowing access to business services.
The trade-off matters. A very strict policy may be appropriate for a finance team, a legal practice or an organisation handling sensitive personal data. For a mobile sales team, the same controls may need a more considered approach to avoid preventing legitimate work. An Intune review tests whether policies match risk, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all template.
It should also look for conflicting policies. These can cause confusing behaviour, such as a setting applying on one laptop but not another, or a device being shown as non-compliant without a clear explanation. Resolving this early reduces avoidable support calls and makes compliance reporting more dependable.
Application deployment and data protection
Staff need the right software to do their jobs, but local administrator access should not be the default answer when something needs installing. Intune can deploy core applications, manage updates and provide a controlled route for approved software. This makes onboarding faster and reduces the chance of unsupported or unsafe applications appearing across the estate.
Data protection is equally important on mobiles and personal devices. App protection policies can separate company data from personal data in approved applications. For example, business information can be prevented from being copied into personal apps, while an employee can continue using their own phone. If they leave, company data can be removed without wiping personal photos, contacts or messages.
Conditional access and identity controls
Intune is most effective when it works alongside Microsoft Entra ID and Conditional Access. These controls can require multi-factor authentication and a compliant device before allowing access to Microsoft 365 resources. In practical terms, this means a password alone is not enough if the laptop has not been encrypted, is missing updates or has been identified as a risk.
This is a powerful safeguard, but implementation should be planned carefully. Applying a broad access rule without testing can lock out users, service accounts or vital applications. A phased approach, with clear exclusions and emergency access arrangements, provides stronger protection without unnecessary disruption.
A practical Intune review process
A well-managed review starts with discovery and finishes with decisions. The following areas should be assessed together, because a weakness in one often affects the others:
- The current device inventory, including inactive, duplicate and non-enrolled devices.
- Enrolment methods, ownership categories and the process for starters, leavers and replacement hardware.
- Compliance policies, configuration profiles, encryption, updates, endpoint protection and local administrator controls.
- Application deployment, mobile app protection, Conditional Access rules and the reporting available to management.
The next step is to validate the findings on real devices. Portal reports are useful, but they do not always show the full user experience. Testing a new starter’s laptop, a personal mobile device and a typical remote worker’s setup can reveal delays, conflicting policies or applications that have been missed.
Finally, the findings should be ranked by business impact. An exposed device or an unreliable leaver process should be addressed before cosmetic improvements to the portal. Some changes may be quick wins, while others need a project plan, pilot group and staff communication. The right order depends on your current risk, internal capacity and how much change your users can reasonably absorb.
What good Intune management looks like
A well-run Intune environment is not one where every possible setting has been enabled. It is one where the organisation knows which devices access company data, has clear minimum standards, and can support staff without relying on manual fixes for routine tasks.
New employees receive a properly configured device without lengthy desk-side setup. Staff can access the applications they need from approved, protected devices. A lost phone can be dealt with quickly. When someone leaves, their access and company data are managed through a consistent process rather than a series of hurried emails.
There is also a strategic benefit. Clear device management supports Cyber Essentials preparation, reduces exposure from unpatched endpoints and gives leaders better information when budgeting for hardware refreshes or planning a move to hybrid working. It turns endpoint management from a background IT task into part of business continuity.
When to arrange an Intune review
A review is particularly worthwhile after a Microsoft 365 migration, a period of rapid recruitment, an office move, a security incident or the introduction of hybrid working. It is also sensible when IT support staff are repeatedly dealing with device setup, missing software, password issues or machines that cannot meet compliance requirements.
Even if everything appears to be working, annual review is good governance. Microsoft changes, device estates change and the way people work changes. Policies that were appropriate two years ago may no longer provide the right balance of security and usability.
For businesses without an in-house IT department, Nubis 365 can assess the practical state of your endpoint management, explain the priorities in plain English and help implement improvements with minimal disruption. The aim is not to add technology for its own sake. It is to give your people dependable tools, protect business information and ensure support is there when it matters.
The most useful next step is to ask a simple question: if a laptop went missing or a colleague left unexpectedly this afternoon, would you know exactly what access and data remain? Your answer will usually show whether your Intune setup needs a closer look.