What if we told you that your company could do away with on-premises servers for just $8 per employee, per month? That may be true for companies that already use Microsoft 365.
Depending on your requirements, renting a server will probably set you back some hundred dollars each month. A server may have cost thousands of dollars, but upkeep still costs hundreds.
The timing is now more than ever to completely move to the cloud.
That is, switching to the cloud will lead to monthly cost savings. Yet, those care costs fall short of fully recouping the actual cost of switching to the cloud.
Organizations can improve their cybersecurity using Microsoft Endpoint Management, enhance onboarding, and cut downtime for repetitive operations. Intune and Autopilot are two tools that help with this.
For companies adopting Microsoft 365, Microsoft Endpoint Manager is the first step toward a hybrid cloud. Ideally, your company will soon make a full transition to the cloud.
Endpoint Manager, which combines Endpoint Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune, is Microsoft’s unified device-management platform with a focus on endpoint security and “intelligent cloud actions.”
As a result of Intune’s success, Microsoft integrated it into a new platform. Endpoint Management aids businesses in securing and utilizing their cloud. Manage users, apps, and devices in a single location after deployment.
Configuration Manager and Intune are the two consoles that make up the platform. The former looks after clients and infrastructure that are on-site. The cloud-native management of software and devices is handled by Intune.
The on-premises device management platform from Microsoft is called Endpoint Configuration Manager. Configuration Manager aids in the internal application, update, and full image deployment for on-premises devices and servers.
By automating boring activities, Configuration Manager enables businesses to maximize the use of their infrastructure and software. Active Directory is also used to improve organizational security through user management.
Configuration Manager abstracts hours of customization and restoration by producing a preset image to deploy to new devices. You are prepared to use a new device as soon as you set it up.
The mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM) platform from Microsoft is called Intune. Unlike Configuration Manager’s emphasis on an on-premises deployment, Intune is a cloud-based management platform.
Access control for mobile devices like laptops and smartphones is made easier with the aid of Intune. This helps in limiting which personnel has access to what data. You can add additional security safeguards to non-company-owned devices using Intune.
Intune deploys full images to new devices, much like Configuration Manager does. Since it uses the cloud, devices may be accessed remotely and efficiently.
With identity and endpoint control through the cloud, Intune also adds more security. Businesses don’t need to employ an on-premises server because of its interaction with Azure Active Directory.
Organizations can combine their on-premises servers with the Azure cloud by using Azure sync. The ideal situation would result in a hybrid cloud.
Employees of companies that use Endpoint Management can securely access company resources through the Microsoft Intune company portal app.
Office apps, email, and OneDrive may all be accessed through the app by users whose company accounts have been enrolled in Intune. The enterprise portal can be used for single sign-on (SSO), which improves security across all apps.
Use a company account to go into the company portal and enroll a device in Intune. The portal will lead you through configuring your device and connecting to your company after you’ve signed in.
Organizations may co-manage their environment with Configuration Manager and Intune to make the most of Endpoint Manager.
However, the only advantage of using simply Intune is the capacity for conventional operating system deployment. Wiping a device and loading the OS through a disk are both functions of Configuration Manager.
Organizations lose advanced security features like Advanced Threat Prevention and risk-based access management without Intune (ATP). Moreover, auto-provisioning through autopilot is impossible with Configuration Manager.
The use of Microsoft Endpoint Manager has many overall advantages. They will only discuss how it helps avoid the need for servers in this post.
First, Endpoint Manager helps with endpoint security all around the whole. Your most sensitive data or applications are only accessible to those who need them thanks to Conditional Access App Control via Azure Active Directory.
Conditional access controls can be configured for devices that access your cloud, as well as the apps that exist there.
Endpoint Manager can now enforce security policies, install your standard compliance standards, and impose access restrictions on vulnerable or non-corporately owned devices by registering devices with Azure AD.
Endpoint Manager products assist you in making sure that registered devices adhere to security standards. Only compliant devices, linked to your domain, and managed by Intune should be given access to the cloud.
When available, Intune will also roll out security upgrades to your devices. Your devices will instantly receive an update after a vulnerability has been fixed. There is no time to lose while fixes for known vulnerabilities are available.
Companies that purchase E3 licenses for access to Endpoint Manager also receive ATP.
With Intune and Autopilot, Endpoint Manager can automatically upload programs and settings to both new and existing devices. Zero-Touch Deployment is the term used for this.
As an example, let’s say your company hires a new remote worker. You are delivering a computer to their home office, but in order for it to be legal, your company regulations must be installed on it.
As soon as the device is registered with your cloud and Endpoint Manager, your settings using Intune and Autopilot go into effect. Even pre-shipment may be included in that.
As a result, there is no need to mail the device to your main office or IT team for configuration before sending it to the newly hired employee. All of the stuff is taken care of by Autopilot, so your new employee is prepared to work from day one.
You can manage everything inside your cloud thanks to Endpoint Manager, which keeps everything in one location. Your wireless networks are managed.
Using Intune, you may add a profile to a group of users in your business, include settings that connect directly to your preferred Wi-Fi network, and then distribute built-in Wi-Fi settings to joined devices.
In this way, you can never be concerned about users connecting to a weak network. Only the ones you have created or selected.
So, the Endpoint Manager’s advantages are evident. But how can you access a magical, serverless place with those features?
Users who are already using Microsoft 365 for your business can access both your on-premises server and the cloud together.
User profiles that are managed by M365 are kept on Azure. These profiles are collected from the cloud and delivered to your server for your on-premise endpoints.
If you have distant users or individuals who are using personal devices, this could become a problem.
You are most likely using a virtual private network for remote user security (VPN). The cloud profile password will need to be updated if a remote user leaves for home and forgets it.
Unfortunately, they will also need to sign into the VPN with the same profile to sync it with the on-premises server they are trying to connect to.
The passwords for accessing the VPN and for changing the VPN password will not be the same, which means that if you forget the former, you’ll still need to remember it to update the latter. Additionally, changing your VPN password should only require an internet connection, not an internet connection and access to the VPN.
Endpoint Manager allows your devices to connect to your cloud environment through Azure AD, instead of requiring your profiles to first join M365 in the cloud and then sync with an on-premise server.
Because the device is registered in the cloud, any changes made to it are immediately updated and deployed back to the device. There’s no need for a separate server to serve information to the device since everything is already managed through Azure. As a result, there’s no need for a VPN to facilitate user-related changes.
By configuring policies in Endpoint Manager, information exchange is consistently secured, and the risk of data being sent to a compromised machine is eliminated.
For just $8 per user per month, you can shift your devices from the on-premises server to the cloud, leaving the server in the past where it belongs.
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