As more companies adopt a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) working environment, awareness surrounding end-user security has continued to increase. How do employers ensure their data and network, accessed from multiple end-points, remains secure? And what is the best means of protecting employees from malicious vectors such as SPAM and malware? Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite + Security (EMS) was specifically designed to alleviate this concern. EMS is a management system that monitors and secures mobile devices while providing a single sign-on for mobile, SaaS, and on-premises apps such as Exchange and SharePoint. From compliance solutions to granular access levels, Intune ensures that your employees are working safely, wherever the job takes them.
As a sub-section of Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security, InTune is responsible for mobile device management, application management, and endpoint management. Essentially, InTune was created to secure company data by actively managing how said data is accessed and shared. The cloud service achieves this by:
InTune allows employer data to be managed at the application-layer, eliminating the need to secure entire devices. Reflecting the diversity of employee platforms, InTune is not exclusive to one operating system, and works for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices.
InTune’s mobile management system reinforces a culture of compliance in the following ways:
Beyond the in-app experience, InTune also allows for granular policies that outline conditional access. This role-based administrative control segments employees based on their position and assignments. Access can be determined/adjusted according to: device compliance, location, risk, and app sensitivity. End-user security can be further strengthened by implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA).
InTune is accessible via the Azure portal (pictured below). This provides an integrated dashboard for all EMS components, and allows employers to: find users, locate personal devices, set groups, create compliance and configuration policies, and manage on-premises and conditional access. These access settings leverage Azure Advanced Directory (AD) for integrated ease of use. Microsoft wanted to improve security for Azure AD, so they integrated behavioral-based tools such as multifactor authentication. Before this update, if a user completed the MFA process during their device registration, the authentication lasted long after use. Now, employees will be prompted to redo MFA for any apps that require this policy.
In the mobile age, you can't afford the consequences of unsecured devices. The ideal defense-in-depth strategy is a multi-layered one. For Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security, InTune is an essential layer on this road to a secured, compliant workforce. Remember, InTune and EMS:
Why wait? Learn more about iCorps' Managed EMS Services today.