New features in Windows Intune coming soon..

A few months ago the Windows Intune roadmap was published during a Partner Session in February. There were some very interesting features announced, which will make Windows Intune way more advanced then in earlier versions. Because I'm doing a lot of implementation next coming months, it would be great when features are coming in soon. Let's have a look which features are announced during MS TechEd NA 2014.

As a cloud service, Windows Intune is updated on a regular basis, roughly every quarter. We’re currently rolling out an update to the Windows Intune service which provides support for Windows Phone 8.1 and Samsung KNOX Standard (formerly Samsung SAFE) support. In Q3, we will add support for Windows 8.1 Update settings specific to “family safety” which are useful for education environments. 

In Q4, we’ll be releasing major new functionality specifically focused on managed mobile productivity (managed applications and data protection) and IT enhancements, including bulk enrollment and support for Apple Configurator.

Intune will support the ability to bulk enroll iOS and Android (no Windows Phone?) devices, and use a single Intune service account to enroll the devices instead of having separate IDs for each device, since they are not associated with a user each. For iOS, Intune will support Apple’s Device Enrollment Program to do this bulk enrollment.

 

Intune will also support the ability to configure iOS devices using the Apple Configurator tool, allowing more granular and enforced “lock down” policies through the iOS Supervisor mode. This is especially useful in education scenarios where the student should not be able to un-enroll the device or when more stringent management is required (sounds good!). Additional settings include the ability to allow or block a specific set of applications and URL addresses.

Microsoft’s approach is more natural – build manageability and data protection into the apps which people choose to use, and extend that capability for enterprises to use with their own apps. To do this, we will deliver a unique container solution that is different from the traditional containers offered by other mobile device management solutions on the market.

The future looks bright for Windows Intune!
Source: Windows Intune Team