Four New Features

An update of Microsoft's Windows Intune offers a batch of new features meant to simplify how administrators track and manage company-owned PCs and software.

Windows Intune, Microsoft's Web-based PC management and security platform, may not get the same level of attention as cloud services like Office 365 or Windows Azure, however Microsoft is betting big on Intune to be the cloud service that will facilitate IT's evolving job of remotely managing PCs.

Today, about seven months afterwards Windows Intune was at first made available, Microsoft is releasing Windows Intune 2.0. With the new version of Intune, IT admins can manage the deployment of Microsoft updates and service packs to all PCs, keep track of hardware and software inventory, fix PC issues remotely, manage protection from malware threats and set security policies. And Windows Intune can be accessed from wherever there's an Internet connection.

Windows Intune costs $11 per PC per month, and that price includes an integrated anti-malware product and Windows 7 Enterprise upgrade rights.

Eric Main, Microsoft director of Windows Intune product management, says the company is as well seeing more enterprise interest in Windows Intune as larger organizations try to manage "blind spots", in other words, PCs that are not in the office however belong to road warriors and remote workers. On-premise PC management tools do not provide the convenience and flexibility that Windows Intune can provide for a mobile workforce, he says.

"Many larger organizations already have good PC management solutions on-premise, however also need a cloud-based service like Windows Intune to better manage the wares of remote workers and complete the full picture," says Main.

To that end, Microsoft is building parts of its high-end, on-premise enterprise products just as SCCM, Forefront Endpoint Protection, and MDOP into Windows Intune. For an extra dollar per PC per month, Windows Intune clients can access the MDOP suite of products, which include application and desktop virtualization tools.

Microsoft as well plans to integrate Windows Intune with Office 365 so that IT pros can use Intune to deploy Office in the cloud. Nevertheless right now, that integration is not in place for Windows Intune 2.0.

Windows Intune as well does not support mobile devices like smartphones and tablets; it supports only Windows PCs. However Main says Microsoft plans to extend the support to mobile devices in future versions.

Windows Intune 2.0 does offer a slew of new features. Here are four notable enhancements that may make Windows Intune a worthwhile service for IT managers.

Windows Intune 2.0 simplifies the complex task of distributing Microsoft and third-party applications and updates to all PCs that are managed by Windows Intune.

An IT admin completes a simple wizard from the Windows Intune console to guide them through the process of publishing the software for distribution. These software or update packages can be .EXE, .MSI or .MSP files.

The appropriate information has been entered

After the appropriate information has been entered, the wizard at the time encrypts, compresses and uploads the package to Windows Azure storage space until it's ready for deployment. While a trial subscription, 2GB of free Windows Azure cloud storage are provided to store updates or apps until distribution. Paid subscriptions have a pre-determined amount of storage space. And clients have the option to purchase more space if needed.

When an IT admin right-clicks on a specific managed PC, a context menu appears with actions including Add to Group, Retire and Remote Tasks. When that admin selects "Remote Tasks" he can perform tasks on a Windows Intune managed PC, with options including:

Windows Intune 2.0 extends software license management beyond just Microsoft enterprise software licenses to include Microsoft retail licenses, OEM licenses and other third-party licenses.

Windows Intune account

When adding administrators to a Windows Intune account, admins can select whether or not to grant full administrator rights or read-only access to information.

Someone with read-only rights can view all the information in the Windows Intune Administration Console, nevertheless cannot take any action just as approving an update or running a scan.

Shane O'Neill covers Microsoft, Windows, Operating Systems, Productivity Apps and Online Services for CIO.com. Follow Shane on Twitter @smoneill. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline and on Facebook. Email Shane at soneill@cio.com