Desktop lifecycle with Microsoft Intune and ControlUp Edge DX

Desktop lifecycle with Microsoft Intune and ControlUp Edge DX

Microsoft and ControlUp play complementary roles in desktop lifecycle management. Although there are overlapping technologies, Microsoft Intune focuses on day-one activities, and ControlUp Edge DX targets day-two activities. This blog will examine how Microsoft and ControlUp work better to improve IT and desktop experience for both IT and end users.

Day One with Microsoft Intune

Day one for lifecycle management is about reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) with tools that help deploy, configure, and secure devices and applications on new or re-imaged devices.

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service provided by Microsoft that focuses on mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM). It allows organizations to manage and secure their devices, applications, and data across various platforms, including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Here are some key features of Microsoft Intune:

1. Device Enrollment: Intune enables organizations to enroll and manage various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and PCs. It supports both company-owned and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) scenarios.
2. Device Management: Intune provides comprehensive device management capabilities once enrolled. Administrators can configure device settings, enforce security policies, and perform remote actions such as locking or wiping devices.
3. Application Management: Intune allows organizations to distribute and manage applications on enrolled devices. It supports public and private app stores, enabling administrators to control which apps can be installed and manage app updates.
4. Conditional Access: With Intune’s conditional access feature, organizations can enforce policies that control access to corporate resources based on factors such as device compliance, user identity, and network location. Intune helps ensure that only authorized and secure devices can access sensitive data.
5. Data Protection: Intune includes data protection features to safeguard corporate data on mobile devices. It supports features like data encryption, app-level data protection, and selective wipe, allowing organizations to remove corporate data while keeping personal data intact.
6. Mobile Threat Defense: Intune integrates with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, providing threat detection and protection for mobile devices. It helps identify and respond to mobile-specific threats like malicious apps or compromised devices.
7. Reporting and Analytics: Intune offers reporting and analytics capabilities that provide insights into device and application usage, compliance status, security incidents, and more. This information helps administrators make informed decisions and take necessary actions.
8. Integration with Microsoft 365: Intune integrates with other Microsoft services like Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Endpoint Manager, and Microsoft 365. This integration allows for unified management and enables additional security and productivity features.

Overall, Microsoft Intune helps organizations manage and secure their mobile devices, applications, and data, providing a comprehensive solution for modern workplace management.

More on Microsoft Intune:

What is Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn

Microsoft Intune Core Capabilities | Microsoft Security

Microsoft Intune—Endpoint Management | Microsoft Security

Day Two with ControlUp Edge DX

Day two operations refer to the activities and tasks that occur after the initial deployment of a desktop. Day two operations focus on the ongoing maintenance, support, and improvement of the product or service throughout its lifecycle.

ControlUp is a comprehensive IT operations and monitoring platform that provides real-time visibility and management capabilities for physical, virtualized desktops. It offers a range of critical features that help IT teams optimize performance, troubleshoot issues, and ensure a smooth end-user experience. Here are some key features of ControlUp:

1. Real-Time Monitoring: ControlUp monitors physical desktops and virtualized environments. It offers a centralized dashboard that displays performance metrics, resource utilization, and system health indicators.
2. Troubleshooting and Diagnostics: ControlUp offers advanced troubleshooting and diagnostic capabilities. It provides detailed metrics and analytics for identifying the root cause of performance problems, including CPU, memory, storage, and network-related issues.
3. Automated Remediation: ControlUp includes automation capabilities that allow IT administrators to use scripts from a library or create custom scripts and actions to automate everyday management tasks. ControlUp helps streamline operations, reduce manual effort, and proactively resolve issues.
4. Performance Optimization: ControlUp provides performance optimization features to help IT teams identify and resolve performance issues. It offers real-time insights into resource consumption, system latency, and application behavior, allowing administrators to fine-tune configurations for optimal performance.
5. End-User Experience Monitoring: ControlUp enables IT teams to monitor and measure the end-user experience. It captures metrics such as session responsiveness, logon duration, and application load times, helping to identify and address performance bottlenecks.
6. Remote Management: ControlUp includes remote management capabilities, enabling IT administrators to troubleshoot and manage systems remotely. It allows for remote control, shadowing, shell, and assistance to end-user sessions, facilitating efficient support and issue resolution.
7. Reporting and Analytics: ControlUp provides comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities. It offers pre-built reports and dashboards that allow IT teams to track performance trends, monitor compliance, and generate insights for capacity planning.
8. Script-Based Actions: ControlUp allows IT teams to create and execute custom scripts to automate tasks or perform actions across multiple machines simultaneously. Controlup helps streamline repetitive processes like mass healing, configuration changes, or system updates.
9. Integration and Extensibility: ControlUp integrates with various IT infrastructure components and management systems, including hypervisors, public clouds, enterprise monitoring solutions, and IT service management (ITSM) platforms. It also supports extensibility through an open API, enabling integration with custom tools and solutions.
10. Resource Allocation: ControlUp enables IT administrators to manage and allocate resources effectively. It provides visibility into resource utilization, allowing administrators to optimize resource allocation and identify capacity constraints.

These day two operations are focused on providing ongoing support, maintenance, and improvement to a product or service after its initial deployment. These operations include customer support, maintenance and updates, performance monitoring and optimization, user feedback, security and compliance, and scalability planning. By effectively managing “day two” operations, businesses can ensure their customers’ long-term success, reliability, and satisfaction.

More on ControlUp Edge DX:

ControlUp Edge DX

Unified Comms as reliable as a landline

Top reasons customers choose Edge DX

Why are Intune and ControlUp better together?

Intune and ControlUp complement each other well and can be beneficial when used together. Here are some reasons why combining Intune and ControlUp can be advantageous:

1. Comprehensive Device Management: Intune specializes in mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM), providing features for enrolling devices, applying security policies, and managing applications. ControlUp, on the other hand, offers real-time monitoring, performance optimization, and troubleshooting capabilities for physical and virtualized desktops. Organizations can achieve comprehensive device management across mobile and desktop devices by using both solutions, ensuring a holistic approach to IT operations.
2. End-to-End Visibility: Intune manages and secures mobile devices and applications, while ControlUp provides deep visibility into physical and virtualized desktops. By combining the two solutions, IT teams can gain end-to-end visibility across the entire IT infrastructure, from mobile devices to virtual or physical desktops, allowing for better insights into the overall health, performance, and user experience.
3. Enhanced Troubleshooting: ControlUp’s advanced troubleshooting and diagnostic capabilities, combined with Intune’s device management features, can significantly improve the troubleshooting process. IT administrators can correlate data from Intune, such as device compliance and application usage, with ControlUp’s real-time monitoring metrics to quickly identify the root cause of performance issues or user experience problems. This integrated approach streamlines troubleshooting efforts and accelerates problem resolution.
4. Automation and Remediation: Intune and ControlUp offer automation capabilities to streamline IT operations. Intune allows administrators to automate device and application management tasks, while ControlUp enables the automation of everyday management tasks and remediation actions. By integrating the two solutions, IT teams can create end-to-end automation workflows that span mobile, virtual, and physical desktops, improving operational efficiency and reducing manual effort.
5. Data-driven Decision Making: ControlUp’s reporting and analytics capabilities, combined with Intune’s data on device and application usage, provide a rich data set for informed decision-making. Integrating data from both solutions allow IT administrators to gain deeper insights into their IT infrastructure’s performance, security, and compliance. This data-driven approach enables proactive planning, capacity management, and optimization of resources, resulting in better overall IT governance.
6. Streamlined User Support: The combined use of Intune and ControlUp can enhance user support capabilities. Intune allows administrators to remotely manage and troubleshoot mobile devices, while ControlUp offers remote support and assistance for physical and virtualized desktops. This integration enables IT teams to provide efficient and comprehensive support to end users, regardless of their device or virtualization platform.

By leveraging the strengths of Intune and ControlUp together, organizations can achieve a more holistic and efficient approach to IT operations, device management, performance monitoring, troubleshooting, and user support. Integrating these two solutions can improve productivity, user experience, and overall IT infrastructure management.