Microsoft Intune basics for a small office

What Intune actually does

Without central management, each computer in a small office is set up by hand, slightly differently, and drifts further apart over time. One has disk encryption, another does not. One gets updates, another has postponed them for months. Intune replaces that with policies you define once and apply to every enrolled device, whether it sits in the office, at home or in a car on the way to a site visit.

Typical policies cover password and screen lock rules, BitLocker or FileVault encryption, Windows update timing, firewall and antivirus settings, OneDrive configuration and which apps are installed. Because devices check in over the internet, there is no server to run in the office, and a laptop that has not been near the office for months still receives the same settings.

Enrolling devices

Windows laptops are usually enrolled by joining them to Microsoft Entra ID, either during setup of a new machine or by resetting an existing one and joining it. Existing computers that were set up with local accounts are often easier to reset and enrol cleanly than to convert in place, although each case is different. Macs enrol through Apple Business Manager or a manual profile, and phones through the Company Portal app.

Start with a list of every device, who uses it, its age and whether it is company or personally owned. Retire anything too old to run a supported operating system. Then enrol a couple of devices belonging to people comfortable with change, confirm the policies behave as expected and roll out to everyone else over a week or two.

Compliance and Conditional Access together

Intune can mark each device as compliant or not, based on rules you choose: encryption on, a supported operating system, a screen lock, recent updates and no signs of tampering. On its own that is just a report. Combined with Conditional Access, it becomes a gate: only compliant devices can open company email and files.

That combination is one of the strongest protections available to a small business. A stolen password is far less useful if the attacker also needs one of your managed, encrypted laptops to use it. Start with compliance in report-only mode so you can fix the stragglers, then enforce it once almost every device passes.

Apps and updates

Intune can install the apps everyone needs, such as Microsoft 365 apps, a PDF reader, your line-of-business software where it supports silent installation and the VPN client if you use one. New starters receive the standard set automatically. The Company Portal app gives staff a self-service catalogue of optional apps so they do not need admin rights to install approved software.

Windows update policies let you stagger updates, with a small pilot group receiving them first and everyone else a week or so later. That balance keeps devices patched without letting one bad update break the whole office at once. Monthly reports show which devices are behind, so the stragglers can be followed up instead of quietly falling months out of date.

Lost, stolen and leaving

When a laptop is lost or stolen, an administrator can lock or wipe it remotely the next time it connects to the internet, and BitLocker encryption means the data on the drive is unreadable in the meantime. For phones, Intune can wipe just the company data and leave personal photos and messages alone, which matters when staff use their own devices for work email.

When someone leaves, the same tools make returning devices simple. A company laptop can be reset and handed to the next person, who signs in and receives the standard setup without anyone spending half a day installing software. Keep a record of which device belongs to whom; Intune's inventory is a good start for that list.

Getting started without overdoing it

A small office does not need dozens of policies. A sensible first set covers encryption, screen lock, Windows update rings, Defender settings, OneDrive Known Folder Move and a standard app bundle. Add compliance rules, then Conditional Access, once the basics are stable. Document each policy's purpose so the next person can understand why it exists.

Keep a test group and use it for every change. A mistaken policy pushed to every laptop at once can stop people working, so test first, then roll out. If nobody in the office has time to set it up, a managed IT plan that includes device management takes care of it, along with the ongoing review that keeps policies current as Windows and Microsoft 365 change.