As the world witnesses a significant shift towards flexible working models, charitable organisations must adapt and ensure the security and integrity of their sensitive data. With Microsoft Intune, charities can now navigate this new landscape with confidence. Let’s delve into how Microsoft Intune not only fortifies data security but also enhances operational efficiency, making it an indispensable tool for charities striving to thrive in a digitally evolving workspace.
Join us as we uncover the various ways Microsoft Intune is revolutionising remote work for the better.
What is Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune represents a cutting-edge endpoint solution from Microsoft’s suite of cloud-based services. It’s designed to streamline the management of devices and operating systems across an organisation. Intune also focuses on safeguarding information and ensuring uninterrupted productivity for employees, regardless of their location. The platform achieves this by enforcing app-level policies that tightly control access to company resources. This mechanism is crucial in preventing unauthorised access and data loss, ensuring that sensitive information remains firmly within the organisation’s domain.
One of the key strengths of Microsoft Intune is its versatility as an endpoint solution. It extends its protective umbrella across a wide array of devices, including mobile phones and desktops. This is particularly beneficial for organisations with remote or hybrid work models as it creates a unified management interface to access resources from various locations and on different types of devices. By offering a cohesive platform for managing these diverse endpoints, Microsoft Intune ensures that access is securely controlled.
This diagram provides a structured overview of Microsoft Intune’s extensive features and how they cater to the needs of remote and hybrid workers. One of the many benefits of Microsoft Intune is its robust self-service platform that empowers users to manage their applications and devices efficiently. This autonomy is essential in today’s flexible work environments, where timely updates and application management are key to uninterrupted productivity.
The diagram above also highlights Intune’s comprehensive approach to deploying, updating, protecting, and removing applications from organisational devices. This ensures that only authorised applications are used and that they are kept up-to-date with the latest security patches.
Benefits of Microsoft Intune
There is a wide range of benefits of Microsoft Intune for charities. From cyber security for charities to endpoint management, let’s take a look at the list of benefits for the third sector below:
- Uniform Security Across Devices: Intune is consistent with security protocols, which help to safeguard devices and data across the globe. Charities that have staff in multiple locations need to ensure that sensitive information is protected regardless of the device’s location. This uniformity in security is essential for maintaining the integrity and trustworthiness of the charity.
- BYOD Management for Charities: Microsoft Intune supports a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, enabling charities to manage and secure only work-related applications on personal devices. This approach protects charity data through Conditional Access policies while keeping personal data separate. This is also a cost-effective strategy, allowing charities to minimise expenses on hardware and extending their operational flexibility.
- GDPR and Cyber Essentials Compliance: The ability to remotely wipe devices is a crucial security step for data protection and charities. If a device with sensitive data is lost or stolen, Intune enables charities to quickly erase the data, mitigating the risk of a data breach. This helps charities protect themselves against potential fines and reputational damage. In addition, Microsoft Intune allows administrators to create and administer compliance policies. This can include rules and requirements that users and devices must adhere to such as data encryption, 2fa for charities (two-factor authorisation) and having the latest security updates installed. In this way, Intune gives administrators the control to ensure device compliance while protecting data.
- Seamless Tool Access: Intune’s auto-installation feature streamlines the deployment of approved charity-specific applications, meaning staff and volunteers have the necessary tools at their fingertips. This automation supports the charity’s governance by enforcing compliance with digital policies and facilitating a ready-to-work environment on any device.
- Effortless Microsoft Office & Cloud Services Login: With Microsoft Intune, charity staff and volunteers can easily log into organisation-owned devices using their credentials. This grants them immediate access to Microsoft Office applications such as OneDrive and SharePoint. This feature is especially useful for charities where staff often switch between devices or work from different locations, allowing for a seamless transition.
- Cloud Sync for Essential Documents: Charities can enforce policies via Intune that automatically sync local folders, such as Desktop, Documents, and Pictures, with OneDrive. This ensures that all documents are backed up and secure in the cloud and facilitates real-time collaboration and accessibility, which is crucial for charities that rely on timely and collective action.
- Automatic Software Maintenance: The automated update feature keeps all devices up-to-date with the latest software versions. For charities, this minimises downtime caused by software issues, allowing staff to focus on their primary goal of serving the community.
- Scalable Endpoint Management: Intune’s cloud-based nature allows organisations to easily scale the number of their managed devices up or down, according to their current position. This scalability is vital for charities that may fluctuate in staff numbers, or varying project demands, ensuring that their IT infrastructure can adapt efficiently without unnecessary expenditure.
Microsoft Intune Pricing for Nonprofits
Navigating the digital landscape can be a costly endeavour for charities, but with Microsoft Intune, you can leverage technology to support missions without a high cost. Within Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Intune offers a comprehensive suite of tools that empower nonprofits to manage and secure their devices efficiently.
Microsoft 365 for charities also extends a helping hand through its grant scheme, offering Intune for free to eligible nonprofit organisations for up to 10 users. For additional users beyond this, it costs £4.50 per user/month plus VAT. This pricing model allows nonprofits of all sizes to benefit from the same advanced security and management capability that larger enterprises enjoy.
Final Thoughts
As we conclude our journey through the benefits of Microsoft Intune, its importance for charities in today’s hybrid working environment cannot be overstated. With operational flexibility needing to be balanced with stringent data protection, Intune offers a comprehensive array of tools that bolster security across various devices and locations. Its refined device management functions are essential for ensuring that all devices adhere to stringent data protection policies. By ensuring compliance with these policies, Microsoft Intune plays a pivotal role in upholding the trust and integrity of charitable organisations. Cost-effectiveness is another compelling aspect of Intune for nonprofits. With a pricing structure that considers financial constraints, coupled with the Nonprofit Grant, it’s evident that Microsoft has positioned Intune as a solution that is as affordable as it is powerful.
In conclusion, Microsoft Intune is not just a tool but a strategic investment for charities looking to navigate the complexities of hybrid working. It offers the peace of mind that comes with top-tier security, the ease of managing devices from a single platform and financial flexibility. By choosing Intune, charities can focus on what they do best while leaving the complexities of IT management to a trusted partner.
