If you run a business in the Cleveland area and your team is using a mix of laptops, smartphones, and tablets — some company-issued, some personal — you already know how difficult it can be to keep everything secure and compliant. Microsoft Intune for device management offers a centralized, cloud-based solution that is gaining rapid adoption among small and mid-sized businesses. But is it the right fit for your organization? At Ashton Solutions, our managed IT team in Beachwood, Ohio helps businesses across Greater Cleveland evaluate, deploy, and manage Intune every day. Here is what you need to know.
What Is Microsoft Intune and Why Does It Matter for Small Business?
Microsoft Intune is a cloud-native endpoint management platform built into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. It gives IT administrators — or your managed service provider — centralized control over every device that accesses company data, regardless of whether that device is a Windows PC, Mac, iPhone, Android phone, or iPad.
According to Microsoft’s 2024 Digital Defense Report, over 80% of successful cyberattacks originate from unmanaged or poorly managed endpoints. For small businesses without a dedicated IT department, unmanaged devices represent one of the greatest security vulnerabilities. Intune addresses this problem directly.
The platform handles two core management modes: Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM). Understanding the difference between these two approaches is the first step in deciding how to deploy Intune in your organization.
MDM vs. MAM: What Is the Difference and Which Does Your Business Need?
MDM (Mobile Device Management) enrolls the entire device into Intune management. Once enrolled, IT can enforce password policies, encrypt storage, push software updates, deploy applications, and remotely wipe the device if it is lost or stolen. MDM is best suited for company-owned devices where the business has full control.
MAM (Mobile Application Management) manages individual applications rather than the whole device. Using MAM-without-enrollment (MAM-WE), a business can apply data protection policies to apps like Microsoft Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint on an employee’s personal phone — without enrolling or monitoring the rest of the device. This protects company data while respecting employee privacy.
| Feature | MDM | MAM (Without Enrollment) |
|---|---|---|
| Device enrollment required | Yes | No |
| Remote wipe (full device) | Yes | Corporate data only |
| App deployment | Yes | Yes (managed apps only) |
| Compliance policies | Full device | App-level only |
| Best for | Company-owned devices | BYOD / personal devices |
Most of the small businesses Ashton Solutions works with in the Cleveland, Ohio area benefit from a hybrid approach: MDM for company-issued Windows laptops and MAM for employee-owned smartphones. This configuration gives maximum protection without overreaching into employees’ personal data.
How Does Intune Handle BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Management?
BYOD policies are now standard practice for most small businesses — 82% of organizations allow employees to use personal devices for work, according to a 2024 SANS Institute survey. But BYOD without proper governance is a data breach waiting to happen.
Intune’s MAM capabilities let you define exactly what employees can do with corporate data in managed apps on their personal devices. You can:
- Prevent copy/paste of corporate data from Outlook to personal apps
- Require a PIN or biometric to open managed business apps
- Block screenshots within corporate applications
- Selectively wipe only company data when an employee leaves — leaving personal photos, contacts, and apps untouched
- Enforce app-level encryption even on unmanaged devices
This selective wipe capability is one of the most requested features our clients ask about when Ashton Solutions conducts IT security assessments for businesses in the Beachwood and Cleveland metropolitan area. Being able to remove corporate data without wiping an employee’s personal device avoids legal complications and improves employee trust in the BYOD program.
What Are Intune Compliance Policies and Why Should You Use Them?
Compliance policies in Intune define the security baseline that devices must meet before they are allowed to access company resources. Think of them as the rules your devices must follow to “earn” access to email, files, and applications.
Common compliance policy settings include:
- Minimum OS version — block devices running outdated, vulnerable operating systems
- Encryption required — ensure device storage is encrypted (BitLocker on Windows, FileVault on Mac)
- Password complexity — enforce minimum length and complexity requirements
- Jailbreak / rooted device detection — automatically flag compromised iOS or Android devices
- Windows Defender status — require active antivirus with up-to-date signatures
- Firewall enabled — verify the device firewall is active
Non-compliant devices can be automatically blocked from accessing Microsoft 365 apps, marked for remediation, or placed into a limited-access grace period. This automated enforcement reduces manual IT workload significantly — a key advantage for small businesses that do not have full-time IT staff on site.
How Does App Deployment Work in Intune?
One of the most time-saving features of Intune for small businesses is centralized application deployment. Rather than visiting each workstation to install software, IT administrators or your MSP can push applications to devices automatically — whether those devices are in your Beachwood office or at an employee’s home in Westlake or Solon.
Intune supports multiple app deployment models:
- Required apps — automatically installed on enrolled devices without user action
- Available apps — appear in the Company Portal for users to install on demand
- Microsoft Store for Business apps — deploy Microsoft Store apps at scale
- Line-of-business (LOB) apps — deploy custom or industry-specific .msi or .exe installers
- Web links — add browser shortcuts as managed apps across all devices
For businesses with industry-specific software — accounting packages, legal practice management tools, healthcare EHR systems — Ashton Solutions configures Intune to deploy and update these applications automatically across all managed endpoints. This eliminates the “it works on my machine” problem and ensures every workstation runs consistent, approved software versions.
What Is Conditional Access and How Does It Protect Your Business?
Conditional Access is one of the most powerful security features available when Intune is paired with Azure Active Directory (now called Microsoft Entra ID). It enforces the principle of “trust nothing, verify everything” — ensuring that only the right users, on the right devices, from the right locations can access your business data.
With Conditional Access policies, you can:
- Block access to Microsoft 365 from devices that are not Intune-enrolled
- Require multi-factor authentication (MFA) when signing in from outside the office network
- Block access from high-risk geographic locations or anonymous IP addresses
- Grant limited access (read-only) to non-compliant devices while blocking full access
- Require compliant devices before accessing sensitive apps like SharePoint, OneDrive, or Dynamics 365
According to Microsoft’s internal data, organizations that deploy Conditional Access with MFA block 99.9% of automated credential-stuffing attacks. For a small business in Ohio, this level of protection was previously only available to enterprises with large IT budgets. Intune brings it to businesses of any size.
What Is Windows Autopilot and How Does It Simplify Device Setup?
Windows Autopilot is a zero-touch provisioning capability that works hand-in-hand with Intune. When you purchase a new Windows device from a hardware partner, it can be pre-registered in your Intune tenant. When the employee turns on the new laptop for the first time and signs in with their Microsoft 365 credentials, Autopilot takes over:
- Renames the device according to your naming convention
- Joins it to Azure Active Directory automatically
- Enrolls it in Intune management
- Installs all required applications
- Applies security policies and compliance baselines
- Configures desktop settings, wallpaper, and proxy settings
The entire process takes under 30 minutes with no IT technician involvement. For businesses that previously spent 2-4 hours per device on manual setup, Autopilot delivers dramatic labor savings. Ashton Solutions can configure Autopilot deployment profiles so that a new hire in your Cleveland office is ready to work on day one — even if devices are drop-shipped directly from the manufacturer.
How Much Does Microsoft Intune Cost?
Cost is always a key consideration for small business IT decisions, and Intune pricing is one of its strongest selling points:
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium (~$22/user/month) — includes Intune, Defender for Business, Azure AD P1, and the full Office suite. This is the recommended plan for most small businesses.
- Microsoft 365 E3/E5 — enterprise plans that also include Intune with advanced security add-ons.
- Intune Plan 1 (standalone) — approximately $8/user/month for organizations that need Intune without the full Microsoft 365 suite.
- Intune Plan 2 — adds advanced endpoint privilege management and Microsoft Tunnel for ~$10/user/month.
For a 25-person business already on Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Intune is essentially free — it is already included in the subscription. The primary investment is the professional services cost to configure, deploy, and manage the environment, which is where partnering with a local managed service provider like Ashton Solutions in Beachwood, Ohio provides measurable ROI.
Is Microsoft Intune Right for Your Cleveland-Area Business?
Intune is an excellent fit for most small and mid-sized businesses, particularly those that:
- Are already using Microsoft 365 (especially Business Premium)
- Have a mix of company-owned and employee-owned devices
- Need to meet compliance requirements (HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, CMMC)
- Want to enable secure remote work without a VPN for every application
- Are planning growth and want scalable device management without proportionally scaling IT staff
Intune may require additional planning for organizations heavily invested in non-Microsoft ecosystems (e.g., Google Workspace users) or those needing deep management of specialized legacy hardware. In those cases, a hybrid approach or alternative MDM solution may be more appropriate — and our team can help you evaluate the options.
Ready to Deploy Intune? Work with Ashton Solutions in Beachwood, Ohio
Ashton Solutions is a managed IT services provider based in Beachwood, Ohio, serving businesses throughout Greater Cleveland — including Beachwood, Independence, Solon, Westlake, Strongsville, and downtown Cleveland. Our certified Microsoft engineers have deployed Intune for businesses in healthcare, legal, financial services, manufacturing, and professional services sectors.
When you work with Ashton Solutions on an Intune deployment, we handle everything: licensing assessment, tenant configuration, compliance policy design, app deployment packaging, Windows Autopilot enrollment, Conditional Access rule setup, user training, and ongoing management. Most deployments for small businesses are complete within two to four weeks.
Ready to take control of your business devices? Contact Ashton Solutions today for a free consultation. We will assess your current device environment, identify security gaps, and recommend the right Intune configuration for your specific business needs — all with transparent pricing and no long-term contracts required.
