Microsoft Dev Box is generally available

Microsoft announce the general availability of Dev Box – think Windows 365 optimised for developer use cases and productivity.

In common with Windows 365, users need to be licensed for Windows 11 Enterprise, Intune and Azure Active Directory Premium Plan 1, and then there’s a fee for the Dev Box services each month. And this is where it’s a bit different… You need to pay a flat monthly storage fee – which differs depending on which Dev Box configuration you’ve chosen – and then you pay an hourly compute fee for each hour of active usage during the month. However, for each Dev Box type there’s a maximum monthly price and when a Dev Box’s total cost (including its monthly storage and hourly compute) reaches the level of the maximum monthly price, billing will automatically stop for that Dev Box.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3KnMHX7, pricing information here: https://bit.ly/3QknTD5, and an article with general Dev Box information here: https://bit.ly/3rYwIZ6.

Intune Plan 2 and Intune Suite

In October 2022 Microsoft announced that Intune would become a family name (rather than just a product) and that there would be a new suite. These changes are now effective from 1 March, 2023. The original Intune User SL is renamed to Intune Plan 1 and then there’s the option of adding on either Intune Plan 2 or the Intune Suite dependent on how much additional functionality you need. Price-wise, Intune Plan 1 is $8 per user per month with Plan 2 and the Suite $4 and $10 respectively. Note if you have an existing licence which includes the original Intune, then adding on either Plan 2 or the Suite is also an option. Find the announcement article (with information on features) here: http://bit.ly/3JnXWP8, and check out the license prerequisites in the Product Terms here: https://bit.ly/3T1Pqc8.

Changes to Intune and EMS E3

Microsoft add extra security and management functionality into their Intune and EMS E3 offerings and will increase prices from 1 July, 2021. Licences for Intune will increase from $6 to $8 per user per month, and EMS E3 from $9 to $11, although the price for Microsoft 365 E3 will not change.

Find details of the increased functionality, and price changes here: http://bit.ly/3smPpRw.

System Center Configuration Manager is now Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager

Microsoft Endpoint Manager is the name for all of Microsoft’s endpoint management solutions, and includes System Center Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune. The benefit of Microsoft Endpoint Manager is that it makes it easier for organisations to concurrently manage Windows 10 devices with both Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune, a configuration called co-management. Bringing everything up to date, the July 2020 Product Terms updates the name of System Center Configuration Manager to Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager.

In terms of co-management licensing, organisations don’t have to buy both Configuration Manager and Intune licences: if they are licensed for Configuration Manager then they are automatically licensed for Intune for co-managing Windows PCs, and if they are licensed for Intune, then they are also automatically licensed for Configuration Manager for co-managing Windows PCs. There are some management scenarios which aren’t covered with the co-management rights and this article has some useful instances of when you would also need a full Intune licence when you have a Configuration Manager licence, for example: https://bit.ly/2WIZieT.

There’s a name change but there aren’t changes to the licensing of Configuration Manager. As a recap, there’s a current branch and long-term servicing branch (LTSB) for Configuration Manager, with the current branch providing an active servicing model as you would expect. Customers who have active Software Assurance or a subscription to EMS E3 (for example) may use this branch. Configuration Manager must always be purchased with Software Assurance through a Volume Licensing agreement and the LTSB is intended for customers who have perpetual licence rights to Configuration Manager but have let the SA expire. This is a useful article if you want to learn more about branches and licensing: https://bit.ly/3hpw0JX.

And finally, there’s a Microsoft Endpoint Manager FAQ document which you may find useful here: https://bit.ly/32JtVog.