Windows 365 Frontline is generally available

Microsoft announce that Windows 365 Frontline is generally available. Users need to be licensed with Windows 11 Enterprise, Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory Premium Plan 1, and Window 365 Frontline plans start at $42 per 3 users per month.

Get an overview of Windows 365 Frontline on our blog here: https://bit.ly/479OhFT, pricing information across the 11 different Cloud PC configurations here: https://bit.ly/44Oywm3, and the excellent announcement article with lots more useful information here: https://bit.ly/3rLf8aZ.

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.

Microsoft endpoint management updates

Microsoft announce two updates for endpoint management.

Firstly, Microsoft Intune will now be the name of the endpoint management family with the name Microsoft Endpoint Manager no longer being used. Going forward, Microsoft will refer to cloud management as Microsoft Intune and on-premises management as Microsoft Configuration Manager. You can read the full article here: https://bit.ly/3gjrIbQ.

Secondly, there will be a new suite of advanced endpoint management solutions available from March 2023 for customers who have Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 or any other plan which includes a licence for Microsoft Intune. You can read the full article and find out more about the capabilities that will be included in the suite here: https://bit.ly/3TeaTOb.

Windows Autopatch

Microsoft announce the General Availability of Windows Autopatch – a cloud service that automates updates for Windows, Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, Edge and Teams.

It’s included with Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3/E5/VDA licences, and customers also need to be licensed for Azure Active Directory Premium and Microsoft Intune to take advantage of the service.

You can find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3vcQMWq, and a useful FAQ here: https://bit.ly/3S7o1o9.

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.