In this case study, we walk through some of the Microsoft Intune consultancy services we provide for a global managed service provider (MSP).
At a Glance
- White-label consultancy for a global MSP.
- SCCM to Microsoft Intune migrations.
- Windows Autopilot Entra and Hybrid Join.
- Endpoint security baselines and compliance.
- Application packaging and layering services.
- Reduced number of gold images and associated maintenance costs.
- Faster application deployment and CVE remediation.
- Scalable delivery with predictable, fixed-price costs.
Microsoft Intune Consultancy Services
Our MSP partner has experienced rapid growth, and our rapid mobilisation has been essential in ensuring its managed services can keep pace with its commercial ambitions. We deliver these services on a white-label basis, operating through the MSP’s branding and communication channels to provide a seamless experience for its customers.
We have migrated customer workloads from SCCM to Microsoft Intune on multiple occasions, enabling centralised, cloud-based application and policy management for each customer’s distributed workforce. Our consultants have also implemented robust security baselines, retaining and incorporating existing Group Policy configurations where appropriate.
Windows Autopilot: Microsoft Entra Join and Hybrid Join
We have implemented Windows Autopilot for Microsoft Entra join and the more complex Microsoft Entra hybrid join, accommodating one customer’s continued reliance on on-premises infrastructure for critical business operations. The hybrid join process required line-of-sight to the customer’s domain controllers. Implementation included configuring DNS, SCEP certificates, VPN profiles, domain join profiles, Microsoft Entra Connect synchronisation and the Microsoft Intune Connector for Active Directory to facilitate Offline Domain Join (ODJ). As a result, the customer can now provision and configure devices remotely through the Windows Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE), using a device-tunnel VPN to establish connectivity to on-premises resources. Combined with our compliance and conditional access policies, we delivered a consistent, secure device build process without requiring devices to be prepared on the corporate network.
Application Packaging as a Service
We provide a monthly subscription-based Application Packaging as a Service offering to accommodate the changing demands of the MSP’s customers. As part of this service, we have helped customers move away from traditional locally installed applications towards a layered application-delivery approach. This has significantly reduced support costs and image maintenance requirements, while improving the MSP’s ability to respond quickly to application upgrade requests and CVE-related remediation.
Outcome
The MSP reduced infrastructure costs by decreasing storage requirements and optimising compute resources associated with maintaining multiple gold images. Application-related technical debt and configuration drift have been reduced, and configurations are now documented and managed as part of the application packaging process.
Support-ticket volumes and engineering effort have decreased significantly, while the overall security posture has improved and CVE remediation times have decreased.
Alkane continues to work with the MSP, providing rapid scalability as required. The MSP and its customers benefit from a fixed-price subscription for our Application Packaging as a Service offering.
