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In today’s cybersecurity environment, businesses are increasingly looking for smarter, more proactive ways to protect their devices and data. Tools like Microsoft Defender for Business provide strong, built-in protection as part of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Solutions like Huntress MDR add valuable human-powered threat response. However, one key element is often overlooked: how these tools are deployed and managed across your organization. That is where Microsoft Intune plays a critical role.
A Quick Refresher: Managed vs. Unmanaged Antivirus
In our recent blog post, we explored the key differences between managed and unmanaged antivirus solutions.
- Unmanaged antivirus (such as Microsoft Defender for Business or Defender for Endpoint) provides excellent baseline protection. It includes threat detection, automated remediation, and cloud integration. However, it still requires internal IT expertise to monitor alerts, fine-tune policies, and respond to incidents.
- Managed antivirus, such as Huntress MDR and ITDR, adds a layer of 24/7 human threat detection and response. These platforms are actively monitored by security professionals who investigate suspicious activity and take action quickly, often before your internal team is even aware there is an issue.
While both approaches offer value, the strongest strategy often combines them. For many small and midsize organizations, this hybrid model using Microsoft Defender as a base layer and Huntress for managed response strikes the right balance between cost, security, and support.
What Is Microsoft Intune?
Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based endpoint management solution that allows organizations to securely manage devices, applications, and access to company data. It integrates with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) to provide centralized control over both company-owned and bring-your-own devices (BYOD). Intune enables IT teams to automate configuration, enforce security standards, monitor compliance, and streamline the entire device lifecycle from onboarding to offboarding.
Why Intune Matters
The effectiveness of any antivirus solution, whether managed or unmanaged, depends on how consistently and correctly it is deployed across all devices. Without centralized management, devices can easily fall out of compliance, go unprotected, or become vulnerable due to misconfiguration.
Microsoft Intune solves this problem by giving organizations a powerful, cloud-based platform to manage all their endpoints, including laptops, desktops, tablets, and mobile phones, from a single location.
With Intune, you can:
- Automatically deploy and configure Microsoft Defender policies on every device
- Push and update Huntress agents remotely
- Enforce security baselines and compliance rules
- Monitor device health and take action when something falls out of policy
- Remotely wipe or repurpose devices during offboarding and reassignments
Whether you are onboarding a new employee or retiring a device, Intune ensures every endpoint is secure, compliant, and configured correctly from day one.
Bringing It All Together
Endpoint protection does not stop at installing antivirus. A modern cybersecurity strategy requires continuous visibility, automation, and smart deployment. This is exactly what Microsoft Intune provides.
By combining Microsoft Defender, a managed MDR solution like Huntress, and the centralized management capabilities of Intune, businesses gain a scalable, secure, and proactive approach to endpoint security.
Need help implementing this approach?
We help businesses of all sizes modernize their security posture using Microsoft 365, Defender, Intune, and trusted managed solutions. Let’s talk about how to strengthen your endpoint protection without overcomplicating your IT.