Intune Application Management: How (and Why) to Use It

The work world has changed since 2020. Businesses increasingly depend on the trifecta of mobile devices, cloud services and remote workers to get things done. Most companies (61%) require employees to access cloud applications remotely, even if they don’t supply the managed digital device. This environment presents significant challenges for securing corporate data across various digital devices.

Microsoft’s Intune, part of the Microsoft Endpoint Manager suite, offers a solution to help businesses manage devices and applications securely. At the heart of this is Intune Application Management. This blog explores how businesses leverage Intune application management and Intune application control to protect their apps, ensure compliance and boost productivity.

Understanding Intune Application Management

Intune application management focuses on controlling corporate applications’ distribution, access and use. It enables businesses to manage mobile apps used by employees without compromising personal data or invading the privacy of end users. Essentially, Intune separates work data from personal data, ensuring a clear distinction between corporate and private use on devices such as smartphones, tablets and PCs.

At its core, Intune application management allows IT administrators to:

• Deploy and update applications seamlessly across an entire workforce.\
• Enforce security policies and ensure apps comply with organizational rules.
• Secure app data by applying conditional access, encryption and data wipe capabilities.
• Monitor and report on app performance and compliance.

By using Intune, organizations maintain full control over corporate data while providing flexibility to employees.

Benefits of Intune Application Management

Intune application management offers a comprehensive solution to streamline app deployment, enforce security and ensure that business data remains protected across all devices.

In the following paragraphs, we’ll explore the essential benefits of using Intune to manage applications, illustrating how it can enhance productivity, improve security and support a seamless work experience for employees and IT administrators.

Seamless Application Deployment

Deploying applications to hundreds or thousands of devices is potentially a logistical nightmare. With Intune application management, IT teams can deploy apps centrally and automatically to both corporate-owned devices and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) environments. This flexibility ensures that all employees have the latest versions of the apps they need to stay productive without the hassle of manual installation.

With Intune, administrators can:

• Publish apps directly to users’ devices.
• Push updates or remove apps that are no longer needed.
• Manage apps from the Microsoft Store, Apple App Store or custom-developed business apps.

This capability significantly reduces time spent manually managing these tasks, improving efficiency and corporate productivity.

Application Security and Compliance

Cybersecurity is a critical concern in modern business operations, especially when employees access sensitive corporate data on personal devices. It’s not just front line workers using unapproved personal devices to access data, either. Security magazine says 97% of executives access work accounts with their personal devices.

Intune application control features provide the tools necessary to enforce security policies across all managed applications, ensuring that company data remains secure regardless of device ownership.

Intune ensures compliance with corporate cybersecurity policies by:

• Restricting app access based on security parameters, such as device health or location. This feature includes:
  • Enforcing encryption of data at rest and in transit.
  • Implementing app-specific protection policies such as copy-paste restrictions to prevent data leakage.
  • Applying conditional access that ensures only approved users and devices can visit and use specific applications.

With these security controls, companies can protect sensitive data even if an employee’s personal device is compromised or lost.

Containerization of Business and Personal Data

Containerization is a critical best practice for application testing and corporate cybersecurity. The idea is to contain risk within a manageable digital environment that reduces the attack surface.

One of the standout features of Intune application management is its ability to separate personal and work data on a single device. This capability respects your employees’ privacy — Intune doesn’t touch personal apps, data or settings. For employers, corporate data remains secure, ensuring employees can use their personal devices for work without the risk of corporate data leakage.

This form of containerization protects both the end-user and your company. It creates controlled environments for business applications and reduces the risks associated with accidental data sharing or loss.

Remote Data Wipe

One of the most critical concerns for businesses is protecting data on lost or stolen devices. Intune application management allows administrators to wipe data from a device remotely. They can choose between a full device wipe (for corporate-owned devices) or a selective wipe (for BYOD), where only corporate data and apps are removed, leaving select personal data intact. Tech Target describes how this works in practice, “A remote wipe can delete data in selected folders, repeatedly overwrite stored data to prevent recovery using a forensic image, return the device to factory settings or remove all programming on the device — meaning that it’s no longer of use to anyone.”

This feature is particularly useful in industries or professions like field sales, where sensitive data, such as customer records or proprietary information, is regularly accessed from mobile devices while the employee is on the road. Businesses can mitigate the risks of data breaches via a stolen or lost device by ensuring they can wipe device data remotely.

App Configuration and Customization

Intune application control allows administrators to configure app settings remotely. Remote access ensures your end-users have consistent configurations without adjusting settings on their own. It’s a hands-off approach to help prevent misconfigurations leading to security vulnerabilities. App configuration also enables businesses to roll out custom apps with specific features, settings and integrations tailored to their needs.

For example, administrators can pre-configure email accounts, VPNs or specific app permissions so users can get to work immediately without manual setup. This approach improves productivity and ensures app usage aligns with corporate policies.

Why Use Intune Application Control?

While Intune application management offers powerful features for deploying and securing apps, Intune application control provides granular control over what apps can or cannot do. It’s essential for creating a tightly secured mobile and desktop app ecosystem.

Here’s why it’s beneficial to your organization.

Protection Against Malicious Applications

With Intune application control, administrators can block unauthorized or harmful applications from being installed on managed devices. This feature is particularly valuable when employees are using personal devices that may not have the same stringent security controls as corporate-owned devices.

By controlling app installation and execution, businesses reduce the risk of malware infections or unauthorized access to sensitive data.

Enforcing Application Whitelisting and Blacklisting

Intune application control lets you create whitelists and blacklists. It’s a feature that allows administrators to explicitly define allowable applications (whitelisted) and which are prohibited (blacklisted). For instance, an organization might blacklist social media apps or entertainment apps during work hours while whitelisting productivity and collaboration apps. Given that nearly 75% of the remote workforce admits to scrolling social media when they’re working, these features should be attractive to employers.

This capability helps companies maintain productivity and ensures that only approved apps are used within the corporate environment.

Controlling App Permissions

Some apps may request access to sensitive data or permissions that aren’t necessary for their function. Intune application control allows businesses to restrict the permissions that apps can request, granting only necessary permissions to protect data security.

For example, an app might request access to a device’s microphone, contacts or GPS location. With Intune, administrators can restrict these permissions to prevent unnecessary data sharing.

Minimizing Data Leakage

One key feature of Intune application control is the ability to minimize the risk of data leakage. Administrators can prevent users from sharing sensitive information outside of authorized applications. For example, they can block copy-pasting between work and personal apps or prevent sensitive files from uploading to personal cloud storage services.

By creating these boundaries, businesses can maintain control over their corporate data without unnecessarily restricting users’ device usage.

How to Implement Intune Application Management

To implement Intune application management, follow these general steps:

1. Create an Intune Subscription
   To get started, you’ll need an Intune subscription, which can be purchased as a standalone service or as part of Microsoft 365 Enterprise. After setting up your Intune environment, you can begin managing applications and devices.
2. Set Up Application Deployment
   Next, determine which applications you will deploy to end-users. You can offer apps from app stores, custom line-of-business (LOB) apps or web links to SaaS applications.
   1. Choose the platform (iOS, Android, Windows, etc.) for app deployment.
   2. Assign apps to specific users or groups within your organization.
   3. Configure app protection policies, such as encryption, conditional access and data wipe options.
3. Configure Intune Application Control
   Once you deploy these apps, configure Intune application control to enforce your organization’s security policies. This process involves:
   1. Creating whitelists or blacklists of approved applications.
   2. Defining app protection policies to control access, permissions and data-sharing capabilities.
   3. Implementing conditional access rules to limit who can use apps and under what conditions (e.g., device compliance or geographic location).
4. Monitor and Maintain
   After deploying the apps and enforcing your policies, use Intune’s monitoring and reporting tools to ensure compliance. Administrators can track which apps end-users use, identify non-compliant devices and enforce necessary software updates or security actions.

Pro Tip: When rolling out Intune, start with a pilot group to test application deployment and policy enforcement. This approach ensures any issues can be resolved in a controlled environment before a full-scale deployment, saving time and minimizing disruption to your organization.

Conclusion: The Future of Secure App Management

In a time of increased mobility, remote work and the ever-present threat of cyberattacks, companies need robust tools to manage and protect their applications. Intune application management and Intune application control provide businesses with the solutions they need to deploy, secure and manage apps across a wide range of devices.

Microsoft Intune can ensure businesses remain compliant, productive and secure in today’s hybrid digital environments. Whether managing corporate-owned devices or enabling a BYOD strategy, Intune offers the flexibility and control needed to meet modern business demands. As businesses shift towards a mobile-first, cloud-driven approach, these tools will become even more essential for ensuring security and efficiency.

Red River specializes in helping businesses seamlessly implement and optimize Intune application management to enhance their security, productivity and compliance across devices. With our team of experienced IT professionals, Red River provides customized solutions tailored to each organization’s specific needs.

From planning and deploying Intune to configuring app policies and managing ongoing updates, Red River ensures that businesses can fully leverage the power of all their Microsoft tools — including Intune. Our expert guidance helps streamline the setup process, enforce security policies and provide continuous monitoring and support, allowing companies to manage their mobile workforce efficiently while protecting sensitive data.  Talk to our team today about our managed services to help your business optimize these powerful tools.

Q&A: Intune Application Management

How does Intune application management protect corporate data on personal devices?

Intune application management allows businesses to secure corporate data on personal devices by separating work and personal data through app-level management. Deploying this software means administrators can apply security policies, such as data encryption and conditional access, only to business apps, leaving personal data untouched. If an employee leaves the company or loses their device, IT can remotely wipe only the corporate data without affecting personal information. Additionally, Intune can restrict data sharing between work and personal apps, minimizing the risk of data leakage.

Can Intune application control block specific apps from being installed?

Yes, Intune application control enables administrators to create app whitelists (approved apps) and blacklists (prohibited apps). This feature ensures only authorized applications can install and function on managed devices. For example, a company might block social media or gaming apps during work hours while allowing productivity and collaboration tools. This level of control helps reduce distractions, protect devices from potential malware and maintain a secure and compliant environment. Additionally, administrators can control app permissions to prevent unnecessary access to sensitive data, such as GPS or contact lists.