And so it begins. Microsoft has started to promote noteworthy Windows Intune wins, describing how the cloud-based PC management and security service is helping small, midsize and large organizations. Key Windows Intune adopters, Microsoft notes, include Save the Children, geotzpartners and eLitigation Solutions (a managed services provider, by the way). The key question: Are those isolated Windows Intune wins, or is the Microsoft’s cloud service really gaining momentum?
Among the key statements Microsoft and its Windows Intune customers made today:
- Save the Children expects to save $20,000 a year in malware costs and $50,000 in Windows 7 licenses (Windows Intune costs $11 per system per month but offers those Windows 7 discounts…).
- geotzpartners says Windows Intune helps its IT staff to save 45 percent of its time by using a web-based console instead of manual processes. Also, Windows Intune has cut support calls by 25 percent, and the company has saved €12,500 (U.S.$16,800) by retiring third-party products, geotzpartners indicated.
- eLitigation Solutions says Windows Intune helped the company to standardize its PC environment, bolstered security, and reduced PC costs by 30 percent.
Those are impressive anecdotes. And I believe Windows Intune has been a reliable cloud service since launching in 2011.
Potential Issues
Still, the anecdotes above also reveal Windows Intune’s core challenges:
- Windows Intune was designed as a PC management platform. But Microsoft aggressively promotes the special pricing that Windows Intune delivers for Windows 7 customers. It’s as if Windows Intune sometimes can’t sell itself, so Microsoft has to roll out Windows 7 special pricing to get customers on the Windows Intune bandwagon.
- Another challenge: Windows Intune is purely a Windows PC management system — at a time when businesses increasingly have multiple platforms (Windows, Mac OS X, Google Android, Apple iOS, etc.).
Many MSPs grew up as Microsoft resellers. But most MSPs, even those serving small business customers, require cross-platform management software. The evidence so far: Only 1.4 percent of our fifth-annual MSPmentor 100 survey participants said they use Windows Intune.
Bottom Line
Of course, it’s early in the Windows Intune game. Microsoft’s own R&D continues. And the software giant also plans to work more closely with TruMethods, the MSP coaching organization, to help articulate the value of Microsoft’s cloud services to MSPs.
When it comes to announcing customer wins, Microsoft is super-savvy. But when it comes to describing deployment figures for Windows Intune, Office 365 and Windows Azure, Microsoft has yet to share the actual numbers…
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Posted In: Cloud Computing | Managed Services
Tags: Microsoft Cloud Services | Microsoft Windows Intune | PC Management Cloud Services | Windows 7 Management Tools
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Oh boy, I must be bored today. OK here goes… I first heard about Microsoft getting into the managed services biz a couple years ago. Usually news about a large player makes you stop and at least look at what they are doing, mostly to see if there is anything to be concerned about. Seeing this article today, only confirms my intuition which back then said, “Don’t Worry, be Happy”.
A good MSP can leave the first sales call with all the information he needs to close the deal. Reading in-between what the potential client said, plus what they did say, gives you all the data needed to get a YES. Same here, seeing what Microsoft says it is offering and what it’s not saying, speaks it all.
They’re 5 years ago. This is a prime example of how fast this industry moves. This is why small companies become large ones and large ones miss the beat because of their size, *cough, RIM Cough*. A DEAD stratgy. It might stick around if enough dollars are thrown, or if it’s used to package other things.
I think my phone rang…. gotta go.
Dvalukis: Thanks for reading and writing. I’ll share my views diplomatically: I think Windows Intune is a work in progress and Microsoft has some cross-platform holes to fill here.
-jp
MSP of about 60 companies…
It’s just a few years too late. 2008, this would have been pretty nice. Of course in 2008 95% of my customers were on Windows/office.
Now days about 1/3 my customers are on Macs, most importantly 90% of C-level employees are on Mac. And about 50% are on iOS and Android devices and are expecting support. 100% of our staff are on Mac.
Maybe Windows 8 will change this, but the momentum toward Apple seems pretty solid to me at this point.
Daniel: Thanks for your thoughts. I’d broaden your comments ever-so-slightly. It’s not just momentum toward Apple. It’s the realization that the world has gone cross-platform again (Windows, Apple, Android, Linux, etc.) and Microsoft has to adapt to that cross-platform reality.
-jp