Intune to Manage Windows Phone 8, Windows RT

The next releases of Windows Intune, Microsoft’s online subscription service for managing PCs, and System Center 2012, Microsoft’s enterprise solution for computer management, will manage Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT devices. Microsoft will also change the Intune licensing model to include per-user licensing, with rights to use Intune for up to five devices per user. The Sept. 2012 announcement could reassure organizations worried about securing and supporting devices running Microsoft’s new OSs for mobile devices. However, Microsoft’s solution requires an organization to run Exchange Server, and exact management capabilities could vary considerably across devices.

Windows RT Devices Managed Like Phones

Windows RT devices could enter organizations as replacements for laptops, and both Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 could arrive as employees bring their own devices to work. Although these OSs are called “Windows,” devices running them cannot join a Windows domain or be controlled by Windows Group Policy, and they will not run System Center management agents, so managing those devices must be different than managing traditional Windows PCs.