Solving Real Business Problems with Microsoft Intune: A Hands-On Lab for IT Pros

A brief practical walkthrough of compliance, configuration, and Autopilot deployment in a hybrid environment.

Introduction

In today’s hybrid work environment, businesses need more than just antivirus and VPNs—they need a scalable way to manage devices, enforce security policies, and streamline onboarding. That’s where Microsoft Intune comes in.

This post walks through a real-world lab scenario where Intune is used to meet core business requirements: securing endpoints, ensuring compliance, and automating device provisioning. Whether you're an IT admin or a job seeker building your portfolio, this guide shows how Intune translates business needs into technical solutions.

Scenario: The Business Requirements

Let’s imagine a mid-sized company with 150 employees, half of whom work remotely. Their IT goals include:

• Enforcing BitLocker encryption and strong password policies

• Ensuring devices are compliant before accessing Microsoft 365

• Automating new hire onboarding with Autopilot

• Monitoring device health and compliance status

Lab Walkthrough: Building the Solution in Intune

1. Compliance Policies

We start by creating a compliance policy that enforces:

• BitLocker encryption

  

• Minimum password length (8+ characters)

  

• Firewall enabled

• 

  Tip: Devices that fail any of these checks will show as “non-compliant,” which can be used to trigger Conditional Access blocks.

  2. Configuration Profiles

  Next, we deploy settings that improve user experience and security:

  • OneDrive auto sign-in for file backup

    

  • Windows Update ring to enforce patching

    

  • Windows Defender settings

3. Autopilot Deployment

Using a test VM, we register the hardware hash and assign an Autopilot profile:

• Company branding (logo + background)

• Pre-installed apps (Office, Teams)

• Automatic enrollment into Intune

As you can see the device has been added to the Intune Tenant for Autopilot enrollment and device is waiting for the chosen 365 Apps to install.

Summary: Translating Business Needs into Intune Solutions

This hands-on lab demonstrates how Microsoft Intune can solve real business challenges in a hybrid work environment. By enforcing compliance policies, deploying secure configuration profiles, and automating onboarding with Autopilot, IT teams can:

• ✅ Protect endpoints with BitLocker and password policies

• ✅ Ensure only compliant devices access Microsoft 365

• ✅ Streamline new hire setup with branded, pre-configured devices

• ✅ Monitor device health and enforce patching across the fleet

Whether you're optimizing your current environment or building a portfolio project, Intune offers scalable, cloud-native tools that align technical execution with business goals.