Migrating from SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager, also referred to as Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager) to Intune is a significant undertaking. There are benefits from migrating that make the scale and complexity worth the effort. However, your organisation is likely to need expert help at both project and specific task levels. That means identifying the right expertise to ensure success.
The point here is that even the largest managed service providers may not have specific expertise in all the specialist areas that are needed as part of an SCCM to Intune migration project.
The right expertise down to the microtask level will ensure the project runs efficiently while delivering an optimum user experience.
Advantages of Migrating from SCCM to Intune
- Intune simplifies the management of increasingly diverse application ecosystems.
- Improve and streamline application management processes, including delivery and updates.
- Intune has better mobile device management capabilities than SCCM.
- There is improved control and better insights for administrators.
- You can deliver a better user experience.
- Your IT will be more aligned with the direction of travel at Microsoft, as Intune is the present and the future.
What’s Involved in Migrating from SCCM to Intune
SCCM to Intune projects have many different components, milestones, and tasks. Key steps on the journey include:
- Assessment and planning – including taking an inventory of current SCCM assets such as apps, policies, and configurations. This step will also involve identifying overlaps between SCCM and Intune to determine gaps, as well as deciding on your approach, i.e., co-management or full migration.
- Design and prepare the environment – including setting up Azure Active Directory and Intune, reviewing security configurations, and ensuring all devices can reach the required endpoints.
- Application and policy migration – convert applications and policies with full testing prior to deployment.
- User communication and training – informing users and ensuring they have the skills they need.
- Pilot phase – implement Intune configurations with a pilot group of users and devices.
- Broad deployment – full deployment, often on a phased basis with continuous monitoring and feedback loops.
- Documentation – documenting the migration process as well as Intune configurations and policies.
- Ongoing management and review – ongoing reviews, updates, and feedback.
Drilldown Expertise
If we take one element of the above steps – application migration – we can see the requirement for automation tools, but there is a deep level of granular detail and expertise that is also needed.
To complete the application migration phases, data needs to be extracted from SCCM and normalised to directly map to Intune. There then needs to be an analysis of the payload and the various types that exist, i.e., EXE, MSI, VBScript, etc.
From that point, you can begin the process of converting the applications to the required Intune format. For enterprises and large organisations, this is an extremely laborious and error-prone process unless you have an automation platform like Access Capture to do it for you.
Once the apps are converted, they need to be imported into Intune and smoke-tested before they go through functional UAT (user acceptance testing) processes, which can be done seamlessly with Self-Service App Packaging and Testing with Access Capture.
It’s About More than Platforms and Products
In theory, there are products available that can complete the process described above with almost complete automation plus full control and visibility. In fact, we provide the best product on the market – Access Capture.
The reality, however, is that large and complex projects such as SCCM to Intune migrations need more than the best products and platforms to ensure success. Success is achieved by having the right people supporting the project at each critical step along the journey, including the application discovery, conversion, and testing stages.
Expertise at Access IT Automation
Access IT Automation is well-known in the application management and end-user computing communities for its industry-leading automation products. We have worked hard to make our products as effective as possible, and we provide a traditional level of service where we support the implementation of Access Capture before handing over to your team to progress through the project.
However, we also offer additional, value-adding services for SCCM to Intune migrations (and similarly complex IT projects) where our experts can contribute to the project and support both the application management elements and other parts of the process, particularly those that require high levels of Microsoft expertise.
So, if you are planning an SCCM to Intune migration in your organisation, or if you provide SCCM to Intune migration services and could benefit from our expert application management support, contact us at Access IT Automation today.
