Endpoint Security
Microsoft Intune + Defender for Endpoint — Product Overview and Comparison
Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint work together to secure every device connecting to an organization's network. Intune manages and configures those devices, while Defender for Endpoint protects them from threats. Each is available in two tiers, Plan 1 and Plan 2, allowing organizations to layer on deeper capability as their device management and security needs grow. Below is an overview of what each includes and the value it delivers.
Microsoft Intune Plan 1
Designed for: Organizations that need to enroll, configure, and secure company devices and applications.
What's Included
- Mobile device management (MDM) for enrolling and configuring company-owned and personal devices
- Mobile application management (MAM), allowing corporate apps and data to be managed and protected even on personal devices
- Policy-based configuration for security settings, compliance requirements, and app deployment
- Support across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices
Why It Matters for Your Business
Intune Plan 1 gives an organization centralized control over every device accessing company data, whether that device is company-issued or an employee's personal phone. Policy-based management means new devices can be automatically configured with the right security settings and applications the moment they're enrolled, rather than relying on IT to manually set up each one. Mobile application management also allows a business to protect corporate data on personal devices without controlling the entire device, an important balance for organizations supporting bring-your-own-device policies.
Microsoft Intune Plan 2
Designed for: Organizations that want more advanced device management capabilities, including remote support and elevated access controls.
What's Included
- Everything in Intune Plan 1, plus:
- Endpoint Privilege Management, allowing standard users to run specific tasks that normally require administrative rights, without granting full admin access
- Remote Help, enabling IT staff to securely connect to and assist a user's device remotely
- Advanced endpoint analytics for deeper visibility into device health and performance
- Microsoft Tunnel for mobile application management, extending secure connectivity to managed apps
- Support for managing specialty devices, including AR/VR headsets and conference room equipment
Why It Matters for Your Business
Intune Plan 2 addresses two common friction points in device management: users who need occasional administrative access, and the need for IT to resolve issues remotely without compromising security. Endpoint Privilege Management lets a business grant just enough elevated access for a specific task, rather than the common but risky practice of making users full local administrators to get their jobs done. Remote Help gives IT teams a secure way to troubleshoot problems directly on a user's device, reducing downtime and improving the support experience for a remote or hybrid workforce.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1
Designed for: Organizations that need strong, foundational protection against malware and common attack techniques.
What's Included
- Next-generation antivirus and antimalware protection, including behavior-based and cloud-delivered detection
- Attack surface reduction capabilities that limit the ways an attacker can exploit a device
- Manual response actions, allowing security teams to isolate or quarantine a compromised device or file
- Centralized management through the Microsoft Defender portal, integrated with Intune
Why It Matters for Your Business
Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 provides the essential, always-on protection every organization's devices need against malware, ransomware, and common attack techniques. Because it's built on cloud-delivered protection, new and emerging threats are identified and blocked in near real time, without waiting for a traditional signature update. Integration with Intune also means device protection and device management work from the same platform, giving IT a more unified view of every endpoint's security posture.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2
Designed for: Organizations that want to actively detect, investigate, and respond to sophisticated or ongoing threats.
What's Included
- Everything in Defender for Endpoint Plan 1, plus:
- Endpoint detection and response (EDR), providing deep visibility into threats that evade initial prevention
- Automated investigation and remediation of detected threats
- Advanced hunting, allowing security teams to proactively search across the environment for signs of compromise
- Threat and vulnerability management to identify and prioritize weaknesses before they're exploited
Why It Matters for Your Business
Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 is built for the reality that not every threat can be stopped at the point of prevention — some attackers will get through, and the speed of detection and response after that point often determines the severity of the outcome. Automated investigation and remediation significantly reduces the time between a threat being detected and being contained, which can be the difference between an isolated incident and a widespread breach. Advanced hunting also gives security teams the ability to proactively look for early warning signs of an attack already underway, rather than waiting for an alert to be triggered.
Summary
- Intune Plan 1 — enroll, configure, and secure company and personal devices.
- Intune Plan 2 — adds remote support, elevated access controls, and specialty device management.
- Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 — foundational antivirus and attack surface protection.
- Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 — adds detection, automated response, and proactive threat hunting.
Intune and Defender for Endpoint are designed to work together as a unified endpoint security platform: Intune manages and configures every device, while Defender for Endpoint protects them, with both sharing the same underlying management console for a consistent, centralized view of the entire device fleet.
Have Questions? We're Here to Help.
Our team can help you identify the plan that best matches your organization's needs and guide you through setup.