A Smarter IT Investment Strategy: Extending Intune with SureMDM

Alex, the head of IT at a large MNC, manages thousands of Windows devices across locations. Like many enterprises, his organization relies heavily on the Microsoft ecosystem, making Microsoft Intune an obvious choice for device management—especially since it’s bundled with Microsoft 365 plans.

However, what initially seems like a cost advantage quickly turns into an operational challenge. The base Intune package (part of Microsoft 365) often lacks critical capabilities, forcing organizations to purchase multiple add-ons to meet their device management and security needs. Combined with its unintuitive interface, complex workflows, and feature limitations, this adds operational overhead and slows down overall business efficiency.

For organizations deeply invested in Microsoft tools, moving away from Intune entirely isn’t always practical. This is where co-existence comes into play. 

What is Intune Co-Existence for Windows Devices?

Co-existence allows businesses to manage Windows 10/11 devices using another MDM solution alongside Intune. This bridges the capability gaps while continuing to leverage the Microsoft ecosystem.

How Co-Existence for Windows Works? 

Typically, a Windows device enrolled in Intune cannot be directly enrolled into another MDM due to platform restrictions. However, co-existence allows SureMDM to reside on the same device along with Intune. Here’s how organizations can implement co-existence without disrupting existing workflows.

To start with, install the SureMDM agent on the required Windows devices to enable co-existence alongside Microsoft Intune. Once enrolled, admins can split workloads and selectively apply policies between Intune and SureMDM for greater control and flexibility.

Why is Co-Existence for Windows Devices Needed?

Though Intune is available as part of Microsoft 365 plans, the base package offers very limited capabilities, forcing you to pay extra for add-ons. While these additional costs may seem minimal at first, they quickly add up when scaled across hundreds or thousands of devices—significantly increasing the overall IT budget. 

To better understand, let us take Remote Support as an example. With Intune, Remote Support is not included in the base package. Organizations must either pay an additional USD 3.5 per device per month or upgrade to the Microsoft Intune Suite at an extra USD 10 per device per month—turning a basic requirement into a recurring cost. When combined with other add-ons like Privilege Management, Analytics, Enterprise Application Management, and more, the costs for hundreds of devices can escalate rapidly. 

This is exactly where SureMDM’s co-existence capabilities help organizations control costs while bridging Intune’s feature gaps. 

Why Choose SureMDM for Co-Existing Windows Devices?

SureMDM offers several advantages when used along with Intune. 

• Remote Control: SureMDM offers Remote Control in all tiers with no need for third-party integrations, unlike Intune, which requires add-ons or upgrades to the highest package.
• 24x7 Tech Support: SureMDM provides live chat support directly via the website and application, while Intune lacks real-time support.
• Software Inventory: SureMDM enables near-instant app inventory collection and updates, compared to Intune’s 24-hour delay after enrollment.
• Application Deployment: SureMDM simplifies deployment without the need to convert apps to Win32 format, reducing administrative effort.
• Real-Time Device Changes: SureMDM supports faster sync and near real-time policy enforcement, whereas Intune syncs device properties only every few hours.
• Device Properties & Compliance: SureMDM captures and uses custom device properties as frequently as 15 mins for deeper control, while Intune offers only limited device properties. 

For better understanding of Intune’s add-on features, take a look at the table comparison below on Intune vs SureMDM pricing. 

Feature	Intune Base Tier	Intune Suite	SureMDM
Remote Control	Available as an add-on for USD 3.5	Available	Supported
Endpoint Privilege Management	Available as an add-on for USD 3.5	Available	Supported
Advanced Analytics	Available as an add-on for USD 3.5	Available	Supported
Enterprise Application Management	Available as an add-on for USD 2	Available	Supported
Certificate Authority (CA)	Available as an add-on for USD 2	Available	Supported

The above table comparison provides just a glimpse of how SureMDM helps avoid Intune’s costly add-ons. SureMDM also offers additional advantages over Intune, including faster device sync, 24+ compliance policies, CVE vulnerability management, browser management, and CLI enrollment

Co-existence of Windows devices with SureMDM offers a flexible and cost-effective option. 

With co-existence in place, you can smoothly migrate workloads to SureMDM over time. And to fully leverage SureMDM’s device management capabilities, you need to dual-enroll your Windows devices into SureMDM. 

Final Thoughts

Managing Windows devices at scale can be challenging, especially when relying solely on Intune’s base package with its limited capabilities and additional add-on costs. Co-existence with SureMDM provides a flexible, cost-effective solution that bridges Intune’s feature gaps while allowing organizations to continue leveraging the Microsoft ecosystem.

With SureMDM, IT teams gain near-instant app inventory, real-time device changes, comprehensive device property management, and 24x7 support—without the hidden costs of multiple add-ons. In short, SureMDM allows IT teams to take full control of Windows device management while reducing complexity and cost, making co-existence a strategic choice for enterprises.