Microsoft Intune Asset Management: Yes or No?

When organizations look at ways to manage their laptops, mobile devices, and applications, Microsoft Intune often comes up as a go-to solution. It’s part of the Microsoft Endpoint Manager suite and is widely adopted for device management, application control, and endpoint security.

But here’s the catch: while Intune is powerful for what it does, it is not a true IT Asset Management (ITAM) solution. It falls short in critical areas like lifecycle management, depreciation tracking, software license governance, procurement, and compliance auditing.

This article will break down the truth behind Intune asset management, analyze its limitations when applied to asset management, and show how integrating Intune with a specialized ITAM tool gives organizations a complete picture of their IT environment.

What Does Microsoft Intune Actually Do?

At its core, Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based endpoint management solution designed to empower organizations to secure and control access to corporate resources across a diverse ecosystem of devices. 

Launched originally as Windows Intune in 2010 and rebranded in 2014, it has evolved into a cornerstone of Microsoft's Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) suite, now bundled into Microsoft 365 plans like E3, E5, and Business Premium. 

That said, Intune asset management is not really all about asset management, but a specialized conductor orchestrating user access, device configurations, and app deployments in a world where employees might log in from a Windows laptop in Sydney, an iPad in a coffee shop, or a virtual desktop from home.

Core Functionality

Intune's primary role is unified endpoint management (UEM), which encompasses managing "endpoints"—any device or access point touching your network, from smartphones to servers. It achieves this through two main pillars: Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM).

Mobile Device Management (MDM)

Mobile Device Management (MDM) is device-centric and is most commonly applied to organization-owned equipment. When a laptop, tablet, or smartphone is enrolled in Intune, administrators can configure its settings, enforce security requirements, and install applications even before the user begins working with it. 

Policies such as Wi-Fi access, encryption enforcement, or multi-factor authentication can be applied at the point of enrollment, ensuring that the device is compliant and secure the moment it becomes active. With MDM, IT teams fully manage both the hardware and the environment around it, including which identities can sign in, which apps are available, and what data can be accessed. This gives organizations strong control over their corporate devices and helps standardize security across the enterprise.

Mobile Application Management (MAM)

Mobile Application Management (MAM), on the other hand, is user- and application-centric. It is designed primarily for bring-your-own-device (BYOD) scenarios, where organizations may not want or need full visibility into an employee’s personal phone or tablet. Instead of managing the entire device, Intune applies controls directly at the application level. 

This means administrators can secure and protect corporate data within specific apps such as Outlook or Teams, without affecting the user’s personal apps or files. With MAM, organizations can publish, configure, update, and monitor applications while applying app-level protections such as blocking copy-paste, requiring PIN codes, or preventing data from being stored outside managed apps. This ensures that sensitive information remains protected even on devices that the organization does not fully control.

Together, MDM and MAM form the foundation of Intune’s endpoint management approach—one securing devices at the system level and the other safeguarding data within applications. Many organizations adopt both strategies in tandem, using MDM to govern corporate-owned hardware while layering MAM policies on top of specific applications for an added layer of protection.

Who Benefits and How?

For IT admins, Intune's web console means no more VPN-dependent on-prem servers—everything's cloud-native, scaling to thousands of devices with zero infrastructure hassle. End-users get a self-service Company Portal to install apps or reset PINs, reducing IT interruptions. Businesses gain Zero Trust compliance: only verified users on healthy devices access resources, aligning with regulations like GDPR or HIPAA.

In practice, consider a mid-sized firm with 500 remote workers. Intune enrolls devices during Windows Autopilot setup, deploys Teams in seconds, and flags a lost phone for selective wipe—all without a single support call. It's not just management; it's proactive empowerment.

But here's the pivot: While Intune tracks devices (more on that later), it's not built for the broader symphony of IT asset management. That's where misconceptions arise.

Intune Asset Management: Yes or No?

While Intune delivers powerful endpoint management, it should not be mistaken for IT Asset Management. The difference is subtle but significant: Intune manages devices and configurations, whereas ITAM manages assets and their lifecycles.

Here’s where Intune asset management falls short:

• Lifecycle Gaps: Intune tracks whether a device is enrolled and compliant but not when it was purchased, what it cost, or when it should be replaced.
• No Procurement or Financial Context: ITAM requires details like vendor, warranty status, depreciation, and budget allocation. None of which Intune records.
• Limited Software Governance: Intune can deploy and inventory software but does not manage license compliance, usage rights, or renewal dates.
• No Contract or Vendor Management: ITAM tools manage warranties, SLAs, and vendor agreements. Intune has no equivalent function.
• Compliance Blind Spots: Intune enforces security but cannot produce audit-ready reports for financial or regulatory compliance (e.g., SOX, HIPAA, GDPR).

In short, Intune answers “Is this device secure and compliant?” while ITAM answers “Where is this asset in its lifecycle, what is it costing us, and when should we replace or retire it?”

How Intune and AssetLoom Work Better Together

Instead of viewing Intune as an ITAM replacement, it should be seen as a complementary tool that shines when paired with a full ITAM solution like AssetLoom.

When integrated, Intune feeds its rich endpoint data: device compliance, configurations, app inventory, into AssetLoom. AssetLoom then enriches this with financial, contractual, and lifecycle data to give organizations a single source of truth for IT assets.

The benefits are significant:

• Unified Visibility: See both compliance status (from Intune) and lifecycle data (from AssetLoom).
• Lifecycle Intelligence: Move beyond “this laptop is secure” to “this laptop is secure, still under warranty, depreciating, and due for replacement next quarter.”
• Software License Optimization: Combine Intune’s app inventory with AssetLoom’s license management to eliminate over-licensing and reduce waste.
• Financial Insights: Understand total cost of ownership (TCO), budget allocations, and depreciation schedules.
• Audit Readiness: Pair Intune’s security enforcement with AssetLoom’s compliance reporting for seamless audit preparation.
• Vendor and Contract Management: Track warranties, support agreements, and renewal deadlines—all missing from Intune.

Intune Asset Management in Practice

Consider a mid-sized company with 5,000 employees and 6,500 devices.

With Intune alone, the IT team ensures devices meet compliance standards, pushes Teams and Outlook updates, and wipes lost laptops. But the CIO has no visibility into which devices are nearing end of life, how many unused software licenses are wasting budget, or when warranties expire.

Meanwhile, with Intune integrated into AssetLoom, the ITAM team gains a complete view:

• Intune provides compliance and configuration data.
• AssetLoom overlays procurement history, depreciation, and vendor contracts.
• The CIO can now plan device replacements, cancel unused licenses, and renegotiate contracts.

Conclusion

Microsoft Intune is an excellent endpoint management tool, but it is not designed to function as a complete IT asset management system. The term Intune asset management is often misunderstood; Intune can manage devices and apps, but it cannot manage costs, contracts, licenses, or lifecycles.

By integrating Intune with IT asset management software like AssetLoom, organizations gain the best of both worlds: Intune’s real-time endpoint compliance and AssetLoom’s full ITAM intelligence. This combination reduces costs, streamlines audits, and enables smarter IT and financial planning.

In a world of growing device sprawl and SaaS complexity, relying on Intune alone is like having half the story. To truly maximize IT investments, organizations need the end-to-end visibility and lifecycle control that only ITAM solutions like AssetLoom can deliver.