Microsoft Intune Complete Roadmap: Beginner to Advanced (All 12 Chapters)

There is no shortage of Microsoft Intune documentation — but most engineers learn Intune in the wrong order, jumping straight into Compliance Policies before understanding how Device Enrollment works, or configuring Win32 apps before knowing what the Intune Management Extension actually does. A structured roadmap fixes that. This guide maps the full Intune learning path across 12 logical chapters, from the basics of what Intune is, all the way to troubleshooting and enterprise-grade security.

The Roadmap at a Glance

These 12 chapters cover the complete Microsoft Intune stack. Each chapter builds on the last — work through them in order and nothing will feel disconnected.

Chapter 1 — Introduction to Microsoft Intune

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM) service from Microsoft. It lets you manage devices and apps from a single admin console — Intune Admin Center — without needing on-premises infrastructure.

The Intune architecture is simple: devices enrol into the Intune service (via the MDM channel or the Intune Management Extension for Windows), receive policies and apps, and report compliance back. The IME handles Win32 app deployment, PowerShell scripts, and proactive remediations on Windows. Everything else — compliance, configuration profiles, app protection — flows through the MDM stack.

Chapter 2 — Microsoft Entra ID (Basics for Intune)

Intune does not manage identities — Microsoft Entra ID does. Every device enrolled in Intune is either Entra-joined or Entra-registered. Every user assigned a policy or app must have an Intune licence assigned in Entra ID. You cannot understand Intune without understanding the basics of Entra ID first.

Chapter 3 — Getting Started with Intune

First-time setup in a fresh tenant covers four things: configure your MDM authority (set it to Intune, not SCCM), set up your custom domain, assign licences to users, and add your first admin roles. The Intune Admin Center is at intune.microsoft.com.

Chapter 4 — Device Enrollment

Device enrollment is how a device gets under Intune management. The method you use depends on the platform and ownership model.

The Enrollment Status Page (ESP) controls what a user sees during OOBE on a Windows device. It blocks the desktop until configured apps and policies have applied. Configure it in: Devices → Enroll devices → Windows enrollment → Enrollment Status Page.

Chapter 5 — Windows Autopilot

Autopilot is the zero-touch deployment method for Windows. A device ships directly from the OEM to the end user — the user powers it on, signs in, and Autopilot configures it automatically with the correct apps, policies, and settings. IT never touches the physical device.

The hardware hash (a unique device fingerprint) is how Intune identifies the device before it has an Azure AD identity. The hash is either uploaded via CSV, imported from the OEM, or collected with a PowerShell script on existing devices.

# Run on the device (admin rights required)
Install-Script -Name "Get-WindowsAutoPilotInfo"
Get-WindowsAutoPilotInfo -OutputFile "C:\Temp\AutopilotHWID.csv" -Append # then upload the CSV to Intune

Chapter 6 — Device Configuration

Configuration profiles are the primary way Intune pushes settings to devices. There are three main types: Settings Catalog (the modern approach — searchable, growing policy set), Templates (legacy ADMX-based Administrative Templates, Endpoint Protection, etc.), and Custom profiles (OMA-URI for settings not yet in the catalog).

Chapter 7 — Compliance Management

A compliance policy defines what a healthy device looks like: is BitLocker on? Is the OS version above a minimum? Is the firewall active? Intune evaluates compliance on check-in and marks devices Compliant or Non-compliant. Conditional Access can then block non-compliant devices from accessing company resources.

The compliance evaluation flow: Policy assigned → Device checks in → Intune evaluates rules → Sets compliance state → Conditional Access enforces access control.

Chapter 8 — Application Management

Intune supports four main app types on Windows: Win32 (EXE/MSI packaged with IntuneWinAppUtil), Microsoft Store apps (WinGet-sourced), Line-of-Business (LOB) apps (uploaded MSI/MSIX), and Microsoft 365 Apps (Click-to-Run, managed natively). Win32 is the most capable and the most common for enterprise deployments.

Chapter 9 — Security Management

Security policies in Intune cover: BitLocker (drive encryption — configure via Endpoint Security → Disk Encryption), LAPS (local admin password solution — requires Windows 11 22H2+ and Entra join), Endpoint Protection (Defender settings, firewall rules, attack surface reduction), and Conditional Access (works in tandem with Entra ID).

Chapter 10 — Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Defender for Endpoint (MDE) is the enterprise EDR platform. Intune is the primary onboarding method for Windows devices. Once onboarded, MDE provides: real-time threat detection, vulnerability management (Defender Vulnerability Management), automated investigation and response, and security posture scoring (Secure Score).

Chapter 11 — Important Terms

Chapter 12 — Intune Troubleshooting

The three places to look when something is wrong with Intune:

1. IME logs — C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\IntuneManagementExtension\Logs\ — for Win32 apps, PowerShell scripts, remediations
2. Intune Admin Center → Devices → [Device] → Device configuration — policy assignment status, conflict detail
3. Event Viewer → Applications and Services Logs → Microsoft → Windows → DeviceManagement-Enterprise-Diagnostics-Provider — MDM channel events

# Check IME service state
Get-Service IntuneManagementExtension | Select Name, Status

# Last 5 IME log files
Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\IntuneManagementExtension\Logs" | Sort LastWriteTime -Desc | Select -First 5

# MDM enrollment state
Get-ChildItem "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Enrollments" | Get-ItemProperty | Where {$_.DeviceEnrollmentType -ne 0}

Exam Relevance: MD-102

Official References

• What is Microsoft Intune? — Microsoft Learn
• Microsoft Intune planning guide
• Windows enrollment methods — Microsoft Learn
• Win32 app management in Microsoft Intune
• Device compliance policies in Microsoft Intune
• Microsoft Defender for Endpoint with Intune