Microsoft Continues Wiping Windows from the History Books with a Windows Intune Rename

Here's more evidence that Windows, the platform, is just not as important to Microsoft as it once was.

Today, Microsoft is announcing that it will rename Windows Intune to Microsoft Intune in the product's next major update coming later this year.

In reality, it's not that Windows is not important, it's just that Microsoft realizes that it needs to expand its platform focus to survive. Windows is less important, not unimportant. The company recognizes that opportunities for its products and services exist on all platforms.

Over the past couple years, Microsoft has invested a lot of effort into not just improving Windows Intune, but also empowering companies to manage more than just Windows and Windows devices. I remember a few years back during a keynote at a now defunct Microsoft Management Summit, Brad Anderson was excited to announce that Windows Intune could manage iOS devices. The majority of the keynote crowd uttered a silent "meh" at the time, but time has increasingly shown how significant that announcement was, and how it's becoming more important to those who scoffed. Android may lead the entire mobile device market right now, but if you dig into the numbers you'll find that iOS is ruling the Enterprise.

In Brad Anderson's keynote demos of Windows Intune just last month at IT/Dev Connections, many caught this change already. But, today it's official. Windows Intune is now Microsoft Intune.

Of course, if you take a look at my Tweet from IT/Dev Connections on September 15, 2014, you'll see that I made the announcement then. :)

P.S. Brad also demoed Microsoft Intune using an URL called "SystemCenterOnline." Read into that what you want.