Windows Intune: The Next Wave Releasing the First Week of February 2014

Last week, in Upcoming Windows Intune Release Installs Endpoint Protection By Default, I noted that next version of Windows Intune would release sometime in the first quarter of 2014. That sometime now happens to be next week, the first full week of February 2014.

In a post on the Microsoft Server & Management blogs, Brad Anderson lays out the company's continued efforts to provide robust and secure solutions for BYO and Consumerization. Brad also says he'll be expanding on these topics and talking about them more in the coming months. Obviously, we'll hear a LOT about these at TechEd 2014 where they are, this year, merging the Microsoft Management Summit with Microsoft's larger event.

Here's what Brad says is coming in the Windows Intune update next week:

To get a refresher on Microsoft's commitment to the MDM industry, read through Brad's post:

P.S. From recent discussions with various insiders, it's my understanding that Microsoft is so invested in solving the MDM problem that other products managed by the same product groups are suffering a bit because of it. Product updates and feature requests are being sidelined due to redirected resources and excessive work on beefing up pieces like Windows Intune. Understandably, Microsoft has stated clearly that "Cloud First" is the settled development guideline, but how long before the company gets into a similar situation as they've experienced with negative customer feedback for Windows 8? The Commercial-side of the business (Server and Tools) is still the one area of the company that continues to grow at a fantastic rate, and is the primary reason for a stellar Q4 earnings report. Even in Brad's post he states that System Center Configuration Manager is the undisputed market leader, but that product kind of cuts against the "Cloud First" grain since it's purely an on-premise product. Windows Intune is not the market leader – far from it. Let's hope Microsoft doesn't lose ground and lose customers because they are so focused and start ignoring what customers really want. If you don't know what I mean, read through the recent: 2014 is the Year of the Customer-Driven Cloud.