Try Something New in the Windows Intune beta

Today I want to post a quick note pointing you to the Windows Blog Site.  As this blog post states, Windows Intune is no longer accepting participants.  For those of you who already have Windows Intune beta accounts, please play on!  The beta service is still available for your review and evaluation.

Since this beta launched in July we have received some great feedback.  This feedback has been invaluable to the windows Intune team (believe me, we ARE listening).  It’s your contributions that will make Windows Intune a successful service that addresses your needs and help to solve your IT challenges. 

Over the past few weeks, activity in the forum and feedback channel has slowed down considerably.  I’d like to see what we can do to keep the momentum going!  Here’s what I would like you to do:

• Log in to your Windows Intune account and review your managed PCs.  Make sure that they have reported recently, so you are looking at current data.
• Try something new.  A lot of folks in the beta have tried various features, but may not have fully explored all the features and functionality Windows Intune offers.  Try a new feature, such as:

• Make a Remote Assistance request. You can try this by going to a managed PC and opening the Windows Intune Center (it’s an icon on the desktop), and making a remote assistance request. From a different PC, go to the Admin console, and find the Remote Assistance request and accept it.
• Create a Policy.  Configure Updates or Malware protection settings using one of the provided policy templates.
• Set up notifications.  This will send email to specified recipients for particular alerts that are generated by your managed PCs.
• If you have a Microsoft Volume License agreement, try entering it into the Licenses Workspace and review the License Statement that gets generated.  This statement compares installations with your VL entitlements, and is there to help you more effectively manage your Microsoft software.

• Roll your client software out to a few more PCs.  If you only tried it on one or two PCs, why not add some PCs so you can get a more accurate picture of what it would be like to manage a larger group of machines?  You might also try deploying to PCs that are remotely located in a different city or country if that’s an option.
• I find that looking through the online help documentation is a great way to learn about features I haven’t tried out yet.  While you’re doing this, take a moment to look at the documentation itself.  Is it helpful?  Is it written in a way that lets you find the information you need?  What would you change?  We love hearing about your experiences!

I’m sure there are other areas that I haven’t mentioned here, please post your suggestions as comments on this blog post.  Most importantly, visit out beta discussion forum and post your question, comments, and feedback.  The best way to submit anonymous feedback is through our feedback form, here.

If you haven’t done so already, look us up on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube!  We are constantly adding new content and this is a great way to stay up-to-date on developments in the Windows Intune world.

Soon, we’ll be publishing periodic ‘scenarios’, to help you identify and try out areas of Windows Intune you may not have tried yet, so you can provide feedback.  Stay tuned to this blog site for more information.