Cloud-based PC and Mobile Device Management with Windows Intune gets an update

Windows Intune manages PC's and Mobile devices from the cloud and an update is coming soon. The Windows Intune web based admininstration console in the cloud can manage the PC's and mobile devices and includes all of these:

• Windows,
• Windows RT,
• Windows Phone 8,
• Apple iOS,
• Mac OS, and
• Android devices.

In an earlier avatar Windows Intune also needed System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, but according to the following:

http://redmondmag.com/articles/2014/01/29/microsoft-to-roll-out-windows-intune-update-next-week.aspx

Windows intune now is stand alone. Review this quote is from the above site,
"In addition to our unified deployment mode and integration with System Center Configuration Manager, Windows Intune can now stand alone as a cloud-only MDM solution," Anderson wrote in a blog post. "This is a big win for organizations that want a cloud-only management solutions [sic] to manage both their mobile devices and PC's."
"
The main benefits are (taken from this source: http://www.microsoft.com/sam/en/us/intune.aspx),

• Track hardware and software inventory to efficiently manage your assets, licenses, and compliance.
• Manage updates. Centrally manage the deployment of the Microsoft updates and service packs that you select to all your devices from the Windows Intune console—freeing up your IT staff from routine management tasks.
• Protect devices from malware.  Help safeguard your devices from the latest threats with centralized protection built on the award-winning Microsoft Malware Protection Engine and using the same trusted technologies as Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection and Microsoft Security Essentials.
• Proactively monitor devices. Receive alerts on updates and threats so that you can proactively identify and resolve problems with your devices—before they impact users and your business.
• Provide remote assistance. Resolve device issues, regardless of where you or your users are located, with remote assistance.
• Set security policies. Centrally manage update, firewall, and malware protection settings across all of your devices, even on remote machines outside the corporate

Click  on the video to get a feeling for what all Windows Intune can do,