Enterprise Mobility & Security

Microsoft Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS) is Microsoft's suite of device management, identity protection, and information security tools — designed to help organisations manage every device their staff use, protect every identity that accesses company data, and defend against threats across the entire Microsoft environment.

EMS brings together three core components: Microsoft Intune for device and application management, Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) for identity and access control, and Microsoft Defender for Business for endpoint threat protection. Together they form a comprehensive security layer that works across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android — and integrates natively with Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Azure.

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based device and application management platform — the component of EMS that controls how devices access your company data and applications. Intune allows Advantage to:

• Enrol and manage company-owned and personal (BYOD) devices from a single cloud console
• Enforce security policies across all device types — requiring screen locks, encryption, up-to-date operating systems, and compliant configurations
• Deploy and manage applications remotely across the device fleet
• Apply application protection policies that keep company data separate from personal data on BYOD devices
• Remotely wipe company data from a lost or stolen device without touching the user's personal content

All device management happens from a single portal in the cloud — no on-premise infrastructure required.

Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) is Microsoft's identity and access management platform — controlling who can access what across your Microsoft 365 and Azure environment. It is the foundation of a Zero Trust security approach, where every sign-in request is evaluated before access is granted rather than trusting anyone inside the network perimeter.

Key capabilities include:

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) — requiring a second verification step at sign-in, blocking the vast majority of credential-based attacks even when passwords are compromised
• Conditional Access — policies that evaluate every sign-in against rules covering who is signing in, from what device, from where, and to what resource — granting, blocking, or requiring additional verification accordingly
• Single Sign-On (SSO) — one set of credentials for all Microsoft and connected applications, reducing password fatigue and the security risk of weak or reused passwords
• Privileged Identity Management — controlling and auditing access to sensitive administrative roles

Conditional Access is a policy engine within Microsoft Entra ID that evaluates every sign-in request in real time before deciding whether to grant access. Rather than simply checking a username and password, Conditional Access considers multiple signals simultaneously:

• Is the user who they claim to be (MFA verified)?
• Is the device compliant with your security policies (managed by Intune, encrypted, up to date)?
• Is the sign-in coming from a trusted location or an unusual geography?
• Is the resource being accessed sensitive enough to require additional controls?

Based on these signals, Conditional Access can grant access, require MFA, block access entirely, or restrict what the user can do within an application. For SMEs, this means staff can work from any device and location while the system automatically enforces the right level of security for each situation — without creating friction for legitimate users going about normal work.

Microsoft Defender for Business is enterprise-grade endpoint protection designed and priced for SMEs — providing real-time threat detection, investigation, and response across all managed Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices. It protects against:

• Malware and viruses — real-time scanning and blocking of malicious software
• Ransomware — behavioural detection that identifies and stops ransomware attacks before they can encrypt files, including controlled folder access to protect critical data
• Phishing — protection against malicious links and attachments in email and browsers
• Zero-day threats — cloud-powered threat intelligence that identifies new attack patterns rapidly
• Insider threats and suspicious behaviour — anomaly detection that identifies unusual activity patterns on devices

When a threat is detected, Defender can respond automatically — isolating an affected device, terminating malicious processes, and alerting the management team — minimising the window of exposure and reducing the manual effort required to respond to incidents.

Yes — managing a mix of company-owned and personal (BYOD) devices is one of the core use cases for Microsoft Intune. The key is that Intune applies different management profiles depending on device ownership, using Mobile Application Management (MAM) for personal devices rather than full device management.

On a personal device, Intune manages only the company applications and the data within them — it does not control the device itself, cannot access personal content, and cannot track location. Company data within managed apps is encrypted and protected by application policies; personal apps and personal data are entirely separate. If the employee leaves or the device is lost, only company data is removed — personal content is untouched.

This balance between security and employee privacy is essential for BYOD policies that staff will actually comply with.

EMS directly supports several GDPR obligations that UK SMEs must meet in relation to device security and data access control:

• Article 32 (security of processing) — Intune device management and Defender endpoint protection demonstrate technical measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, and destruction
• Access control — Conditional Access and Entra ID ensure personal data is only accessible to authorised individuals on compliant devices
• Data minimisation on devices — application protection policies prevent company data (which may include personal data) from being copied to unmanaged apps or storage
• Breach response — remote wipe capability and Defender's rapid threat response support the ability to contain a data breach quickly, which is relevant to the 72-hour breach notification requirement

Advantage configures EMS with GDPR obligations in mind as standard, and can provide documentation of the technical and organisational measures implemented to support compliance reporting.

Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS) is the underlying Microsoft technology suite — Intune, Entra ID, and Defender — that provides the device management, identity, and endpoint security capabilities. Advantage Secure365™ is Advantage's managed security service built on top of EMS and the broader Microsoft Defender and Sentinel platform.

The distinction is between technology and service: EMS gives you the tools; Secure365™ means Advantage actively monitors, manages, and responds using those tools on your behalf — providing the human expertise and ongoing management that turns security software into a functioning security operation. For most SMEs without a dedicated security team, Secure365™ is the practical way to get value from EMS rather than managing it internally.

Advantage follows its Analyse, Activate, Aftercare methodology for EMS implementations:

• Analyse — reviewing current device estate, existing security policies, application usage patterns, data access requirements, and compliance obligations. This produces a clear picture of the security gaps and a policy design framework before any configuration begins.
• Activate — configuring Intune device management, Entra ID Conditional Access policies, MFA enforcement, and Defender for Business across the organisation. Users and devices are grouped appropriately, policies are applied per group, and the management portal is configured so everything can be managed from one place.
• Aftercare — ongoing monitoring of device compliance, review of security alerts, policy updates as the business evolves, and support for new device enrolments and leavers. As part of managed services, Advantage handles the day-to-day security operations so the client's team does not have to.

The starting point is a security posture assessment — a review of your current Microsoft 365 and device environment against best-practice security baselines. This typically reveals gaps in MFA enforcement, unmanaged devices with access to company data, overly permissive access policies, and missing endpoint protection that organisations are often unaware of until they are pointed out.

Advantage provides this assessment as part of the initial engagement process. Contact the team, call 020 3004 4600, or email hello@advantage.co.uk to arrange a conversation about your current security posture.