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Microsoft Endpoint Manager enables management of Android AOSP devices via Premium add-on
Microsoft this week announced the ability to manage Android Open Source Project (AOSP) devices through Microsoft Intune, which is available as a “premium” add-on for Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM) subscribers.
The AOSP management capability has been released at the “general availability” release stage. Intune can already manage Android devices, but some Android devices using AOSP implementations don’t meet Google’s certification requirements. Microsoft’s premium AOSP MEM add-on capability allows organizations to manage these devices, without having to meet Google’s stipulations.
The conundrum of AOSP management
Here’s how Microsoft described the scenario that its premium AOSP MEM add-on aims to solve:
Given the flexibility of the Android platform, not all variants of the core Android open source platform meet Google’s certification requirements for integration with Google Mobile Services (GMS). Integration with GMS is required to enable certain features, such as access to the Google Play store and push notifications based on Firebase Cloud Messaging. Many devices that are now becoming critical in business scenarios lack the capability to leverage GMS, but still need to be managed with other devices to securely access corporate resources and protect sensitive information .
There are not many Android devices currently that fit the scenario described above. Microsoft has listed only one of these product lines, namely RealWear devices.
“At this time, RealWear devices (running Android 10.0 and later) are the only devices supported for AOSP management in Microsoft Endpoint Manager,” the announcement reads.
These RealWear devices apparently fall under Microsoft’s definition of “specialty devices” used with Intune. The definition of specialized devices can be found in this Microsoft document.
Upcoming Premium MEM Wallets
As for Intune management, Microsoft is offering special premium MEM add-on plans for specialized devices, which will be sold as part of a “future premium portfolio,” the announcement says. This set of specialized device management capabilities will incur additional licensing costs for organizations.
Here’s how the announcement characterized Microsoft’s plans:
When we’re ready to launch our new advanced device management plans, an additional license will be required to manage and protect specialty devices, including RealWear, as an add-on to your subscription that includes Microsoft Intune. For more information, see Managing specialized devices with Microsoft Intune.
Currently, however, organizations using RealWear devices only need an Intune subscription to use the new AOSP management features, the announcement said. Microsoft has not indicated when it will launch this new “Advanced Endpoint Management” bundle.
The MEM Premium Change
The idea that Microsoft plans to charge MEM customers extra for premium add-ons dates back to April, when Microsoft first launched the concept. At this time, Microsoft outlined a number of plans to add additional Intune functionality under the premium MEM banner.
MEM subscriptions include Intune, which is Microsoft’s mobile management tool. New, however, is charging for premium MEM add-ons that will boost Intune’s functionality.
The general idea of Microsoft’s subscriptions, which may entail monthly or yearly subscription payments, is that organizations pay for ongoing developments of Microsoft products. The additional costs for MEM subscribers to use premium add-ons, however, represent a departure from this general concept.
The first premium MEM add-on was released in April. This was Remote Help, a “secure” helpdesk service integrated into MEM. It was then priced at “$3.50 per user per month” and had other requirements, such as E3 or E5 licensing.
About the Author
Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media’s Converge360 group.