Managed Windows Devices for Small Businesses: A UK Guide

Last checked: 28 August 2026.

Short answer: Managing company Windows laptops means joining every machine to Microsoft Entra ID, enrolling it in Microsoft Intune, and using Windows Autopilot so a new laptop sets itself up when a member of staff first signs in. For most UK businesses with 5 to 50 staff, the tools you need are already inside Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

What managed Windows devices means

An unmanaged Windows laptop is set up by hand, signed into with a local or personal account, and invisible once it leaves the office. A managed laptop is joined to your Microsoft tenant and controlled from a web console. From there you can:

• Apply one standard build to every machine: apps, settings, security
• Turn on BitLocker disk encryption and store the recovery key centrally
• Push and update apps without visiting the device
• Control Windows Update so patches install on a schedule, even for staff who never come to the office
• Check every device against a compliance policy before it is allowed near company data
• Wipe a lost laptop, or reset and rebuild one for a new starter, remotely

The three parts that make this work are Entra ID for sign-in, Intune for management, and Windows Autopilot for zero-touch setup. Autopilot means a laptop ships from the supplier straight to the member of staff. They sign in with their work account and the standard build applies itself, with no engineer in the loop.

The licensing decision, in plain English

This is where small businesses lose the most time. Here is the short version for a UK firm.

Plan	Includes device management?	Price (per user / month)
Microsoft 365 Business Basic	No	from about £6.00
Microsoft 365 Business Standard	No	from about £11.70
Microsoft 365 Business Premium	Yes: full Intune, Entra ID P1, Defender for Business	about £18.10
Intune Plan 1 (standalone)	Yes: management only	about £6.60

For nearly every business under a few hundred staff, Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the right answer. It bundles device management, an upgraded identity plan and endpoint security into one licence, so you are not stitching add-ons together. Microsoft 365 E3, at about £33.50, only makes sense for larger organisations. If you are on Business Standard and only a few people need managed laptops, adding standalone Intune Plan 1 to those users is the cheaper path.

Prices change. Microsoft last raised UK business prices on 1 July 2026, so confirm the current figure before you buy. Our Microsoft 365 versus Google Workspace guide has more on the plan names.

Enrolment models, explained

You will see four terms. This is what they mean for a small business:

• Entra ID join plus Autopilot. Company-owned laptops. The machine belongs to your tenant, fully managed, and sets itself up on first sign-in. This is the standard choice for staff laptops.
• Autopilot reset or rebuild. Wiping a managed laptop back to your standard build. Used for a new starter inheriting an old machine, or to recover one that has gone wrong.
• Device enrolment. Adding an existing laptop to management without wiping it. Useful for bringing your current fleet under control.
• App-protection-only (MAM). For personal laptops and phones. It controls company data inside Outlook, Teams and other work apps without managing the whole device, so personal files are never touched.

The security package worth having

Generic advice says "Intune improves security". Here is what that means in practice for a managed Windows fleet:

• Compliance policies. Rules a device must meet, such as encryption on, firewall on, minimum Windows version. Fail the check and the device loses access to company data until it is fixed.
• Update rings. Groups that get Windows updates in stages. A small pilot group first, then everyone a few days later, so a bad update never hits the whole business at once.
• BitLocker key escrow. Encryption is enforced and every recovery key is stored in your tenant, so a locked-out laptop is a five-minute fix, not a lost machine.
• Defender for Business onboarding. Endpoint protection is deployed and reporting to one console, included with Business Premium.
• Security baselines. Microsoft's recommended set of hardening settings, applied in one step and kept current.

How a 5 to 50 staff rollout runs

A sensible rollout for a small business takes two to four weeks and looks like this:

1. Discovery. List the current laptops, agree the standard build, decide the app list and the policies.
2. Build. Configure Entra ID, Intune, Autopilot, compliance policies, update rings and the security baseline in the tenant.
3. Pilot. Enrol three or four laptops across different roles. Use them for real work for a week. Fix what breaks.
4. Rollout. Bring the rest of the fleet in, a group at a time. New laptops are ordered with Autopilot from then on.
5. Run. Handle starters, leavers, lost devices and update issues from the console. No more per-setup call-outs.

Managed Windows devices and UK compliance

UK GDPR. Enforced BitLocker encryption and remote wipe mean a lost laptop is a controlled event, not a reportable breach. Central reporting lets you show every company device is encrypted and patched, which is what the ICO expects.

Cyber Essentials. Secure configuration, patching within 14 days, least-privilege accounts and malware protection are all things Intune enforces and evidences. That makes certification, and annual recertification, far less painful. See our Cyber Essentials checklist.

What about non-Microsoft MDM tools?

Tools like NinjaOne, Scalefusion and Hexnode also manage Windows devices, and some IT providers prefer them. For a business already paying for Microsoft 365, though, Intune is included, integrates with the identity and email you already run, and needs no extra agent. Unless you have a specific reason not to, use what you are paying for.

What it costs

If you move to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, the management tools add nothing on top of that licence. The cost is the setup and the running: the discovery, the tenant build, the pilot, enrolling the fleet, and then the monthly job of starters, leavers and problems.

Verge Tech runs managed Windows and Apple devices for businesses across London, Berkshire and Surrey as part of a managed IT service at a fixed monthly cost, including Microsoft 365 and security. We build it once and keep it running so you stop paying for a setup visit every time someone joins.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Microsoft Intune and Windows Autopilot?

Intune is the management service. It holds your policies, apps, updates and security settings and applies them to enrolled devices. Autopilot is the deployment method. It links a new laptop to your tenant so that when a member of staff first signs in, Intune's standard build applies itself with no manual setup. You use both together.

Does a small business need Entra ID join for Windows devices?

For company-owned staff laptops, yes. Entra ID join makes the device part of your tenant, which is what lets Intune manage it, enforce compliance and wipe it if it is lost. Personal devices can use app-protection-only management instead, which does not join the device.

Is Microsoft 365 Business Premium enough for device management?

Yes. Business Premium includes the full version of Intune, Entra ID Plan 1 and Defender for Business. For a business with up to a few hundred staff it covers device management, identity and endpoint security in one licence, with nothing extra to buy.

How does Intune handle Windows patching?

Intune controls Windows Update through update rings. You put devices into groups that receive updates in stages, starting with a small pilot group and then the rest of the business a few days later. Patches install on a schedule you set, including for staff who are always remote, and you can see which devices are behind.

Can Intune manage BYOD and company laptops at the same time?

Yes. Company laptops get full device management through Entra ID join and Autopilot. Personal laptops and phones get app-protection-only management, which secures company data inside work apps such as Outlook and Teams without touching personal files, photos or settings.