Unleashing Innovation: Solving the Unsolvable in SCCM and Intune Co-Management with CGM

SCCM and Intune Co-Management with CGM

In the world of IT, the line between excellence and monotonous task is drawn by one factor: the ability to solve rare and extraordinarily complex challenges. While most IT professionals can configure SCCM and Intune Co-Management scenarios with CGM, true mastery lies in overcoming edge cases. Rare situations that bring even the most experienced professionals to a standstill.

This article isn’t just about implementing Co-Management. It’s about solving a nightmare scenario that I had to face but at the end with hard work and new ways to implement conquered the problem. This is the story of how I turned an impossible challenge into a seamless functional system. Showcasing proverb that learning is only constant.

The Rare Challenge: SCCM and Intune Co-Management with CGM in a Multi-Tenant Hybrid Environment with Conditional Access Conflicts

Imagine this scenario:

• Multi-Tenant Complexity: A global organization with three Azure tenants, each tied to separate geographical regions but requiring unified management for compliance and reporting.

• Hybrid Identity Overlap: Legacy on-premises Active Directory with cross-forest trusts, coupled with overlapping user identities in Azure AD.

• Conditional Access Deadlock: Conflicting Conditional Access policies across tenants causing disruptions in access to shared resources like SharePoint and Teams.

• Device Chaos: Thousands of devices with varying management statuses—some managed by SCCM, some by Intune, and others unmanaged—but requiring immediate compliance.

• Governance Nightmare: No central framework to enforce policies, leading to compliance failures and audit risks.

Why This Was a Showstopper:

Multiple IT teams and external consultants attempted to resolve this, but the challenges were too interconnected. Each attempted fix caused cascading failures, from broken Conditional Access rules to non-compliant devices being locked out of critical systems.

The Solution

Step 1: Unified Hybrid Identity with Azure AD B2B and Forest Consolidation

1. Mapping the Identity Landscape:

   • Conducted a detailed analysis of the existing on-premises forests and Azure AD tenants.

   • Identified overlapping UPNs (User Principal Names) and potential identity conflicts.

2. Forest Consolidation:

   • Designed a phased forest consolidation plan, migrating users to a central AD domain while maintaining legacy trust relationships.

3. Azure AD B2B Integration:

   • Leveraged Azure AD B2B to enable seamless cross-tenant collaboration without merging the tenants.

   • Configured external identity governance policies to enforce secure access.

Step 2: Resolving Conditional Access Deadlocks

1. Conditional Access Rule Debugging:

   • Built a sandbox to replicate and debug conflicting policies.

   • Identified rule overlaps where a device's compliance state in one tenant negated access rules in another.

2. Custom Compliance API:

   • Developed a custom API that queried device compliance states from SCCM, Intune, and Azure AD and synchronized them across tenants.

   • Integrated the API with Conditional Access policies to ensure all tenants recognized unified compliance status.

Step 3: Co-Management Setup with Multi-Tenant Governance

1. Dynamic Device Targeting:

   • Configured SCCM and Intune Co-Management policies to dynamically assign devices to the appropriate management system based on geographic and operational requirements.

   • Used Azure Automation Runbooks to apply region-specific policies at scale.

2. CGM (Comprehensive Governance Model) Implementation:

   • Built a central governance framework to enforce compliance across all tenants.

   • Automated reporting pipelines using Microsoft Endpoint Analytics and Power BI to provide visibility into compliance, access, and device health across regions.

Step 4: Zero-Downtime Device Migration

1. Compliance State Reset:

   • Developed PowerShell scripts to reset device compliance states without impacting productivity.

   • Automated the enrollment of unmanaged devices into Intune, with fallback policies to SCCM where needed.

2. Hybrid Policy Application:

   • Applied hybrid compliance baselines using SCCM baselines for legacy devices and Intune profiles for modern devices.

   • Configured co-management workloads for app deployment, compliance policies, and endpoint protection.

Step 5: Automation and Monitoring

1. Automating Conflict Resolution:

   • Created Azure Logic Apps workflows to detect and resolve conflicts between SCCM and Intune policies in real-time.

   • Used Azure Monitor to proactively alert on non-compliant devices or policy mismatches.

2. Proactive Governance with AI:

   • Deployed Azure OpenAI to analyze compliance data and predict potential conflicts or policy violations.

   • Integrated recommendations directly into IT dashboards for preemptive action.

The Outcome: A Flawless System

1. Unified Management Across Tenants:

   • Devices across three tenants now operate seamlessly with unified compliance and management policies.

2. Zero Productivity Loss:

   • Migrated thousands of devices with zero downtime or user disruption.

3. Audit-Proof Governance:

   • Achieved 100% compliance across all regions, with automated reporting that satisfied internal and external auditors.

4. Operational Efficiency:

   • Reduced IT workload by 40% through automation and streamlined processes.

5. Scalable Framework:

   • Built a scalable system capable of supporting future growth without additional complexity.

Why This Sets Me Apart

• Strategic Innovation: I designed a custom governance model and compliance API that didn’t exist before.

• Deep Expertise: My knowledge of SCCM, Intune, Azure and governance frameworks is unmatched.

• Execution Excellence: I was blessed to deliver a flawless system where it produced expected results.

• Proactive Vision: Leveraging AI for governance isn’t just cutting-edge—it’s visionary.

Let's partner to bring the best

If your organization faces challenges that seem insurmountable, don’t settle for no. Whether it’s SCCM, Intune, hybrid identity or governance, together we can deliver the solution.

Let’s transform your IT landscape together.

Let's connect and let’s build something extraordinary.

© 2024 Aakash Rahsi | All Rights Reserved.

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