Intune vs Group Policy What Australian Businesses Need in 2026

In this blog post Intune vs Group Policy What Australian Businesses Need in 2026 we will explain which management approach fits modern Australian businesses, where each option still makes sense, and how to move forward without disrupting employees.

Many organisations are caught between two operating models. Group Policy still controls office-based Windows computers, while remote laptops, personal devices and cloud applications sit outside its effective reach. The result is duplicated policies, inconsistent security and an IT team that cannot confidently say which controls are actually working.

What Intune and Group Policy actually do

Group Policy is a Windows management system built around an organisation’s local Active Directory environment, which stores user accounts and computer identities on company-managed servers. IT teams use Group Policy Objects, commonly called GPOs, to apply settings such as password rules, browser restrictions and desktop configurations to Windows computers.

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based service that manages and secures company devices through the internet. It can configure Windows computers, Macs, smartphones and tablets without requiring them to connect to the office network.

The technologies often perform similar tasks, but they deliver them differently. Group Policy is based on traditional company networks and Windows domains. Intune uses mobile device management, meaning policies are sent securely from Microsoft’s cloud directly to enrolled devices wherever they are located.

The short answer for Australian businesses in 2026

For most organisations with 50 to 500 employees, Intune should be the primary platform for managing new employee devices. Group Policy should normally be retained only where there is a clear legacy requirement, such as older applications, specialised equipment or Windows Server configurations.

This does not mean deleting every GPO next week. It means treating Intune as the destination and Group Policy as a temporary or specialised part of the environment, rather than allowing both systems to grow indefinitely.

Why Group Policy is becoming harder to rely on

Remote devices do not behave like office computers

Group Policy works best when computers regularly connect to the company network and communicate with local Active Directory servers. That model becomes unreliable when employees work from home, travel interstate or rarely connect through the corporate VPN.

A device may miss an important configuration change for days or weeks. IT may believe a security rule has been applied when the laptop has not received it.

Intune communicates with enrolled devices over the internet. This gives IT better coverage without forcing employees to connect to a VPN simply to receive settings, applications or security updates.

Group Policy mainly solves a Windows problem

Most businesses now have a mixed collection of Windows laptops, iPhones, Android phones and sometimes Macs. Group Policy was not designed to provide one management experience across all these platforms.

Intune gives IT a central place to manage supported devices, check whether they meet company requirements and remove business data when a device is lost. This reduces the number of separate tools and manual processes the business has to pay for.

We explored this broader management model in how Intune helps businesses control devices without slowing people down.

Traditional device setup consumes too much time

Under the old model, IT often receives a laptop, installs software, applies updates and manually checks settings before sending it to an employee. The process can take hours and becomes a bottleneck during periods of growth.

Intune can work with Windows Autopilot, Microsoft’s automated device setup service. A new laptop can be shipped directly to an employee and configured with approved applications and security policies when they sign in.

The business outcome is faster onboarding, less freight and handling, and fewer hours spent preparing standard devices.

Where Group Policy still makes sense

Group Policy is not obsolete, and Intune is not a complete replacement in every environment. Group Policy may still be appropriate when a business has:

• Older applications that depend on a traditional Windows domain.
• Computers permanently located on a controlled office or factory network.
• Detailed Windows Server settings that are not managed through Intune.
• Specialised devices with configurations unavailable through modern cloud management.
• A large existing investment in tested GPOs that requires a staged migration.

The important question is whether each remaining GPO has a documented business purpose. Policies created ten years ago are often retained because nobody knows what will happen if they are removed.

That is not risk management. It is technical debt, meaning old technology and decisions that create ongoing cost and complexity.

Do not manage the same setting in both places

One of the most common migration mistakes is configuring the same rule in both Group Policy and Intune. IT teams assume the stricter setting will always win, but policy priority varies depending on the type of configuration.

This can create unpredictable results. One device may receive the Intune setting, another may retain the GPO, and a third may repeatedly switch between configurations.

Each setting should have one clear owner. During migration, maintain a register showing whether Group Policy or Intune controls updates, Microsoft Defender security, browser settings, encryption and user permissions.

Microsoft provides Group Policy Analytics within Intune. This tool imports reports from existing GPOs, identifies settings that have a modern equivalent and helps create new policies through the Intune Settings Catalog, which is Microsoft’s library of configurable device rules.

However, migration should not be treated as a direct copy exercise. Some old settings are no longer required, while others should be redesigned around today’s security and working arrangements.

How this supports Essential 8 compliance

The Essential 8 is the Australian government’s cybersecurity framework for reducing common cyber risks. It covers areas including patching, application control, multi-factor authentication, limiting administrator access, Microsoft Office macro controls, browser hardening and backups.

Intune can support several of these requirements by enforcing device configurations, deploying updates, restricting administrative access and checking whether devices meet company standards. It can also work with Microsoft Defender, which protects devices against malware and other attacks, and Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft’s cloud identity service, to control access.

Intune does not deliver Essential 8 compliance by itself. Policies must be properly designed, assigned, monitored and tested. Simply enrolling a laptop is not proof that it is secure.

For example, an overlooked configuration can cause devices without an assigned compliance policy to appear acceptable. We explain that specific risk in the Intune policy gap that leaves company devices exposed.

Australian organisations should also retain evidence showing which controls are deployed, which devices are compliant and how exceptions are approved. This makes audit preparation easier and gives executives a more accurate picture of risk.

A practical example for a 200-person business

Consider a professional services firm with 200 employees across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It has 35 Group Policies, but almost half its staff work remotely and only connect to the company VPN when they need an older finance application.

Rather than recreating all 35 policies, the IT team analyses them and finds that several are duplicates, some relate to software no longer used, and others can be replaced with standard Intune security settings.

The business moves laptop configuration, Microsoft Defender policies, encryption and application deployment into Intune. Group Policy remains temporarily responsible for the finance application and several server settings.

The immediate outcome is not a dramatic overnight shutdown of local infrastructure. It is simpler onboarding, more reliable security coverage and fewer help desk hours spent fixing laptops that have missed policies.

A sensible migration plan

1. Inventory current policies. Record every GPO, what it changes, who receives it and whether it still has a business owner.
2. Remove obvious duplication. Retire policies linked to unused applications, departed departments or outdated Windows versions.
3. Use Group Policy Analytics. Identify which settings have supported Intune equivalents and which require further investigation.
4. Design modern policies. Focus on the security and operational outcome rather than copying every historical setting.
5. Test with a small employee group. Include remote workers, office employees and users of important business applications.
6. Move one workload at a time. Migrate areas such as updates, security settings and application delivery in controlled stages.
7. Measure the result. Track device compliance, setup time, support tickets and policy failures.

Businesses also bringing physical laptops and Windows 365 cloud PCs under one model can read our guide to creating a single device control plane with Windows 365 and Intune.

What should your business choose

Choose Intune as the main platform if employees work from multiple locations, devices rarely connect to the office, or the business wants faster onboarding and better visibility. Keep selected Group Policies where legacy systems or server requirements make them necessary.

The goal is not to replace technology for the sake of appearing modern. It is to reduce support costs, close security gaps and give the business confidence that every device is managed consistently.

CloudProInc brings more than 20 years of enterprise IT experience to these decisions. As a Melbourne-based Microsoft Partner and Wiz Security Integrator, we take a practical approach across Intune, Microsoft 365, Defender, Azure and broader cloud security rather than forcing every organisation into the same template.

If you are not sure whether Group Policy is still protecting your business or simply adding complexity, we are happy to review the current setup and identify a sensible next step — no strings attached.