Intune vs VMware Workspace ONE: An Honest Comparison

Microsoft Intune and VMware Workspace ONE (formerly AirWatch, now sold by Omnissa) are two mature UEM platforms for managing and securing an organisation's devices. Both cover device enrolment, compliance, application deployment and enforcement of security policies. The choice between them rarely comes down to raw features, where they are broadly comparable, but to your existing ecosystem, your budget and your in-house skills. This article compares the two without bias, criterion by criterion, to help you decide with your eyes open.

Two UEM platforms, two histories

Workspace ONE grew up in the pure MDM world, with a historical strength in mobile management of very large, often highly heterogeneous fleets. Intune grew as a building block of the Microsoft cloud, first designed to extend identity and Windows management to mobile. This lineage explains much of the difference we still see today: Workspace ONE excels at complex mobile, Intune at integration with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Integration and ecosystem

This is the most decisive criterion. Intune is not designed to stand alone: it is part of an identity-device-compliance whole integrated into Microsoft 365. If your organisation already lives in Microsoft 365, this point often outweighs any other technical consideration.

• Intune is natively integrated with Microsoft 365, Entra ID and Conditional Access: identity, device and compliance live in the same suite.
• Workspace ONE has traditionally been strong on highly heterogeneous fleets and large complex multi-OS deployments.
• If you are already on Microsoft 365 Business Premium or E3/E5, Intune is probably included in your subscription.
• Workspace ONE is a standalone product, billed separately per device or per user, with its own admin console.

Integration is not just about billing. When device, identity and access policy share the same platform, a non-compliance signal can immediately trigger an access block through Conditional Access, with no connector or synchronisation to maintain. With two separate platforms that loop exists too, but it requires an integration to configure and monitor.

Cost and complexity

For an SMB already on Microsoft 365, Intune avoids an extra subscription and, above all, a second console to learn and maintain. Workspace ONE can nonetheless be justified for very large fleets with advanced needs: robust and granular Android management, kiosk-mode terminals, or integrations with specific legacy systems that Microsoft covers less finely.

• Intune: cost often already covered by your licenses, single console, learning curve centred on the Microsoft ecosystem.
• Workspace ONE: dedicated license, deep configuration granularity, but generally heavier day-to-day administration.
• Both cover Windows, macOS, iOS and Android with MDM, compliance and app deployment.
• Compliance (ISO 27001, NIS2, GDPR) is achievable on both platforms, but more direct with Intune on the identity governance side.
• The hidden cost shared by both remains the human time needed to configure the policies correctly.

The criteria that really decide

Beyond price, several concrete criteria tip the balance one way or the other. Reviewing them honestly stops you choosing on a product's reputation alone.

Your fleet profile

A fleet made up mostly of Windows machines and Microsoft 365 mobiles leans clearly towards Intune. A fleet dominated by industrial Android devices, hardened terminals or very specific kiosk use cases may justify the granularity of Workspace ONE.

Your in-house skills

Workspace ONE often assumes a team already trained on its console. Intune is more accessible for a Microsoft 365 team, but its console remains dense. The real question is: who will operate the platform day to day, and with what level of expertise available?

The MSSP context

For an MSSP juggling many client tenants, consistency matters more than a single feature. Standardising on Intune, already present in most Microsoft 365 clients, reduces the number of platforms to master and makes it easier to replicate a security baseline from one client to the next.

A worked example

Picture a 60-person SMB already on Microsoft 365 Business Premium, with Windows laptops, a few Macs and corporate iPhones. Intune is already included in its license. Adopting Workspace ONE would mean paying for a second platform, training the team on a new console and building an integration with Entra ID for Conditional Access, for a marginal functional gain on this fleet profile. The rational choice is to fully exploit Intune. Conversely, a manufacturer managing 2,000 hardened Android devices in kiosk mode might legitimately prefer Workspace ONE's granularity.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Choosing a platform on reputation alone, without looking at the real profile of your fleet.
• Paying for Workspace ONE when Intune is already included and covers the actual needs.
• Underestimating the human cost of configuration, which is the same whichever product you pick.
• Believing a UEM platform is configured once and for all, when compliance must be maintained over time.
• Leaving Intune under-used for lack of usability, then wrongly concluding it is less capable.

The most frequent criticism of Intune is not about its power, which is real, but about its usability. The console exposes hundreds of CSP settings with technical names, without any prioritisation or indication of what matters for security. A non-specialist administrator can spend hours hunting for the right setting, or worse, lock themselves out by applying an overly broad policy. That is exactly the friction AuPoint addresses.

How AuPoint helps

AuPoint lays a clear layer over Intune: a plain-language catalogue of protections, deployment in a few clicks, impact preview and one-click rollback. You get the full value of the Intune you already pay for, without PowerShell or a consultant.

1. 1Select the protections you want from a readable catalogue, no CSP jargon.
2. 2Preview the users and devices affected before applying anything.
3. 3Deploy and track your fleet's compliance rate live.
4. 4Roll back in one click if a setting causes a problem.

FAQ

Is Intune included in Microsoft 365?

Yes, Intune is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium as well as the E3 and E5 plans. Many organisations already pay for it without using it, which makes adding a competing platform rarely relevant for an SMB.

Is Workspace ONE more powerful than Intune?

On some very advanced mobile cases, notably hardened Android and large-scale kiosk, Workspace ONE offers greater granularity. For the vast majority of SMBs on Microsoft 365, the two are functionally comparable, and native integration tips the balance towards Intune.

Can you migrate from Workspace ONE to Intune?

Yes, migration is common, especially for organisations consolidating on Microsoft 365. It requires replanning device enrolment and replaying policies, which clear tooling on top of Intune simplifies considerably.

In short, the choice between Intune and Workspace ONE hinges on your ecosystem, your fleet and your skills, far more than on a spec sheet. For an SMB or an MSSP already on Microsoft 365, Intune is most often the rational choice, provided you genuinely exploit its power. Before adding platforms and consoles, check what a well-driven Intune, guided by AuPoint, can do for you, aligned with ISO 27001, NIS2 and GDPR.