Mobile device management shouldn’t cost a fortune. Yet so many companies are paying for feature-heavy enterprise bundles such as Microsoft Intune’s packages for employees who don’t use the features that come with them. For companies who only need a reliable, affordable way to manage their devices, there’s a smarter and leaner approach to managing costs and it starts with rethinking what you’re actually paying for.
The Hidden Costs of Microsoft Intune
Microsoft 365 is an excellent platform for business productivity: Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook — each a leader in their category. But as the bundle expands (Teams, MDM, security, compliance), the initial value can become diluted by unnecessary cost and complexity, especially if rolled out to every employee.
A Microsoft E3/E5/Premium bundle with mobile device management may appear cost-efficient at first glance, but the total cost of ownership (TCO) for a company includes much more than just the subscription price:
- License Overhead: Buying an M365 bundle for every employee — especially those who don’t need it — wastes budget, year over year.
- Implementation & Training: Microsoft Intune’s complexity significantly increases deployment time (40 hours vs. 5 hours for Miradore according to customer sources) and ongoing admin and support workload.
- Unused Features: Many companies pay for bundled capabilities (security, compliance, analytics) unused by frontline or non-desk staff.
- Vendor Lock-In and Migration Costs: Shifting strategies at a later stage can result in significant expenses and disruption across all company units.
Specialized MDM Tools Deliver Maximum ROI
While Microsoft 365’s bundled pricing approach might offer convenience at a first glance, best-of-breed solutions such as Miradore for mobile device management (MDM) deliver clear value and can work to significantly lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Here’s a comparison of Miradore vs. Microsoft Intune pricing:
- Miradore pricing: ~€2.30 per device/month
- Microsoft Intune pricing: ~€6.90 per user/month
- Miradore setup time: ~5 hours (@ $150/hr = $750 total)
- Microsoft Intune setup time: ~40 hours (@ $150/hr = $6,000 total)
Miradore saves over $5,000 (setup) and thousands of euros in annual licensing, even for smaller businesses. These savings increase with company size, and do not include the additional waste of purchasing unneeded M365 licenses for non-office roles.
Bottom line: Miradore’s lower setup cost vs. Intune ($750 vs. $6,000) translates to a rapid, affordable rollout, while its lower monthly subscription, administrative simplicity and ease-of-use keep TCO down over time. This means less strain on IT staff, quicker deployments, and clear, predictable savings — year after year.
ROI Is About Targeted Usage, Not Feature Density
Bundled enterprise options for MDM may feel safe, but rarely optimize for:
- Flexibility (license only those who benefit)
- Economic efficiency (pay only for what you use)
- Simplicity (faster deployment, lower management burden)
For example, a 250-person company could save over €10,000 per year in device management alone — and far more when unneeded M365 licenses are removed from non-knowledge workers.
A smarter approach: provide Microsoft365 only to those employees who need core productivity (Excel, PPT, Outlook), and deploy Miradore to all other devices for a more efficient and cost-effective mobile device management.
With this approach, you will minimize costs, simplify administration, and retain flexibility.
Combine Microsoft Intune With Miradore For A Smarter IT Approach
Microsoft 365’s productivity suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) remains a business standard — but not every employee needs it daily. For company-wide mobile device management including employees who do not need the full M365 suite, Miradore offers a dramatically lower TCO, reduced complexity, and faster time-to-value compared to Microsoft Intune.
By licensing M365 only to roles that need it, and using Miradore for MDM across the rest of your workforce, you’ll get exactly what each employee requires — at a fraction of the cost and complexity. Explore Miradore as a complementary solution to Microsoft InTune and see how much you could save.