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Microsoft Intune Adoption Grows, but Configuration Manager Isn’t Going Away Yet

  • By Sean Parker
  • August 07, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Microsoft Intune adoption is growing, but 62 percent of surveyed IT professionals still manage hybrid Intune and Configuration Manager environments.
  • Manual application packaging, patching, and troubleshooting remain major endpoint management challenges, consuming significant IT staff time.
  • AI tools are gaining traction in Intune management as organizations pursue automation, Windows 11 and stronger endpoint security.

Microsoft Intune may represent the direction of enterprise endpoint management, but for many IT departments, getting there means managing two worlds at once.

Rather than making a clean break from traditional management tools, organizations are increasingly running Intune alongside Configuration Manager while they move workloads to the cloud at their own pace.

That hybrid reality is emerging clearly in Recast Software's State of Intune in 2026 report, released July 28. Based on a survey of 890 IT professionals, the research shows strong enthusiasm for Intune even as organizations contend with application management, patching, troubleshooting and other day-to-day demands that complicate the transition to cloud-based endpoint management.

The authors describe this period as the "messy middle" of endpoint management. 

The biggest challenge is not whether organizations see value in Intune. The research found that 81 percent of respondents like Intune, but many are still dealing with significant operational workloads. 

A large number of organizations are also maintaining hybrid environments. 62 percent of respondents manage devices using both Intune and Configuration Manager, showing that many enterprises have not fully moved away from traditional management approaches. 

The Hybrid Endpoint Reality
The report suggests that Configuration Manager is not disappearing anytime soon. 

Among organizations still using ConfigMgr, many do not have a clear timeline for retiring it. According to the survey, Recast found that 55 percent of ConfigMgr users either have no plans or no timeline to retire from the platform. 

Even organizations planning modernization often see hybrid management as a long-term reality rather than a temporary step. 

The report found that the largest group of respondents uses both ConfigMgr and Intune, with most workloads still managed through ConfigMgr. A smaller group has shifted most workloads to Intune, while fully Intune-based environments remain a minority. 

For IT teams, that means endpoint management is becoming more complex, not less. 

Organizations must maintain existing processes while also building new cloud-based capabilities. 

Manual Work Remains the Biggest Challenge
While Intune is gaining adoption, the findings highlight a major operational challenge: many endpoint management tasks remain manual. 

The biggest Intune challenges identified by respondents were application packaging and deployment, third-party patching, troubleshooting device issues and Windows Update management. 

Application management was identified as a particular pain point. 

The report's findings stated that 37 percent of respondents said application packaging and deployment were a top challenge.  

Nearly half of organizations still manually package Win32 applications, with 49 percent relying on manual packaging methods. 

Third-party patching also remains a challenge. While some organizations have automated patching processes, many still rely on partial automation or manual work. 

The result is significant time spent maintaining endpoint environments. 

Recast's analysis found that 65 percent of IT professionals spend six to 15 hours each week on manual packaging, patching, troubleshooting and reporting tasks. 

For smaller IT teams, that operational burden can make modernization difficult. 

AI Enters Endpoint Management
As organizations look for ways to reduce administrative workload, AI is becoming part of the endpoint management conversation. 

Recast's analysis found that AI experimentation is already widespread among Intune administrators. 

When asked which AI tools they use to assist with Intune management: 

  • ChatGPT was used by 64 percent of respondents. 
  • Claude and Gemini were each used by 35 percent. 
  • Copilot was used by 32 percent. 
  • Only 11 percent said they were not using AI for Intune management. 

The findings suggest that IT professionals are already turning to AI assistants for support, troubleshooting and operational tasks. 

However, the report does not measure how those tools are being used or whether respondents are using free or paid versions, meaning the data reflects adoption patterns rather than specific use cases. 

Windows 11 and Security Remain Priorities
According to the researcher's analysis, endpoint modernization is also being driven by broader IT priorities.  

The report found that Windows 11 rollout was the top priority for the next 12 months, with 23 percent of respondents selecting it as their biggest focus.  

Security hardening and full cloud migration were also among the leading priorities. 

These priorities reflect the wider pressure facing IT teams: modernizing systems, strengthening security and reducing administrative overhead while continuing to support users. 

The report's findings suggest that the future of endpoint management will not be defined by a simple move from Configuration Manager to Intune. 

Instead, organizations are likely to continue operating hybrid environments while looking for better automation, stronger application management and new ways to reduce manual work. 

For many IT teams, the challenge is no longer deciding whether to adopt cloud-based management.  

It is finding a practical way to operate in the transition period between legacy systems and the modern endpoint environment Microsoft is building toward. 

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