Most enterprise fleets are still running some combination of on-premises SCCM and cloud-based management, often longer than anticipated. That’s not a criticism, as on-premises tooling did its job for a long time. Still, it is rarely designed for a workforce that’s no longer sitting on the corporate network every day.
SCCM isn’t being retired. Microsoft has committed to continued support focused on security and stability. This moves Configuration Manager to an annual release cadence, and specific scenarios, bare-metal deployment and certain server-management workloads among them. That means the right end state for many environments isn’t a full replacement at all; it’s a deliberate, permanent split, with each tool managing the workloads it’s best at instead of forcing everything onto one platform. All migration projects require a clean finish line.
WEI leads SCCM-to-Intune migrations and the broader shift to cloud-based endpoint management, moving management authority workload by workload rather than all at once. Compliance-critical policies and security-sensitive device groups typically move first while application delivery and lower-risk workflows move later. This enables the environment to remain stable throughout as opposed to a single cutover introducing new risk everywhere at once.
A workforce that’s no longer reliable on the corporate network breaks the assumptions most on-premises management tools were built around: line-of-sight connectivity, on-network patching windows, physical proximity for troubleshooting. Cloud-based endpoint management doesn’t require any of that, which is exactly why the shift has accelerated during the era of hybrid and remote work.
Standard support for most Windows 10 editions ended in October 2025. Organizations still operating Windows 10 now need to migrate eligible systems to Windows 11, replace incompatible devices, or use Extended Security Updates as a temporary bridge where available. That transition has already forced a refresh decision that also happens to coincide with the arrival of AI PCs, which are devices built around a new class of on-device AI processing. This makes the refresh cycle bigger than a routine hardware swap.
Desktop modernization starts with an inventory of devices, operating systems, SCCM workloads, policies, applications, enrollment methods, security baselines, scripts, and support processes. That assessment separates capabilities that can move directly from those that need remediation or temporary coexistence. It identifies business-critical groups requiring deeper testing.
Moving management platforms creates an opportunity to simplify device profiles, align security baselines, adopt zero-touch enrollment, improve application assignment, and connect compliance to Conditional Access. Recreating every legacy configuration in Intune may preserve unnecessary technical debt instead of producing a management model designed for current work patterns.
Useful measures can include cloud-management enrollment, policy and application migration, Windows 11 coverage, compliance improvement, reduced manual provisioning, and remaining SCCM dependencies. Whether SCCM is retained or retired, the roadmap should define workload ownership, infrastructure, agents, documentation, and support responsibility.
A WEI desktop modernization engagement typically covers:
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