Better together: Intune and Azure Active Directory team up to improve user access

[Intune Team]

First published on CloudBlogs on Jul 06, 2017
The Intune Managed Browser for iOS and Android devices plays a key role in ensuring that data on mobile devices stays secure. It lets you safely view and navigate web pages that might contain company information, and provides a secure web-browsing experience. Today, we’re excited to announce a series of new enhancements that make it easier for your users to access the web apps and resources they need from anywhere. These new experiences are made possible by integrating the Intune Managed Browser with Azure Active Directory Application Proxy and the MyApps portal.

Give users secure and seamless access to web apps from anywhere with the Managed Browser and Application Proxy

The Azure AD Application Proxy enables you to provide your users with secure remote access to on-premises web applications. It is simple to use and configure, without requiring changes to your network infrastructure, and allows you to secure your applications with all the security features of Azure AD. When you provide remote access through Application Proxy you create an externally accessible URL for your internal resources. However, in some cases the internal & external URLs are different, requiring users to remember two URLs. Additional challenges can also arise when multiple applications are linked to each other using internal URLs, which may cause the links to break when accessed from the internet under certain circumstances. Broken links frustrate users and can stop productivity in its tracks – unintentionally barring them from accessing important resources on the go. The new integration between the Intune Managed Browser and Azure AD Application Proxy solves this problem. Now, regardless of location, users can access the Azure AD Application Proxy apps their IT has provisioned to them simply by typing the internal URL into the Managed Browser. This simplifies the process for everyone, making sure that your users enjoy easy, secure access to the web apps they depend on to get their work done. Here’s a quick diagram of what what’s happening in the background to deliver this new experience:

Intune App Protection policies and the Managed Browser make sure that links in email work, even outside of your network

We’ve all clicked on links in email that don’t work, and often this is because the link is for an internal site that is not accessible outside the network. This is another frustrating scenario that can be easily solved with the Managed Browser and this new integration with the Azure AD Application Proxy. By configuring Intune App Protection policies for Outlook to automatically open https links with the Managed Browser, emailed links work regardless of a user’s location to access internal sites published with Application Proxy.

MyApps and Managed Browser make it easy for end users to find apps

Finally, finding and accessing applications—both on-premises applications published with Application Proxy and cloud applications integrated with Azure AD—is easier than ever with Managed Browser. The MyApps experience is now integrated into the Managed Browser to allow users to easily find and have seamless access into their apps while benefiting from everything that Managed Browser offers. Users will find quick access to MyApps on their Managed Browser homepage and in their bookmarks, giving them fewer clicks to reach any application they may need to access. Plus, the Managed Browser supports the single sign-on functionality you have come to love with apps integrated with Azure AD. These awesome experiences are all available now. For details, see our documentation . We’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a note on this blog, or reach out to us at intuneandproxy@microsoft.com with questions or comments.