MSPs gain a competitive edge with new Microsoft 365 Copilot management tools

Managed service providers are leveraging new Microsoft Intune enhancements and automation platforms to standardise security, prepare clients for AI-powered Copilot adoption, and gain a strategic advantage in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Microsoft 365 has established itself as the cornerstone of modern work environments, trusted by millions of small and medium-sized businesses worldwide. Building on this foundation, Microsoft’s Copilot is swiftly becoming an indispensable AI companion integrated into everyday workflows. This dual development creates both urgency and opportunity for managed service providers (MSPs), who must now navigate the complexities of productivity enhancement while maintaining stringent security controls over identity, devices, and data before embracing AI-driven efficiencies.

The challenge for MSPs lies in delivering these security measures consistently across numerous tenants without being bogged down by bespoke scripting or fragmented configurations. Given Microsoft 365’s ubiquity in business IT landscapes, MSPs that succeed in standardising environments, reinforcing multi-tenant security, and preparing clients for Copilot integration will likely gain a competitive edge. Recognising this imperative, Microsoft has recently launched an initiative aimed at addressing these multi-tenant management challenges through enhancements in Microsoft Intune, its cloud-based endpoint management platform. Intune facilitates unified management of devices—spanning mobile, desktop, and virtual endpoints—enabling IT teams to deploy applications, enforce compliance, and protect access to corporate data effectively on both company-owned and personal devices.

This initiative includes collaborations with MSP-focused solution vendors that enable centralised oversight of customer tenants via unified dashboards. MSPs can leverage Intune’s capabilities for device management, cloud security, and compliance enforcement at scale, automating onboarding processes, standardising security policies, and eliminating the risks of manual errors or policy drift. Jason Roszak, Vice President of Product for Intune at Microsoft, emphasises the critical role MSPs play: “MSPs are essential to helping small and medium businesses unlock the full value of Microsoft 365, facilitate secure and productive remote work and enhance efficiency with AI tools.” Roszak notes that partners are developing innovative technologies atop Intune to help MSPs scale their operations while delivering secure, uniform services.

A comprehensive Microsoft-focused managed service typically begins with gaining visibility and establishing standardisation across tenants. This involves inventorying tenants, aligning identity roles and groups through Entra ID, setting Conditional Access policies, and applying consistent Microsoft 365 security baselines. Such groundwork enables MSPs to enforce continuous compliance through monitoring, automated remediation, and business-oriented posture reporting. Preparing for Copilot adoption naturally follows once identity and device postures are secure and collaborative spaces well governed. MSPs can then confidently deploy AI-driven scenarios, segment user cohorts, and measure ROI without risking sensitive data exposure.

This transition demands continuous management rather than a one-off project. MSPs are encouraged to develop packaged “Copilot Readiness” assessments with remediation services, evolving these into tiered, AI-enabled managed services featuring service level agreements, regular reviews, and user adoption coaching. This approach delivers predictable business outcomes and reduces risk for clients, while enabling MSPs to generate sustainable margins through automation and repeatability instead of reactive support tickets.

One pioneering partner in this space is inforcer, whose platform was specifically designed to address the challenges of multi-tenant Microsoft 365 and Intune management for MSPs. Their solution automates policy standardisation, security baseline enforcement, and real-time compliance monitoring, freeing MSP staff from error-prone scripting tasks and providing executive leadership with clear evidence of security progress. inforcer’s inclusion in the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) underlines its deep integration with Microsoft Security technologies—critical for MSPs pursuing a cloud-native, AI-first service strategy. Supporting over 800 MSPs globally with strong monthly growth, inforcer enables partners to efficiently manage and secure multiple Microsoft tenants, prepare environments for Copilot and other AI services, and centralise control to reduce operational complexity.

Looking ahead, inforcer’s upcoming October platform update will introduce a thorough Copilot readiness assessment tool for MSPs, alongside plans to expand into data orchestration and protection—vital prerequisites for safe and responsible AI deployment. These enhancements come coupled with direct collaboration with Microsoft product teams, tailored partner enablement, and opportunities to influence Microsoft’s MSP roadmap. As Jamie Daum, CEO and co-founder of inforcer, states, “This initiative is a major step forward for MSPs who need to implement Microsoft 365 at scale for their customers.”

Industry voices endorse this momentum. Rob Young, CEO at Infinity Group and a 2024 Microsoft Partner of the Year finalist, acknowledges inforcer’s growing strategic significance: “Their platform is a key part of our Microsoft security offering. We’re excited to see how this initiative will accelerate AI adoption and unlock new service models for MSPs like us.”

Microsoft’s broader ecosystem is also evolving to support AI adoption within enterprise environments. For instance, the recent introduction of the Copilot Control System empowers IT teams with data protection, management controls, and administrative automation capabilities integrated directly into Microsoft 365 admin centres. These tools help IT departments manage tenant environments more effectively while ensuring compliance and security. Additionally, Microsoft’s Copilot for Service enhances customer service operations by embedding AI-driven agents that boost productivity and provide real-time, data-informed insights, modernising contact centres.

Further technical advancements allow developers to amplify Copilot’s utility via plugins and connectors that integrate external data and line-of-business APIs, enriching the collaboration experience. Endpoint management is improving with AI-driven insights enabled by the integration of Copilot functionalities in Intune and Windows 365, which help IT administrators optimise device performance, user connectivity, licensing, and deployment—all through unified, intelligent dashboards.

Collectively, these developments underscore a consistent trend: Microsoft’s commitment to embedding AI deeply into workplace productivity while equipping MSPs with the tools needed to manage complex, multi-tenant environments securely and efficiently. For MSPs, the key lies in standardising and automating Microsoft 365 and Intune management processes, ensuring security and compliance at scale, and preparing customers to harness the transformative potential of AI-assisted productivity tools like Copilot. Those who can streamline these capabilities into repeatable, service-driven frameworks stand to thrive in a market ripe with both competition and opportunity.

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Source: Noah Wire Services