Patch behavior is set to change significantly for Microsoft Intune. Instead of pushing patches as packages, Intune has IT admins configure Windows Update behavior and then measure whether devices comply with defined standards.
In effect, Windows Update will now do the work IT admins have had to do. SCCM (Configuration Manager) enforced a model where software updates needed to be pushed as discrete payloads. Now, the deployment itself will become less important than the outcome, Microsoft says. Admins will have to define their expectations for an update above all. This means setting up update times, restart experiences and desired feature versions.
Microsoft is now making a case that Intune requires such an approach to ultimately provide more control. As the company wrote in a recent blog post: “We get requests from various customers asking us how we ‘push patches’ in Intune vs SCCM. The answer is… we don’t.” Such a “push patch” approach, Microsoft suggests, assumed an on-premises world with reliable network connections and manageable endpoints.
Policy first, outcome measured
With Intune, the focus thus shifts from delivery to behavior. Admins are essentially doing less admin and control their environments indirectly. Compliance policies then determine whether a device meets the required OS version and patch level. Devices that fall outside those tolerances are flagged as noncompliant; and with Conditional Access in place, that noncompliance can have real consequences. Mainly, this will mean restricting access to critical (or even all) workplace applications if an update is not performed.
This approach is actually an example of what Microsoft has been pushing for some time. The company ended Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) in September 2024, nudging organizations toward cloud-managed update tools. And Windows Autopatch, which automates the update process for Windows and Microsoft 365, has been integrated into Intune to further reduce the manual overhead that once came with SCCM-style deployments. In essence, admins are slowly learning to live with greater distance from the manual processes and instead defining their actual goals explicitly.
A different kind of control
The shift isn’t without friction. IT teams accustomed to knowing exactly why a device missed a patch (for example due to boundary group issues, scan failures or missing content) will find Intune’s reporting model less granular. But the argument Microsoft makes is that, in a modern fleet of remote workers and cloud-connected devices, the old push mechanics can work against actual control.
In January 2026, Microsoft also changed Intune behavior in other ways. The company began enforcing stricter app and SDK requirements within Intune, blocking managed work apps that didn’t meet updated standards. It’s another sign that compliance enforcement through Intune is shifting in some rather fundamental ways.