Patch and update basics
Intune already tracks the fleet- closing the loop is still a habit.
Intune already knows which devices exist and what compliance policy applies to them. Patch and update basics is the recurring habit of actually looking at that information-confirming update rings are working, and catching the device that quietly fell behind.
Build a tenant briefWhere patch cadence slips
Four familiar gaps.
- Update rings
An update ring nobody's checked in months
Windows update deferral settings were configured once at rollout and never revisited.
- Silent failures
A device that stopped reporting patch status
It shows as enrolled and compliant, but the last real update check was weeks ago.
- App updates
Microsoft 365 apps left on an old build
Office apps auto-update in most cases, but exceptions and deferred channels can leave a handful of machines behind.
- Reboot debt
Updates downloaded but never installed
A patch needs a restart that keeps getting postponed until the device is meaningfully behind.
What this is-and is not
Basics, kept current.
Basics kept current, not a full remote monitoring and management platform.
This is not third-party application patching across every tool your team happens to install, real-time remediation, or a dedicated RMM platform with its own alerting console. What ongoing care actually does is smaller and honest: confirm Windows update rings are still applying as configured, check that Microsoft 365 apps are current, and give devices that have gone quiet since the last review a specific look.
That's enough to catch the most common failure mode-an update setting that was correct at rollout and silently stopped working months later. It isn't a substitute for a dedicated endpoint management platform when the fleet or the risk profile calls for one.
What belongs in the monthly view
Five recurring checks.
- Windows update rings still apply as configured, tenant-wide
- Devices that haven't reported a successful update check since the last review are identified by name
- Microsoft 365 apps are on a current, supported channel across the fleet
- Devices with a pending restart are flagged rather than left indefinitely
- Any device that can't be brought current through standard policy is escalated, not quietly ignored
When basics aren't enough
Full RMM, third-party patching, and real-time alerting are a separate, larger scope.
A business that needs every third-party application patched automatically, a live alerting console, or remote scripting across the fleet needs a dedicated RMM platform built for that job-not an extension quietly layered onto per-user Microsoft 365 administration. Patch basics is the recurring habit that keeps what Intune already tracks honest; it isn't a rebrand of that larger category.
Connect this to the rest of care