100: RBAC

Implementation Effort: Medium
User Impact: Medium

Overview

Role-based access control in Microsoft Intune determines which administrators can view, create, change, or delete endpoint-management objects. In practice, RBAC is one of the most important Zero Trust controls for the endpoint administration plane because overly broad admin access can undermine every device policy you build. Intune RBAC works with built-in and custom roles, assignment scopes, scope groups, and scope tags so that help desk, regional admins, app admins, and security teams can work within clearly bounded responsibility.

Implementation Guidance

1. Map administrative job functions before assigning roles. Common patterns include help desk, device operations, app management, security operations, and read-only audit roles.
2. Start with built-in Intune roles where they fit, then create custom roles only when the built-ins are too broad or too narrow for your operating model.
3. Use scope groups and scope tags to constrain what each admin can see and manage by business unit, geography, environment, or device population.
4. Separate pilot or test administration from production administration where possible, especially for high-impact objects such as compliance policies, enrollment restrictions, and remote actions.
5. Review privileged role assignments on a schedule and remove dormant or inherited access that is no longer needed.
6. Document emergency escalation paths so support can solve urgent issues without permanently expanding standing privilege.

Reference

• Role-based access control (RBAC) with Microsoft Intune - Microsoft Intune — Introduces RBAC concepts and role assignments in Microsoft Intune.
• Use role-based access control (RBAC) and scope tags for distributed IT - Microsoft Intune — Describes how scope tags limit administrative visibility and access in Intune.