147: LOB Apps via Intune
Implementation Effort: Medium — simple packages are easy, but enterprise app deployment usually needs detection logic, dependencies, supersedence, and testing.
User Impact: Medium — app deployment errors can prevent users from doing their jobs, so packaging and rollback quality are important.
Overview
Intune supports several Windows application delivery models, and choosing the right one is important. The term “line-of-business app” is often used broadly, but in Intune it is also a specific app type with narrower capabilities than Win32 app management. In most modern Windows enterprise scenarios, Win32 app management is the preferred option for complex internal applications because it supports detection rules, dependencies, requirements, supersedence, and richer install logic.
Implementation Guidance
- Decide whether the app truly fits the LOB app type or should be packaged as a Win32 app. For most complex Windows software, Win32 app management is the better default.
- For any production app, define install and uninstall behavior, architecture requirements, detection rules, return codes, dependency relationships, and user or device context before deployment.
- Sign and test packages thoroughly, especially if they include scripts, prerequisites, drivers, or services that can fail differently across hardware or OS builds.
- Use pilot groups to validate upgrade, repair, uninstall, and supersedence behavior, not just initial installation success.
- Document ownership for app lifecycle tasks such as version refresh, certificate renewal, packaging updates, and retirement of obsolete builds.
- Monitor deployment status and endpoint-side logs so recurring failures can be remediated quickly.
Video Walkthrough
Reference
- Add a Windows Line-of-Business App to Microsoft Intune — Explains how to add a Windows LOB app package to Intune and configure its deployment details.
- Win32 App Management in Microsoft Intune - Microsoft Intune — Describes Intune Win32 app management capabilities, lifecycle options, and deployment prerequisites.
- Prepare a Win32 App to Be Uploaded to Microsoft Intune - Microsoft Intune — Shows how to package Win32 app content with the Microsoft Win32 Content Prep Tool before upload.
- Add and Assign Win32 Apps to Microsoft Intune - Microsoft Intune — Covers Win32 app assignment plus requirement rules, dependencies, and supersedence configuration in Intune.