I keep getting questions about the future of SCCM Intune admin jobs. I got similar questions during the last BITPro event. I have created another post with the latest information on Intune Vs SCCM Job Openings and Admin Interest.
We have other posts where we discussed theopportunitiesforDesktop admins, SCCM admins, and packaging engineers and theircareer paths. There is also acultural differencein some parts of the world in how people look into career growth.
With the Ignite 2022 announcement of Microsoft, Endpoint Manager is no more a product. The new product umbrella is Microsoft Intune. What is Microsoft Intune Product Family
Is SCCM Dying?
No! SCCM is not dead. How do we Define – Die? EOL = End of Life? Yes, SCCM will definitely have an End of Life, but even Microsoft doesn’t know when that is going to be! It’s all about the investment of resources and money! Microsoft is still able to make money with SCCM + Intune integration.
- SCCM EOL won’t reach until the situation changes!
Hear more from Microsoft Corporate VP, who is the head of Intune and SCCM development teams in Redmond. More Details – https://howtomanagedevices.com/sccm/1109/sccm-dead-sccm-intune-roadmap/
- What Is Microsoft Endpoint Manager MEM MEMMI MEMCM Updates (anoopcnair.com)
- What Is Microsoft Unified Endpoint Management UEM?
- Free SCCM Training 37 Hours of Latest Technical Content
- 63 Episodes of Free Intune Training for Device Management Admins
Poll Conducted on Twitter and Linkedin -16th Dec 2021
HTMD Community did run a quick survey on the Future of the SCCM Jobs topic. The results were unsurprising; most IT professionals are looking for Intune-related jobs.
Introduction
I thought of writing about SCCM job opportunities in the future. I could see loads of job opportunities for SCCM admins in India and abroad because of Windows 10 migrations.
Will SCCM keep creating new opportunities for IT Pros? In this post, we will see more details about the future of SCCM ConfigMgr Intune admin jobs.
I wanted to quote @cragdoo’s tweet, and I agree with him – “Words of wisdom from @RickVanover “No one moves to the cloud to save money. They move to the cloud because it’s the right tool“.
NOTE! – Always try to learn new skills. Check out – How to Upskill SCCM Admins in the Cloud Era.
I would recommend reading my previous post, “How to Learn SCCM ConfigMgr and Intune” (old post). This will help you to understand the strategic learning method for SCCM and Intune (all the other new technologies).
Also, I would recommend reading a post about the Intune beginner’s guide to learning mobile device management.
What is SCCM Admin’s Role?
Let’s take a look back. Is it ok to define SCCM admins as glorified desktop ( + laptop) engineers? This is arguably a true statement. SCCM is mainly used to manage Windows desktops and laptops.
When SMS, SCCM, or MDT was not there, desktop engineers used ghost images to rebuild machines. And installation of applications is done through batch files or scripts.
SMS/SCCM helped desktop engineers to automate loads of stuff for organizations in a systematic way. SCCM provided more power to desktop engineers. And this reduced the need for a huge desktop engineer team in an organization.
What happened to Desktop Engineers?
They still exist! We still have desktop engineers in each organization, but automation reduced desktop engineer job roles. Desktops engineers up skilled themselves and became SCCM. Trust me, that was not an easy transition.
It was a steep learning curve to become an SCCM admin. Most desktop engineers have upskilled themselves to get into Active Directory administration and SCCM admin roles.
SCCM/ConfigMgr and Active Directory are automation tools that took away many jobs of desktop engineers. Instead, I would put this in a politically correct way.
SCCM and AD helped organizations to go to achieve the next level of productivity with the well-documented automation process. There are loads of other factors like end-user satisfaction etc.
What did Will happen to SCCM Admins?
No doubt, The Only Constant Thing Is Change. So SCCM admins also need to go through the change per industry requirements. In the new world, startup companies are eating up big giants.
You know stories of Airbnb and Uber. The industry is going through a very destructive phase. So all the organizations are trying to cut the infra and reduce the operating cost. These things lead to the next level of automation.
I know Google uses SCCM because I have seen an SCCM admin who works for Google. But do you think Uber or Airbnb has a need for SCCM for their device management? I’m sure that most organizations will move to the next level of automation.
The transition process is already started from the top level in many organizations. I doubt there will be any chance of going back. Any steps backward are similar to killing the organization as a whole.
So all organizations should move to the cloud and modernize their infrastructure and workplace to keep them in the business. What is the time frame for this move? It depends on the complexity of the existing infrastructure.
So, my advice to SCCM admins is to upskill yourself. I have a post to help you with “Newbies Intune Bible to Learn Mobile Device Management“.
More details are available in my previous post, “Overview Windows 10 Co-Management with Intune and SCCM“.
What is the Future of SCCM Admin Jobs?
Is history Going to Repeat itself? Desktop engineers to SCCM admins? The answer is yes (arguably). The only option is to keep learning new technologies like Azure AD, Microsoft Intune, Windows Autopilot, and SCCM/ConfigMgr.
As I mentioned above, we still see many job openings for SCCM admins. But this could be because of Windows 10 migration projects and SCCM migrations. I want to put my money on new technologies and SCCM co-management and new things coming into that space.
Do not ignore the developments happening in Intune, Azure AD, and Autopilot. Keep embracing new things in the modern workplace to keep your job intact. Otherwise, any of these jobs are not permanent.
Conclusion – Best Choice as Intune Admins?
Yes, I know a separate team in each organization manages mobile devices. But are those teams managing Windows desktops and laptops? Are those teams doing Windows updates (patching) via their MDM provider?
Are those teams skilled in handling the complexities of overall Windows Device management? My answer to this question is NO (arguably).
Most of these mobile device management teams are an extension of exchange or office 365 support teams. They may not have the skills and experience to manage Windows 10 devices.
I don’t think Airwatch and MobileIron perform application deployment for Windows devices in many organizations.
I hope MSI/EXE application deployment will reduce to Windows 10 S strategy. But, organizations need to deploy UWP applications to manage Windows devices.
Even though it’s deployed directly from the “Microsoft store for business”. I have a post that talks about “Intune Teams Roles Responsibilities“.
The best-skilled team within an organization to become Intune admins is the SCCM team. The smart decision would be to merge the existing mobile device management team and the SCCM team to be part of the modern Workplace device management team.
Great Learning
SCCM is great, and it will not die as per Microsoft. But, don’t go away from Intune learning. I would strongly recommend going through Intune learning process.
What to Learn Intune? Great Resource Around you!
- LinkedIn Learning Courses for Microsoft Intune,
- Learning How to Learn SCCM Intune Azure
- Learn Intune Beginners Guide MDM MAM MIM,
- Microsoft Intune for SCCM Admins Part 1
[New Post – https://www.anoopcnair.com/learn-sccm-intune-azure/]
Resources
- Are you Worried About the Future of SCCM ConfigMgr Admins
- Newbies Intune Bible to Learn Mobile Device Management
Author
AnoopisMicrosoft MVP! He is a Solution Architect in enterprise client management with more than 20 years of experience (calculation done in 2021) in IT. He is Blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group HTMD Community leader. His main focus is on Device Management technologies like SCCM 2012, Current Branch, and Intune. He writes about ConfigMgr, Windows 11, Windows 10, Azure AD, Microsoft Intune, Windows 365, AVD, etc……………
