Microsoft just released Windows Intune 3

Of course, launching anything on an Apple keynote day is rough waters, but Microsoft’s TechEd event is trying to buck the chop, and make its own waves. Today the Redmond-based giant released the third version of Windows Intune, a cloud-based solution that helps with the management of PCs, and now, mobile phones.

According to WMPowerUser, “[Windows Intune] now includes the ability to download ‘licensed available line-of-business software applications on Windows Phone 7.0 & above, iOS and Android devices.” Microsoft’s hit on that development, touting the software’s ‘expanded management and security’ that it provides through mobile device management.”

The point of Intune, to keep all your computing ducks in a row, fits well with mobile devices; enterprise-level companies have a real need to keep their fleets of smartphones in line, as they are now business-critical, and ubuiqitious.

Other new bits of Windows Intune 3 include “people-centric management capabilities,” and upgrade rights that include Windows 8. Of course, Windows 8 has yet to land, but when it does, any Intune client will be ready to go, provided that they are using the most recent version.

Intune is part of the larger Microsoft cloud strategy, which is a full court press. The company is applying networked and hosted solutions wherever they fit into its business. A smart move, really, as the market is only starting to figure out what is possible in the market segment.