The Question Every Microsoft Shop Asks
If your organization runs Microsoft 365 and manages Windows devices in Intune, someone will ask the obvious question before any DEX platform gets funded: we already own Endpoint analytics, so why buy another tool? It is a fair question, and the honest answer is "it depends on what problem you are trying to solve." This page lays out what Microsoft includes, where a dedicated DEX platform adds value, and how to build a business case that holds up in front of finance.
What Microsoft Already Gives You
Intune Endpoint analytics is the baseline. It reports on device startup performance, application reliability, and readiness for cloud management, and it scores devices so you can compare models and configurations. For many Windows estates, it is the first place IT sees how long boots and sign-ins actually take.
Intune Advanced Analytics is an add-on layer on top of Endpoint analytics, licensed through the Intune Suite or as a standalone add-on. Microsoft documents capabilities including:
- Anomaly detection that flags device health regressions after configuration changes
- Custom device scopes, so reports can be filtered to the groups you manage
- Battery health reporting
- CPU and memory performance by device, model, and manufacturer, to guide purchasing
Intune Remediations can run detection and remediation scripts on a schedule, which gives IT a basic proactive-fix capability on Windows. Licensing requirements apply, so confirm entitlements before planning around it.
Where Microsoft-native analytics is strong: Windows devices managed in Intune, boot and sign-in performance, application crash trends, hardware comparison for refresh decisions, and very low incremental cost for organizations already licensed. If those are your top problems, start there.
Where a Dedicated DEX Platform Adds Value
Dedicated DEX platforms are built around the employee experience rather than device management. The difference shows up in a handful of specific areas:
| Need | Intune Endpoint & Advanced Analytics | Dedicated DEX platform (typical) |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time telemetry | Primarily periodic reporting, with anomaly detection in Advanced Analytics | Continuous endpoint telemetry with near real-time alerting |
| Coverage | Strongest on Windows devices managed in Intune | Windows, macOS, and often Linux, VDI sessions, and mobile devices in one view |
| Employee sentiment | Not a core capability | Built-in surveys and in-context feedback, correlated with telemetry |
| Application experience | Application reliability (crashes and hangs) | Web and SaaS page-load and transaction performance, plus reliability |
| Remediation at scale | Scheduled scripts through Remediations | Large remediation libraries, workflows, ITSM-triggered actions, and governance controls |
| Service desk context | Limited | Live device context and one-click fixes inside the ITSM ticket |
| AI tool visibility | Not a core capability | Some platforms observe AI tool usage and shadow AI at the endpoint and browser |
| Analysis and history | Standard reports and scopes | Query languages, custom dashboards, and longer historical baselines |
| Incremental cost | Low for existing Microsoft customers | Separate per-device subscription |
Capabilities vary by vendor and license tier. See the DEX Tools Landscape for platform-by-platform ratings, and verify current features with each vendor.
It Is Usually Both, Not Either
In most mature environments the two coexist. Intune manages devices: configuration, compliance, application deployment, and policy. The DEX platform measures and improves what employees experience on those devices, and often triggers remediations or feeds context back into the ITSM tool. The real question is not which one wins. It is whether the gap between them is costing you enough to justify the second tool.
Building the Business Case
- Start with the baseline you already own. Pull Endpoint analytics scores and Advanced Analytics findings for the estate. This is your "before" picture, and it costs nothing to produce.
- Name your top three constraints. Use constraint-first prioritization: which problems cost the most productive time for the most people? Login delays, Teams call quality, VPN reliability, a specific SaaS application, Copilot performance?
- Test each constraint against the native tools. Can Intune see it, explain it, and fix it at scale? If yes, you may not need more. If the answer is "partially" for your biggest constraints, that gap is your business case.
- Quantify the gap in time. Nexthink's 2025 telemetry analysis of more than 20 million endpoints found the average employee hits 14 negative digital experiences a week, and that every 10-point gain in DEX score returns about 22 productive minutes per employee per week. Use your own measured numbers wherever you can; published averages are a starting point, not a forecast.
- Run a proof of value on real devices. A 30 to 60 day evaluation on a representative device group, with success criteria agreed in advance, settles the question with your own data. Our DEX Platform Selection Guide covers how to design one.
Signals That Intune Alone Is Enough, For Now
- Your estate is almost entirely Windows, managed in Intune, with little VDI or Mac.
- Your biggest problems are boot time, sign-in time, and application crashes.
- You do not yet have the people or process to act on more data. A DEX platform without a DEXOps operating model produces dashboards, not outcomes.
Signals That You Need More
- Employees report problems the device data does not explain, especially with SaaS applications, networks, or collaboration tools.
- You run significant VDI, Cloud PC, macOS, or mobile populations.
- You need to know how employees feel, not only how devices perform.
- Leadership is asking whether Copilot and other AI tools are delivering value, and you cannot see AI tool usage or experience at the endpoint.
- The service desk spends most of its time gathering context that a DEX platform would put directly in the ticket.