What's the difference between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?

Cyber Essentials is a verified self-assessment against five security controls. Cyber Essentials Plus tests the same controls with a hands-on technical audit by a licensed assessor. You must hold Cyber Essentials before doing Plus.

Do you do the work, or just assess us?

We do the work. Foresight runs the gap analysis, carries out hands-on remediation, prepares the evidence and liaises with the assessor, so you pass first time rather than paying to re-sit a failed audit.

How much does Cyber Essentials cost?

The IASME assessment fee is tiered by size from around £320 + VAT and includes £25,000 cyber liability insurance for eligible UK businesses. Cyber Essentials Plus is scoped to your estate, typically from around £1,380 + VAT.

Microsoft Explained

What is Microsoft Intune — and why does it matter?

If your team works anywhere, on all sorts of devices, Intune is how you keep them managed and secure. Here’s the plain-English version.

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Why Foresight

Cyber Essentials Plus certified
Supporting 130+ organisations since 2006
We reply within one working hour
Plain-English, no jargon

Quick answer

Microsoft Intune is a cloud service for managing and securing the devices your team uses — laptops, PCs and phones. It lets you push settings, apps and security policies to every device from one place, make sure they’re encrypted and up to date, separate work data from personal data, and wipe a lost or stolen device remotely. It’s included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium and is a key part of keeping a modern, hybrid workforce secure.

What it does

One place to manage every device

Intune lets you	Why it matters
Push settings & security policies	Every device meets your security standard automatically
Deploy and update apps	The right software, kept current, without touching each device
Enforce encryption & compliance	Lost devices don’t mean lost data
Separate work from personal	Protect company data on personal phones (BYOD) without taking over the device
Remotely wipe a device	A lost or stolen laptop can be wiped before data is exposed

Why it matters now

Work happens everywhere

With hybrid and remote working, your data lives on devices all over the place. Intune is how you keep them secure, compliant and up to date without needing to physically touch each one — essential for passing Cyber Essentials and keeping a mobile workforce safe. It’s included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

How Foresight helps

Set up properly, managed for you

We configure Intune as part of our Microsoft 365 security baselines, so your devices are consistently secure from day one and stay that way.

FAQs

Common questions

What is Microsoft Intune?

Intune is a Microsoft cloud service for managing and securing laptops, PCs and phones from one place — pushing settings, apps and security policies, enforcing encryption, and allowing remote wipe of lost devices.

Is Intune included in Microsoft 365?

Yes — Intune is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium and in several enterprise plans. It’s one of the big reasons Business Premium is such good value for SMEs.

What’s the difference between Intune and MDM?

MDM (Mobile Device Management) is the general concept; Intune is Microsoft’s service that delivers it, covering computers as well as phones and integrating with the rest of Microsoft 365.

Can Intune manage personal (BYOD) phones?

Yes — it can protect company data on personal devices while keeping the user’s personal data separate and private, which is ideal for BYOD.

Do I need Intune for Cyber Essentials?

It’s not named specifically, but Intune makes meeting several Cyber Essentials controls — secure configuration, patching, access control — far easier to achieve and prove across all your devices.

Are your devices actually under control?

We’ll set up Intune so every laptop and phone is secure, compliant and up to date. Talk to us.

Secure your devices Call 0161 738 1399