Ask any IT admin who manages a mid-to-large Microsoft environment what they find most frustrating about Intune, and reporting comes up fast. The data is there. The problem is getting it into a format that actually helps you make decisions, answer leadership questions, or prove compliance during an audit.
Microsoft has improved Intune’s native reporting significantly over the past few years. But there are still real gaps. Reports are often siloed, hard to customize, and not built for the kind of cross-data storytelling that modern IT teams need.
This guide covers everything you need to know about Intune reporting in 2026. What the built-in tools do well, where they fall short, how to export and extend your data, and what options exist when native reporting is not enough.
What Built-In Microsoft Intune Reports Actually Cover
Microsoft has been expanding the reporting capabilities inside the Intune admin center for a few years now. The current reporting framework, which Microsoft refers to as the “Reports” workload, organizes data into dedicated report categories rather than scattering metrics across the portal.
Here is what you get out of the box:
- Device compliance reports showing which devices meet your compliance policies and which do not
- Configuration profile reports tracking assignment status and settings deployment
- App protection and app configuration reports for MAM-managed devices
- Endpoint analytics covering startup performance, app reliability, and work from anywhere scores
- Windows Update for Business reports showing update deployment status and errors
- Antivirus and security reports pulled from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint integration
- Enrollment reports tracking device onboarding by platform and enrollment type
Each of these report categories has improved in depth and reliability. For basic operational visibility, they cover a lot of ground.
The Most Common Gaps in Native Intune Reporting
Despite the improvements, IT admins consistently run into the same walls when relying solely on built-in Microsoft Intune reports.
You cannot easily combine data across sources. Intune, ConfigMgr, Defender, and Azure AD each live in their own reporting silo. If you want a single view of a device’s compliance status, patch level, security posture, and group membership, you are doing a lot of manual cross-referencing.
Reports are not designed for executives. The Intune admin center is built for IT professionals. When your CISO asks for a monthly security posture summary or your CIO wants a device health dashboard, the built-in reports require significant manual work to translate into something presentable.
Filtering and scheduling are limited. You can filter within reports, but building a saved, scheduled report that automatically delivers specific data to specific stakeholders is not something native Intune handles well.
Historical trending is shallow. Most built-in reports show current state. If you need to show how compliance rates changed over the past six months or track patch deployment velocity over time, you will hit limits quickly.
Custom groupings are difficult. Intune organizes devices by groups, but reporting by department, location, cost center, or business unit often requires workarounds.
These are not edge cases. They are the everyday realities for IT teams managing hundreds or thousands of endpoints.
How to Use the Intune Reports Workload Effectively
Before reaching for third-party tools, it helps to understand what the native Reports workload can do when you use it intentionally.
Device Compliance Reports
The compliance reports section gives you both operational and organizational views. The “Device compliance” report shows per-device status with filtering by OS, compliance state, and policy. The “Setting compliance” report breaks down which specific settings are causing non-compliance, which is useful for troubleshooting at scale.
Use the organizational report to get a high-level percentage view across your fleet. Use the operational report when you need to act on specific devices.
Endpoint Analytics
Endpoint Analytics is one of the more underused parts of Intune reporting. It scores your environment across startup performance, app reliability, and remote work readiness. The “Recommended software” section can surface actionable findings, like devices running outdated Windows versions that are dragging down your score.
If you are preparing for a hardware refresh cycle or trying to justify budget for device upgrades, Endpoint Analytics gives you data-backed evidence.
Windows Update Reports
The Windows Update reports inside Intune have become much more detailed. You can now see feature update deployment status, quality update compliance, and driver update status across your fleet. The “Windows feature update report” and “Windows quality update report” are the two most useful for patch compliance tracking.
One limitation: these reports reflect current state. They do not give you a historical view of how your patch compliance rate has changed over time without exporting data manually.
Exporting Intune Data: What’s Possible and What’s Not
Microsoft provides a few ways to get Intune data out of the admin center for use elsewhere.
CSV export is available on most reports. It works for one-off analysis in Excel, but it is not a sustainable workflow for ongoing reporting.
Microsoft Graph API gives you programmatic access to Intune data. If your team has the development capacity, you can build custom queries and pipe data into your own data store or reporting tool. The API is well-documented and covers most of the data you would want. The downside is that it requires ongoing maintenance and development time.
Diagnostic settings and Log Analytics let you route certain Intune logs to Azure Monitor. This is useful for security and audit logging but is not a general-purpose reporting solution.
Power BI with Graph API is a common approach for teams that want custom dashboards without building everything from scratch. You connect Power BI to the Graph API, build your data model, and create reports. It works, but it requires Power BI skills, API knowledge, and time to maintain as the API evolves.
For most IT teams, none of these options are frictionless. They either require developer skills, manual effort, or both.
Building Custom Intune Reports and Dashboards
Custom Intune reports are where IT teams either gain a real advantage or spend a lot of time spinning their wheels.
The goal is usually one of three things: operational reports for IT staff, compliance reports for auditors, or executive dashboards for leadership. Each has different requirements in terms of data depth, visual design, and update frequency.
If you are building in Power BI natively, you need to handle authentication to the Graph API, manage data refresh schedules, model relationships between datasets, and build visuals from scratch. For a team with a dedicated Power BI developer, this is manageable. For most IT teams, it is a significant time investment on top of everything else.
This is where purpose-built solutions come in. PowerStacks is built specifically for this use case. It connects to Intune, ConfigMgr, Defender for Endpoint, Active Directory, and Azure AD without requiring any code. You get a drag-and-drop interface on top of Power BI, with the data connectors and report templates already built. Your data stays inside your own Microsoft tenant, which matters for organizations with strict data residency requirements.
Instead of spending weeks building a compliance dashboard from scratch, you can have one running in hours. And because it is built on Power BI, you still get the full flexibility of that platform when you need it.
Intune Reporting Tools Worth Knowing in 2026
Beyond the native admin center and DIY Power BI builds, a few categories of tools are worth understanding.
Purpose-built endpoint reporting platforms like PowerStacks sit on top of your existing Microsoft stack and add a reporting and dashboard layer without moving your data to a third-party cloud. These tools are designed for IT admins, not data analysts, so the learning curve is lower.
SIEM and security platforms like Microsoft Sentinel can ingest Intune data for security-focused reporting. If your primary need is security event correlation and threat detection, this is the right category. If you need device management and compliance reporting, it is usually overkill.
IT service management integrations from tools like ServiceNow or Ivanti can pull Intune data for asset management and ticketing purposes. These are useful for specific workflows but are not general-purpose reporting solutions.
Log Analytics and Azure Monitor work well for infrastructure and diagnostic data but require significant configuration to produce useful endpoint management reports.
For most IT teams focused on device compliance, patch status, security posture, and executive visibility, a purpose-built Intune reporting tool is the most practical path.
What to Look for in an Intune Reporting Solution
If you are evaluating Intune reporting tools, here are the factors that matter most.
Data residency. Does your data leave your tenant? For regulated industries and organizations with strict data governance policies, this is non-negotiable. Solutions that keep data inside your own Microsoft environment are significantly easier to approve through security review.
Data source coverage. Intune alone rarely tells the full story. Look for tools that also connect to ConfigMgr, Defender for Endpoint, Active Directory, and Azure AD so you can build reports that reflect your actual environment.
No-code or low-code interface. IT admins should not need to be Power BI developers to build useful reports. Look for drag-and-drop report builders and pre-built templates that cover common use cases.
Scheduling and distribution. The ability to schedule reports and push them to stakeholders automatically saves significant time and ensures leadership gets consistent updates without manual effort.
Customization depth. Pre-built templates are a good starting point, but your environment has specific requirements. Make sure the tool lets you build custom reports and dashboards when the templates do not fit.
Support for executive dashboards. IT operational reports and executive dashboards have different requirements. Look for tools that let you build both without switching platforms.
PowerStacks addresses all of these points directly. It keeps data in your tenant, connects to all the major Microsoft endpoint management sources, and gives IT admins a no-code interface built on Power BI. You can find more details at powerstacks.com.
FAQs
Q: What are the main limitations of built-in Intune reporting?
The main limitations are the inability to combine data across sources like Intune, ConfigMgr, and Defender in a single view, limited historical trending, no built-in report scheduling, and reports that are not designed for executive audiences. Native reports work well for operational troubleshooting but fall short for compliance reporting and leadership dashboards.
Q: Can I build custom Intune reports without coding?
Yes. Tools like PowerStacks let you connect to Intune and related Microsoft data sources and build custom reports and dashboards using a drag-and-drop interface, without writing any code or managing API connections manually.
Q: Does Intune have a built-in dashboard?
Intune has an overview page and individual report sections in the admin center, but it does not have a fully customizable Intune dashboard. You can pin some data to the Azure portal dashboard, but for meaningful custom dashboards you typically need Power BI or a purpose-built reporting tool.
Q: How do I export Intune data to Power BI?
The most common method is connecting Power BI to the Microsoft Graph API, which exposes Intune device, compliance, and configuration data. This requires setting up an app registration in Azure AD, configuring authentication in Power BI, and building your data model. Tools like PowerStacks handle this connection automatically without requiring manual API setup.
Q: Is it safe to use third-party Intune reporting tools?
It depends on the tool. Some third-party tools require you to send data to their cloud infrastructure, which can create data residency and compliance concerns. Tools that keep data inside your own Microsoft tenant, like PowerStacks, avoid this issue entirely and are generally much easier to approve through security review.
Q: What data sources should a good Intune reporting tool cover?
At minimum, a good Intune reporting tool should cover Intune device and compliance data, Windows Update status, and app deployment. Ideally it also covers ConfigMgr (SCCM) for co-managed environments, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for security posture, Active Directory, and Azure AD for identity and group data.
Q: How often does Intune reporting data refresh?
Built-in Intune reports typically refresh every 24 hours, though some data like device check-in status can be more current. The refresh frequency for custom reports depends on how you have set up your data pipeline. Power BI-based solutions can be configured to refresh on a schedule that fits your needs.
Final Thoughts
Intune reporting in 2026 is better than it was two years ago. Microsoft has put real work into the Reports workload, and for day-to-day operational visibility, the built-in tools cover a lot of ground.
But if you need to combine data across your Microsoft endpoint stack, build executive dashboards, schedule reports for stakeholders, or track compliance trends over time, you will need to go beyond what the admin center provides.
Start by getting the most out of native reports for operational work. Then identify the specific gaps that are costing your team time or leaving leadership without the visibility they need. From there, evaluate whether a purpose-built tool like PowerStacks fits your environment. The goal is not more reports. It is the right reports, in the right hands, without burning your team’s time to produce them.