I recently published a guide on how to deploy a Store app via Intune to a Windows 10 device. I found the mechanism to get a valid Appstore URL a little messy to say the least and the Microsoft documentation didn’t add anything to assist. So how could we make life easier and what if we had a whole bunch of apps that we need to bring into Intune?

Thankfully, we can sync our Microsoft Store for Business (MSfB) apps with Intune (and other management tools) and make all your purchased applications available for assignment in minutes.

Conditions to consider

• Intune must be the MDM authority within your organisation
• You must have a MSfB account and this account cannot be changed post link.
• Once the link is in place, apps purchased cannot be manually added or remove and must be synced.
• Your devices must be Active Azure Directory or workplace joined and enrolled devices must be running Windows 10 1511 or later.

Link MSfB and Intune

When creating the link between the Store for Business and Intune, make sure you use the same tenant account in both portals.

In the Store for Business portal, select Manage and then click the Settings option. You can click the + Add Management tool link and then search for Intune. When added in, you will need to click Activate to create the link.

Once done, the status will now report as Active and the link to Intune will have been created.

Acquiring an app

You can search for apps in the MSfB, note that you have a choice of Online or Offline apps. Online is the default licencing model, this model requires the end user to connect to the Store to install and licence the app. Offline is a new licencing model for Windows 10, and allows the application to be cached and the licence to be deployed within an environment.

With the licence type selected, click Get the app.

Once acquired, the application will be added to the inventory. Click Close to complete the process.

Bringing the apps into Intune

To finalise the process, we need to set up the synchronisation of the apps in Intune. This is a pretty painless process and you will be up and running very quickly. If you have a lot of apps to sync, then obviously take this into account, as the more apps you have the longer the sync will take.

In the Azure Portal, go to the Intune blade and select Mobile apps.

Scroll down to locate the Microsoft Store for Business option.

Now we need to Enable the MSfB sync, although we haven’t performed the synchronisation yet , note the greyed out Sync button.

Enter the relevant language in which apps from the MSfB will be displayed in the Intune console. Click Save.

The Sync button will now be active. Click it to kick start your first MSfB to Intune synchronisation.

As noted previously, a sync could take time depending on the number of apps you have.

After the sync has completed, you will see all your MSfB purchased apps in the Apps section of Intune.

If you purchase further apps, you will need to return to the Microsoft Store for Business section and sync with MSfB  again.