Just a quick view at the types of configurations that you might consider depending on your budget and the scale of your infrastructure.
Layer 1 (Small Deployments (OS)) FREE:
Layer 2 (Medium Deployments (OS + APPS + UPDATES) PAID $$:
- SCCM $$
- WSUS – up to you
- Lower time cost
- Higher cash cost
Layer 3 (Cloud Based Management (OS + APPS + UPDATES + SETUP DIRECT FROM MANUFACTURER) PAID $$$:
- Azure AD – Free
- If you have on-premise Active Directory then you need the Azure Active Directory sync tool on your Primary Domain Controller. -Free
- AutoPilot – Free
- Intune – PAID $$$
- Lowest time cost
- Highest cash cost
You will notice that it goes in order from FREE as in BEER, to you buy it you own it, and then a subscription service based model. It is important to perform a cost analysis because if you’re scale is large enough the PAID options can have a lower total overall cost.