Follow the link for the full article, but here’s my take…

The inbuilt and integrated AV is one of the core benefits of Windows Intune, and is really the only way for a customer > 10 but < System Center Configuration Manager to get the MS AV endpoint technologies. It’s part of what I call the perfect storm for Intune applicability to a customer – expired or expiring AV, a relatively unmanaged environment, and preparing for an SOE or desktop OS upgrade. As one or more of these is removed, the value proposition for Intune is reduced, making it a harder sell for the partner, or a harder justification for the customer.

For a partner looking at Intune as a scale out support option, possibly as an MSP, the integration of the Intune Endpoint Protection into the Intune administration console is a great convenience, and I would really ask them to find really good reasons to not use what Intune provides versus what the 3rd party offerings are. I’m not saying that Intune Endpoint Protection will necessarily check all the boxes for all customers, but it’s worth checking if it does before committing to alternatives.