Kandji improves its Device Harmony Platform for Apple enterprise - Computerworld

The busy Apple-in-the-enterprise abstraction continues to make caller products and services. Case successful point: Kandji, which has enhanced its existing Mobile Device Management (MDM) level with Declarative Device Management. I caught up with, Weldon Dodd, the company's elder vice president for merchandise strategy, for the details.

What’s caller successful Device Harmony?

Apple says determination are astir 2 cardinal progressive Apple devices worldwide, up from 1.5 cardinal successful 2021, galore of them deployed crossed the enterprise, driven by user choice, and intelligibly emerging TCO and ownership advantages.

Kandji’s latest merchandise introduces caller instrumentality absorption capabilities, specified arsenic Declarative Device Management and a caller home-baked "Lost Mode" that lets IT way mislaid oregon stolen iPhones oregon iPads without iCloud, Location Services, oregon immoderate enactment by the instrumentality user. The diagnostic leverages Apple’s ain MDM frameworks.

The instrumentality absorption solution besides offers admins caller organizational absorption tools and improved instrumentality information options, including integration with Okta Device Trust and Google Workspace.

There are galore much enhancements, with details disposable here.

Apple’s increasing beingness successful endeavor IT

“When it comes to Apple adoption successful the endeavor market, we proceed to spot organizations of each sizes, from ample enterprises to scrappy start-ups, take Apple arsenic their endpoint of choice,” Dodd said. “Apple has been investing heavy successful the endeavor space, and passim 2022 we’ve seen Apple truly statesman to look arsenic the instrumentality of prime for enterprises and employees alike and we expect this maturation to proceed good into 2023 and beyond. This is conscionable the opening of Apple’s emergence successful the enterprise.”

Kandji

Weldon Dodd, Kandji elder vice president for merchandise strategy.

This maturation whitethorn beryllium driven by instrumentality prime (most employees volition privation Apple devices erstwhile fixed the option), and "employers are uncovering Apple devices much and much beneficial to alteration productive and unafraid work,” helium said. Requests to usage Apple products person grown by 50%, helium said.

We’re besides seeing the TCO statement determination connected from the elemental sticker terms statement to encompass different elements of machine usage successful business. IBM generated immense involvement erstwhile it acknowledged this nexus astatine Jamf’s JNUC event, and Kandji sees the same.

Dodd cited his ain institution research, which claims 56% of IT leaders are much assured successful the quality to remotely negociate Apple devices versus Windows. “While Apple devices are much costly to bargain up front, they person proven to beryllium little costly to support and enactment successful the agelong run," helium said. [And] 84% said Apple devices are much unafraid than devices from different vendors.”

Digging the API

Kandji’s Lost Mode is absorbing due to the fact that it exploits Apple’s ain MDM APIs to supply a caller instrumentality connected Find My, 1 that doesn’t usage iCloud. This tech relies connected Apple’s precocious introduced enactment for Declarative Device Management. “We instrumentality what Apple provides to each vendors and instrumentality it successful a unsocial mode that makes our customer’s lives simpler,” helium said.

Of course, Apple being Apple, developers that tweak the company's ain APIs tally the hazard of Apple changing course. Dodd doesn’t deliberation this volition hap with Lost mode.

“We are assured that Kandji’s implementation of Lost Mode is not astatine hazard of immoderate abrupt changes introduced by Apple,” helium said, pointing retired that it uses the Managed Lost Mode capabilities provided by Apple wrong its MDM protocols.

The mode besides uses MapKit and regularly updated determination information truthful admins seeking a mislaid instrumentality get bully oversight implicit wherever it happens to be. “And we proceed to enforce Lost Mode, adjacent if a instrumentality is reset,” helium said. An worker volition explicitly beryllium notified if the diagnostic is successful force.

The improved information portion reflects an industry-wide effort to unafraid the platforms. Every player, astatine slightest in the endeavor space, is delivering information enhancements for Apple’s platforms — adjacent arsenic the institution itself continues its enactment to unafraid them. Apple’s caller iCloud information enhancements are conscionable the latest section successful this book, and it seems precise probable that information volition beryllium 1 of the cardinal topics for the Apple ecosystem going into 2023.

Apple is the enterprise

“Apple volition proceed to innovate successful some hardware and bundle to marque Apple products the astir backstage and unafraid successful the world,” said Dodd.

There’s precise bully reason: “The devices we usage for enactment are much mobile and the environments we enactment successful are much varied and uncontrolled than they’ve ever been before,” Dodd said. “This is what has made Zero Trust truthful important — we nary longer person a singular web borderline to supply protection; the thought that immoderate captious enactment assets tin lone beryllium disposable successful the bureau protected down the firewall conscionable doesn’t lucifer the existent world that we unrecorded in. Zero Trust principles springiness assurance that lone authorized users utilizing authorized devices are accessing firm applications and data.”

The ecosystem of supporting products and services for Apple deployments successful the enterprise continues to grow, adjacent arsenic the beingness of competing MDM vendors enables businesses to hunt for solutions that are the astir applicable to their circumstantial concern needs.

Please travel maine on Mastodon, oregon articulation maine successful the AppleHolic’s barroom & grill and Apple Discussions groups connected MeWe

Jonny is simply a freelance writer who has been penning (mainly astir Apple and technology) since 1999.