There’s yet more news from the ever-effervescent Apple-in-the-enterprise space, as Apple device management company Addigy has introduced a new tool called Flex Policies.
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Making policies remote, automated, and easier
The tool is designed to make it much easier for enterprise IT to apply policies across their Apple device fleets. What tends to happen when attempting to apply policies at a device level is that IT must do so manually doing. This seems likely to get easier with iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura, but it remains a time-consuming challenge for IT.
Addigy explains that Flex will save IT admins time by eliminating the tedious task of manually assigning Apple device policies to new or existing devices.
What Addigy says
“Addigy’s Flex Policies is a game-changer for not only IT admins managing Apple devices but also the industry,” Jason Dettbarn, Addigy CEO, said in a statement. “By making it easier for IT teams to onboard Apple devices, we’re destigmatizing Apple devices in the workplace. The reality is Apple usage in the workplace is expected to grow over the next several years, and whatever we, as a company, can do to assist IT admins and MSPs with managing these devices is a win for everyone.”
The idea is that Addigy’s Flex enables IT admins to set up policy instructions that can be applied to devices. They can be used to configure device attributes in response to different criteria, and can then automatically be assigned — ensuring devices meet the appropriate policies for the situation.
The beauty of this is that it is possible to assign a device to multiple policies at once, which basically enables companies to apply changes remotely as the situation around the device changes.
Management is configurable
IT admins can also exclude groups or individual machines. This makes it possible to install a critical system update intelligently. So, it is possible to push a critical system update to everyone on every team, but exclude those machines you know are being used in business-critical situations at that time. The CEO will not thank you for updating their iPhone when they are using it to trying to present data at an important investors meeting.
Addigy explained that Flex also gives IT the power to automate device monitoring and remote remediation. Admins can, for example, build a Flex Policy that will identify a device that has FileVault disabled and then enable that feature to protect data.
It’s also possible to use the tool to assign user group-based policies; deploy advanced conditional software; assign items to all devices across policies; build custom reports; build small test groups of devices; and migrating settings. The tool also works with other solutions from the company.
Addigy recently attracted investment from growth equity firm PSG. It’s an investment that reflects the continued opportunity opening up in this part of the Apple ecosystem, as Macs, iPhones and iPads experience accelerating deployment across the enterprise.
Apple in the enterprise is an exciting space
In the past two years, Mac laptop use in the workplace has surged 63%, with more than half of IT teams indicating a growing demand for Apple devices in their companies.
It’s clear Apple understands the growing importance of enterprise markets. It recently saw a huge 30,000-strong iPhone deployment across Openreach, one of the UK’s biggest businesses, and continues to improve its own SMB-focused Apple Business Essentials product and to enhance the APIs it offers for the growing market of MDM vendors.
The company also recently reached a deal with T-Mobile under which the carrier can offer Business Essentials to US SMBs.
Things won’t get any slower. Not only will Apple introduce new iPhones and other products on Sept. 7, but rolling up we also have the world’s biggest event for Apple admins, the Jamf Nation User Conference (JNUC) on September 27, sure to provide some interesting announcements.
There should be no doubt in anybody’s mind that Apple’s enterprise growth story continues, the market is expanding, and it seems probable the company will become the biggest vendor in the coming years.
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