MINNEAPOLIS—Apple device management vendor Jamf plans to release an updated version of its fully featured management application in the first half of 2017, and is renaming it Jamf Pro Version 10.
The upcoming enterprise application, formerly known as Casper Suite, allows Apple device administrators to watch over their iPhone, iPad, MacBook and other Apple device deployments to set policies, ease updates and run their hardware with a unified approach for users. It was unveiled by the company at its seventh annual Jamf Nation User Conference at the Guthrie Center here Oct. 18.
In related news, the company also is changing the name of its starter Bushel application, which was built to serve smaller numbers of users in small businesses, to Jamf Now, and adding all-new capabilities that will allow users to upgrade to Jamf Pro easily as their needs grow. Presently, Bushel users must completely revamp their deployments if they want to move to the former Casper Suite, re-entering user and device information and more, making the process unwieldy.
Jamf also announced a name change at the conference, dropping the word “software” from its previous Jamf Software name to align with the growth of cloud deployments.
The refreshed product and corporate names are part of Jamf’s strategy to simplify its product offerings for its customers, said Dean Hager, the CEO of the company.
Hager and others within Jamf showed off screen shots and features of the upcoming Jamf Pro V.10 user experience, highlighting new automated software patch management capabilities, improved enterprise security and integration and new options for faster configuration and deployment.
“In addition to a unified brand and new Jamf Now capabilities, we are proud to announce Jamf Pro Version 10, which is packed with new functionality designed to put users first,” said Hager. “It further simplifies the lives of IT and helps them empower end users like never before.”
Also included in Jamf Pro Version 10 are a simpler, streamlined interface and new executive dashboards and workflows such as a self-service app catalog where users can choose useful apps for their own use, patch policy workflows and certificate management. Also included will be streamlined workflows with products from other vendors including Symantec PKI, ServiceNow, Epic EHR and Webhooks for Events API.
The pending changes in the former Bushel and Casper Suite products will be important gains for users, Eric Boyd, an infrastructure workstation management team member with University of California-San Diego Health, told eWEEK.
“Bushel was essentially Jamf Light,” a low-cost version with a very limited subset of features, he said. “It was powerful enough for someone who had no IT experience to get it going,” but as Jamf Pro V.10 it will gain huge migration upgrade improvements that previously took a lot more work and time to accomplish under the existing versions, he added.
“Now [an administrator] can push a button and all of their devices will get migrated from Bushel to Jamf Pro V.10” on the fly, said Boyd. “The changeover will be much easier for administrators.”