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"Where most of us are concerned with keeping our personal Mac or iOS device happy, they need to think in terms of hundreds or thousands of them."
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Macworld 2012 Picks: Enterprise
By: Ric Getter, MD Editor
Though Macworld|iWorld seemed to be focused on the latest in software and accessories for your personal iDevice, the Expo also serves as a gathering place for another group of Apple product customers. It’s a segment that may be growing more quietly, but no less dramatically. These are the system administrators, IT managers and technicians responsible for deploying and maintaining the Mac and iOS devices in business, government and education. Where most of us are concerned with keeping our personal Mac or iOS device happy, they need to think in terms of hundreds or thousands of them.
While the majority of Expo-goers were reveling in the first floor exhibit hall or attending the special sessions upstairs, IT professionals from around the country were sitting in the MacIT often-crowded seminars up on the third floor. This year featured numerous sessions on deploying and managing iOS devices in industry and education. (Sessions on coping with Apple’s new Lion Server technology were equally popular.) MacIT brought in a number of exhibitors with products targeted at institutions with multiple Macs and iOS devices and there were a number of standouts in this category.
Though JAMF Software had no special introductions or debuts reserved for the show, they still stand out as having some of the best overall products for people needing to manage dozens, hundreds and even thousands of Macs. (As a company, they have a unique history of announcing major new releases when they are ready rather than trying to time them to major trade shows.)
They have been a faithful supporter of the Expo over the years as well and remain one of the most community-focused companies in the enterprise IT market. Managing Partner Chip Pearson, served as an enlightening pundit when he spoke at both of MacIT’s opening keynotes. He offered some valuable insight into the rapid growth of the Mac, iPhone and iPad in enterprise and education, acknowledged some of the individuals and institutions that were on the leading edge of that growth, and only briefly mentioning the remarkable company he helped found. JAMF’s Casper Suite was ready for iOS devices before most IT professionals realized that they were going to be inundated by them. When it comes to managing Apple products in huge environments, JAMF’s Casper Suite is always the best of the show.
Apple’s AirPrint came very close to being a game-changing feature of the iOS. The problem was that it only worked on a handful of new printers. A couple of very cool, workstation based applications, AirPrint Activator from NetPuting and Ecamm’s Printopia came along to give iOS devices to any printer connected to your desktop machine. This is a capability that your company’s IT team may or may not look upon with great affection. The veteran device networking experts at Lantronix showed of their new xPrintServer at Macworld. The device, about the size of a double-thick iPod Classic, plugs into a local network and answers AirPrint’s call from any iOS device. The box is basically a plug-in-and-go device, but all its print server settings are accessible through a web-based console. So instead of trying to work around your IT department, the xPrintServer will give them a device that meets their standards of control as well as your needs.
Kanex new Sydnee will charge up to four iOS devices (3 iPads and an iPhone) simultaneously and do it in a small, uncluttered space. Each Sydnee includes four USB/docking cables and enough power to provide each with 2.1 Amps, providing the fastest possible charge. Though the show also featured a variety of carts and cabinets for recharging dozens of iPads, we found Kanex’ solution uniquely elegant for a small office or workgroup.
Living with Windows
Both VMware (Fusion) and Parallels made themselves quite visible both on the exhibit floor and as sponsors, presenters and exhibitors at the MacIT Conference upstairs. They have both been a godsend to Mac users who have to live in a Windows world at home, work or school. However, MokaFive showed off their system for centrally deploying and managing Windows desktops easily and securely using a multi-layered architecture.
From a central server, users pull down a standard “gold” base Windows image with all the essential settings preconfigured by your shop’s IT management. That’s the first layer. On top of that goes the specific applications and policies based on you or your group’s needs as the second layer. The top layer holds the individual users’ applications and settings (like your favorite Angry Birds desktop background). Updates and repairs to the lower layers can be performed without affecting the user’s own setup. This, in fact, gives MokaFive systems the ability to what is essentially a Windows restore-in-place (repairing or rebuilding the Windows OS without nuking the user’s files and settings), something MacOS users have been able to do for years. Unlike virtual desktops, where your Windows desktop is actually running on a remote server, MokaFive runs on your Mac (or Windows or Linux box). That makes it significantly more responsive. MokaFive uses either Fusion or Oracle’s VirtualBox as the local virtual machine software. It’s a rather complex system to summarize in a couple of paragraphs, but it does appear to represent some real breakthroughs for enterprise environments.
When enterprise users bring their own devices (BYOD) to work, chances are that they’re running iOS or MacOS. And, as many large organizations and institutions have discovered, there’s no stopping them. (Blackberries are so twentieth century.) What IT managers had a chance to discover at this years Macworld|iWorld Expo is that there’s really no reason to.
For more info visit:
Macworld|iWorld 2012
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Photo by: Ric Getter
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