APPLE IT AND SECURITY EXPERTS GATHER FOR THE 14TH ANNUAL JAMF NATION USER CONFERENCE
Yesterday Jamf , which specializes in managing and securing Apple at work, kicked off its 14th annual Jamf Nation User Conference (JNUC) both virtually and in-person in Austin, Texas.
Joined by key partners and customers including Apple, Google and Microsoft, Jamf shared with the largest gathering of Apple admins how its continuous product innovation is bringing together management and security into one integrated platform.
CEO John Strosahl says key highlights from JNUC 2023 include:
° The Jamf Pro 11 series, which brings a more modern, accessible UI, simplified onboarding and continued support for Declarative Device Management.
Jamf announced the release of Jamf Pro 11, which introduces an entirely refreshed user interface that improves accessibility with color changes, tab support for navigation elements, and improved screen reader behavior and easy shortcuts to many of the most popular workflows. This new look will be extended to Jamf’s entire product portfolio in the future.
Jamf Pro 11 also supports Apple’s Declarative Device Management including new software update management workflows, which will allow admins in Jamf Cloud to schedule and enforce the latest software updates on managed devices by a specific date and time automatically. Apple announced they are further enhancing enrollment workflows with Account Driven Device Enrollment which will be supported in Jamf Pro 11 for macOS Sonoma and iOS 17.
Additionally, Jamf Pro 11 includes a simplified and more transparent onboarding experience for end users that allows them to monitor app installation progress as they go about their work.
Better security hygiene with compliance and vulnerability management workflows
Jamf announced the addition of a new compliance dashboard and vulnerability management to Jamf Protect. Admins can now see the overall compliance status of their environment at a glance. They are also able to easily see which apps and OS versions in their environment are impacted by known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), empowering them to make smarter decisions around access policies and patching priorities. Earlier this year, Jamf Pro added support for Rapid Security Response updates to provide admins with complete visibility and control over important security updates.
Streamlined user enrollment and single sign-on
Jamf and its identity partners are at the forefront of SSO Extensions. Earlier this year, Jamf introduced support for Enrollment SSO with Okta. In addition, Jamf was also first-to-market with support for Platform SSO with Okta. Enrollment SSO and Platform SSO workflows deliver a next generation single sign-on experience across Mac and mobile devices.
ZTNA now incorporated into Jamf Connect
Since 2018, Jamf Connect has helped organizations bring cloud identity to the Mac. Now Jamf has enhanced Jamf Connect’s Identity and Access Management (IAM) capabilities to include Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) to provide least-privilege and high-performance connectivity to cloud and on-premises data resources from macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android and Windows devices. This turn-key ZTNA solution leverages next-generation networking technology that is easy to deploy while providing welcomed user experience improvements for end users. Replacing legacy VPNs, this solution is efficient, reduces cost, and is far more secure through integrations with Jamf’s platform of products.
Physical access with employee badge now informed by device risk signals
Through a partnership Jamf unveiled at JNUC last year with SwiftConnect, Jamf has done away with physical access badges, allowing Jamf customers to badge into buildings with iPhone or Apple Watch. During the keynote, Jamf shared new enhancements to its Employee Badge offering that allows Jamf to send device risk signals or user events that will temporarily disable an employee badge until the device is back in full compliance. Jamf Employee Badge with Jamf Trust brings digital trusted access policies to the physical world, ensuring that only trusted users on secure devices are able to access buildings and offices.
AI-powered functionality to help IT and security teams work smarter not harder
Jamf announced its new AI-powered support bot that will serve Jamf Nation, the largest community of Apple admins in the world. This new chat interface brings together Jamf’s online community, learning hub and technical documentation, so that Jamf admins will be able to ask it questions and receive answers to help resolve issues.
Jamf also shared its vision for how AI will continue to be integrated into its security products. This new AI-powered functionality takes detailed raw telemetry and security alert data, applies the MITRE attack framework and summarizes a friendly explanation along with recommendations for Jamf admins on how to remedy security issues. This feature will be integrating within Jamf solutions in the near future.
Simplifying management and security for the classroom
Jamf announced a brand new user interface for both Jamf School and Jamf Teacher to add more efficiency and visibility to the console, something that is essential for teachers in the busy classroom. Additionally, Jamf is bringing its most requested feature from Jamf Pro, App Installers, to Jamf School to provide a more complete Mac management experience in the solution designed specifically for education.
To further protect students and learning institutions, Jamf has rolled out on-device content filtering within Jamf Safe Internet for supervised iOS and iPadOS 16+ devices. This feature stops both inbound threats and unsafe outbound activity while ensuring greater privacy for students. Jamf is planning macOS support for on-device content filtering later this year.
Jamf Pro and Jamf School now with StateRAMP Ready status
Jamf recently announced it is now delivering StateRamp Ready instances of Jamf School and Jamf Pro in the United States to give customers the confidence they need to comply with industry standards. StateRAMP is a critical cloud security assessment and authorization program designed to address the specific technology and compliance requirements of educational organizations and state and local governments.
