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How to manage Apple in a Microsoft World

April 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

New devices and OS adoption in the enterprise is booming. In one example, one of the largest premium Exchange hosting providers discovered that 57% of ActiveSync activations were to iPhones and 21% were to iPads. Apple’s Mac Business sales grew 51% at the end of 2011. You are likely looking to accommodate these devices in your organization if you aren’t already. What you may not know is how well all of these devices can work with your Microsoft network and applications.

Did you know that over the last few releases Apple has added the following features: DFS Support, Profile Server, Captive Network Detection, Cisco VPN… to name a few? Did you know that you can use Microsoft System Center 2012 platform Configuration Manager to manage your mobile devices? Continue reading »

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Do you believe in magic? You do if you have a Mac or an iPad. [Apple]

January 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

Two years ago this month Apple introduced what Steve Jobs called a “magical” device. But if you let go if it in mid-air, will it magically float? (Don’t try this without one of these cases)

I’m more of a Penn & Teller fan myself, I’m interested in what REALLY happens behind the scenes of  “magic” show. After all, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. So let’s look at the hidden wires and plexi-glass holding the iPad up in mid-air.

Wifi and Networking – of course there are no actual wires attached to an iPad (unless to charge or sync) as it’s designed to be the ultimate mobile and portable device. Wifi Networks are crucial in enabling the magic experience, and secure ones at that. Sure, you may have Wifi in your workplace, but in the past you just needed Wifi in the boardrooms and the odd exec office to support laptops. Now people want to use their iPads everywhere – do you have wall to wall coverage? Can the network itself handle all these new always-connected devices? Is your network secure inside and outside the company walls? Do you have a robust VPN in place that’s supported by iOS out of the box (Cisco or Juniper)? Perhaps it’s time for a Softchoice Network Assessment to ensure that your network is ready.  Continue reading »

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How Steve Jobs touched all of our lives

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I first found out the news about Steve Jobs passing when I awoke my iPad at around 8pm on Wednesday. I had heard the tell-tale sound of a push notification earlier during dinner, but as the screen lit up, there it was. The message from the CNN app that Steve Jobs, the greatest technology innovator of our times, was no longer with us.

My first instinct was to dial into social networks like Twitter to take in the reaction from friends, online acquaintances and business associates. Streams of condolences, many from people that would not be able to name the CEO of Apple 10 years ago, let alone mourn his death, flooded the internet. All from computers and devices that would be vastly different if not for Steve Jobs. Heck, would a platform like Twitter even exist? Who knows…

My journey with Apple started over 10 years ago, fresh out of art school my obsession was with music and sound, using technology as a medium and art form onto itself. Years before I had resisted even using a computer to make music, but that changed and I was primed for my first job at a shop that specialized in digital recording sales, mainly on the Mac platform. I went in as a PC guy, having used Macs only briefly in college, but within a few months I was hooked on Macs. Not long after bringing my first Powerbook G4 home (still works today) my wife was hooked as well and bought her own – and she was more heavily entrenched in the Windows world than I was. Continue reading »

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Managing and securing iPads in one easy lesson [Apple]

September 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Tablets are de rigueur in the offices everywhere with executives and gadget junkies alike sizing up their options for tablets. However, with all the hoopla has also been a lot of debate about the tablet’s place in the enterprise with a particular eye on the iPad. Admittedly many of the hundreds of thousands of apps are designed for personal use, but increasingly business apps  are popping up making this once personal device a good candidate for business as well.

There are two key concerns for IT when sourcing a tablet: management and security. These can mean the difference between a great investment and a disaster (especially if it involves data leakage.)

First, remote management is essential if you want to protect confidential company data (especially if the iPad is in the possession of a member of your leadership team) in the event of loss or theft. Having the ability to remotely wipe a lost device can save a ton of headache for you in the future. Organizations on Microsoft Exchange can leverage ActiveSync to manage their mobile devices. Those looking for a richer solution should look at a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution like Symantec Client Management Suite, McAfee EMM or Sophos Mobile Control. MDMs will let you manage any device brought into your environment, which means no extra training or set-up will be required if new devices are connected to your network.

Second, security is crucial for any device being brought into your environment and it’s a fallacy that iPads aren’t secure as other tablets as mentioned in a recent blog post. The latest offering of iOS brings a solid and secure platform for mobile devices with password protection, disk-level encryption  and a unique technology that “sandboxes” applications to ensure that they can’t access other apps unless they use core APIs provided by iOS. This means that apps downloaded by the user will not be able to run or interract with other apps unless they are “Apple approved.”

Softchoice is not only authorized to sell iPads in both US and Canada, but we have people who can help you secure your devices or just provide advice on which one to select. Reach out to Softchoice at 1-800-268-7638 .

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How the Employee Choice model for mobile devices can be easily managed with the right partners [Apple]

July 12, 2011 By 1 Comment

The traditional model of “one computer fits all” within an organization is shifting. Even the effort of selecting a desktop or laptop standard per user role or department does not offer the flexibility that today’s tech-savvy worker is demanding from their employer. Started with mobile devices (smartphones and tabl… ok, let’s be honest: iPads) the phenomenon has trickled into the core client computing systems, manly laptops.

What’s the incentive for businesses to encourage this behaviour? Organizations that have adopted this model find more happy and productive workers when you allow them to choose the platform they want to work on. It’s also a strong recruitment tool to get the best and brightest talent onboard. The era of “This is your beige box, this is your black phone” from one company is being challenged with “Would you prefer a Mac or Windows computer? iPhone or Blackberry?” by their competition. And today’s Datacenter infrastructure definitely has the guts to run run virtual desktops and applications in these scenarios – just ask our own Jonathan White.

However beneficial this policy may be to recruit and retain talent, IT Managers and CIOs are frustrated with the lack of security on a “rogue” device entering their infrastructure. Counting on a personal computer’s uptime when the manufacturer is not the company’s standard can also be a pain; Continue reading »

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The secret sauce in managing iPads and iPhones [Apple]

May 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Mobile devices are making their way into the enterprise at an alarming rate which is not slowing down any time soon. The adoption is happening one of two ways:

Enterprise-lead adoption: A controlled roll out by the IT staff

User-lead adoption: Tech-savvy employees bringing in their own devices and connecting to the company network for email and access to other sensitive data.

The challenge for the IT department in either scenario is the same Continue reading »

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Want an iPad? Need security? You can have it all with the new iOS. [Apple]

April 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
For many decades in the world of personal computing, there’s been  that slice of the user population that has constantly had to defend it’s weapon of choice. Such is the plight of the Mac and the Mac User. Fear, uncertainty, doubt – all familiar foes in the discussion of PC vs. Mac, all laid to rest the moment anyone takes the time to understand the Apple computer and the Mac OS. 

Despite it’s enormous success as one of the most sought-after technology on the planet, the iPad is also faced with the demons of misinformation, particularly in the Enterprise. The number one myth surrounding the use of the iPad and other iOS devices in business is the perceived “lack of security”. Continue reading »

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Playbook vs. iPad in the Enterprise [RIM, Apple]

April 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 The debate rages on as to which is the better tablet.  There are a lot of things to consider, but when it comes to the best device for business there are three key considerations:

Security:  RIM’s Blackberry Enterprise Server, the backbone of their mobility platform makes the Playbook secure and easy to manage , especially for organizations standardized on a Blackberry. But that doesn’t mean the iPad isn’t secure. The iPad’s hardy operating system has a built in barrier against malware and can be easily be remotely wiped using a mobile device management tool from McAfee or Symantec. Continue reading »

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Macs and malware: An ounce of prevention. [ESET, Apple]

November 15, 2010 By 2 Comments

Okay, you don’t like seatbelts. Too confining, you say. You drive carefully, right? Or, you only use your car for short trips around the block. Of course, that all may sound pretty persuasive until you have an accident – and your arguments, among other things, fly out the window.

Which brings me to the ongoing debate about Mac security superiority and whether it’s worth protecting Mac computers with anti-virus software. While most Mac users believe they’re invincible as far as viruses, spyware, trojans, worms and other malware go – and for the most part they have been till now – there’s no guarantee that’ll continue to be the case as Macs gain in popularity and hackers are more financially motivated to infect them.

Software consultant and blogger Graham Cluley writes: Continue reading »

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