IBM’s switch to Mac drops jaws and opens eyes – JNUC 2015

JNUC 2015 Summary

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Hi, my name’s James Ridsdale, Director and Systems Engineer at Datajar.

In this article, I’d like to reflect on my time @ JNUC 2015. 

It was a fantastic event, featuring a host of fascinating industry insights, a Mac@work bombshell from IBM, and at which I was very proud to be asked to present.

So what’s JNUC?

JNUC is the JAMF Nation User Conference. It’s an annual summit for the largest community of Apple IT Admins in the world. 

Around 1800 delegates beat a path to The Guthrie Centre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to hear business and thought leaders – and fellow techies – talk about the latest developments in their shared industry.

Why I was there 

I was delighted to attend JNUC 2015 for three key reasons.

Firstly, JNUC is a great opportunity to come together with the Apple community to share knowledge, discuss best practices and listen to select speakers.

Secondly, it’s a good opportunity to see old friends and drink beer!

And last but not least, I was proud to be asked to present at this year’s event: James Ridsdale @ JNUC 2015

I addressed the JNUC audience on the subject of Bringing VPP & DEP to Life, including the challenges for education customers and Mobile Device Management, and how my fellow Apple administrators can get the most out of their MDM.

IBM’s Mac@work bombshell

When I wasn’t busy presenting, I was immersed in the other JNUC presentations,including one from our good friend the Mac Mule, aka Ben Toms.

However, the biggest highlight for me was IBM’s Mac@work presentation.

IBM thrilled delegates with their revelations about how and why they transformed their 500,000+ person Windows-centric organisation to support the Apple platform – and the astonishing results they were experiencing.

Success story stats!

• IBM are purchasing 1,900 MacBooks per week
• IBM saves $270 per user, if they are on a Mac as opposed to Windows
• Just 5% of IBM employees using MacBooks called the IT help desk, versus 40% of PC users

“Every Mac that we buy is making and saving IBM money,” Fletcher Previn, VP, IBM.

If you’d like to learn more about Mac@work, check out this 6-minute version of IBM’s presentation:

What this means for you

IBM’s hugely successful at-scale rollout of Mac was all made possible thanks to JAMF and Casper Suite.

At Datajar, we have been utilising JAMF and Casper Suite technology for several years now, developing a mature solution for businesses looking for a simple yet powerful way to manage their Apple estate. So we’re delighted that IBM have decided to jump on the bandwagon!

Our Casper Suite dataJAR.mobi platform delivers easy and light-touch Apple management for business and education customers alike.

Bye for now

I do hope you enjoyed my report from JNUC 2015. 

It really was an honour to be asked to present to an audience of my worldwide peers, and to hear IBM’s success story first hand.

It’s exciting times for us all in the Apple world!

Until next time,

James