For IT, Jamf’s Microsoft Azure partnership means a lot

​Jamf has removed yet another brick in the wall put up by Windows-centric IT staffers to fend off acceptance Macs in the enterprise, revealing a new partnership with Microsoft that simplifies management of both Windows and Apple devices using Microsoft Azure.

The arrangement means Jamf device management solutions will be hosted on Microsoft Azure and made available for purchase on the Azure Marketplace. 

The Apple device management company has also joined the Microsoft ISV Partner Program and reached a five-year agreement to expand its existing collaboration with new and innovative Microsoft Cloud and AI-powered solutions.

Apple is in the enterprise tent

This builds on work both companies have been doing since at least 2017, as they responded to the realization that most enterprises now recognize the value of Apple products within their ecosystems.

This trend kick-started when the iPhone entered the workplace as an employee-owned device and grew to include employee-choice schemes across multiple platforms.

Of course, those in IT with vested (and sometimes expensively qualified) interest in Microsoft’s hegemony continue to sit on their thrones before a restless ocean to deny the changing tides — and those are the ones most likely to benefit from the new partnership between Jamf and MIcrosoft.

That’s because the move to make Jamf Pro available via Azure (cloud and marketplace) means those accustomed to using Azure to help manage and secure Windows devices can now use Jamf to manage and secure Apple devices from within the same familiar, unified environment. 

More than Windows

This goes beyond just the PC. Many companies rely on Microsoft’s back-end technologies and services, so the move to bring Jamf into Azure will make life a little easier there too. 

To an extent, this reflects what current Jamf CEO, John Strosahl told me last year: “Many companies still use Windows applications and services, and we do support some of those activities on network security and the like — things that are further from the device. But the closer you get to the device, the more we believe that Apple is the future.”

With Azure, it will be much easier to integrate iPhones, iPads, and Macs in complex IT workflows built on Microsoft’s enterprise cloud platform.

The direction of travel has been clear for a while, particularly as Jamf integrates with Microsoft Intune and Entra ID. In truth, Jamf and Microsoft have created a string of landmark partnerships in recent years, including integrations across Sentinel, Defender, and Copilot for Security. Jamf joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) in 2023. 

The Apple enterprise

The news should also help Windows-based tech support take better control over the security of those Apple devices that are already deployed across their networks.

With as many as 75% of enterprise employees ready to choose a Mac if given a choice, IT really should take security seriously. Earlier this year, Jamf reported that 40% of mobile users and 39% of organizations are running a device with known vulnerabilities. Apple itself has also warned that the number of data breaches has at least tripled since 2013. (Though it is fair to say that Apple is not the platform most impacted, which is a story that speaks many volumes on its own account.) Timely updates on every platform should be in your supplier SLAs.

“It’s time for organizations to get their modern device estates in order by embracing industry best practices and building a defense-in-depth strategy for the hybrid workforce,” Michael Covington, vice president of portfolio strategy at Jamf, said earlier this year.

Soon, with Jamf and Azure, it will become a little easier to do just that. The multi-platform future of enterprise technology continues to emerge, and Apple will play a big part.

Please follow me on Mastodon, or join me in the AppleHolic’s bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe. Read More