It was a raucous crowd of around 600 people that filled the Great Gallery at Tobacco Dock this June 10, enjoying the outdoor feel of the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the courtyard.

And they were all thrilled to be back in person after a two-year hiatus.

Dean Hager welcomes the crowd

CEO Dean Hager welcomed all of us via video, pointing out that this gathering is a special one: not only for the resumption of Jamf Nation Live, but also because the month of June is Jamf's 20th anniversary!

After thanking everyone for their support and praising the tightest community in all of high tech, Jamf Nation, Dean welcomed Jamf's new Chief Information Officer Linh Lam to enthusiastic applause.

Keynote by CIO Linh Lam

Before she got started, Linh encouraged those in the in-person crowd to do something we haven't been able to do for two years: introduce ourselves to each other.

If we were out of practice, the laughter and chatter that followed didn't reveal if anyone might be feeling the least bit awkward, and nobody had to remind their colleagues to turn off mute!

Linh then introduced us to the topic of her keynote: the two major questions facing IT and security teams today.

IT and security question #1: do your employees love their work technology as much as their home technology?

Apple momentum and Jamf and Apple alignment

Employees that love the tech they use make for more productive and happier staff, and it was clear which devices were the most popular with today's crowd: Apple. "Our main commonality," said Linh, "Is our love for Apple, and our belief that Apple will power the enterprise, school, hospital, clinic and government agencies of the future."

Apple’s momentum is only speeding up, and Jamf with it. “We’re proud of our role in driving Apple’s growth in education and the enterprise,” said Linh. “Because we believe that Apple technology does the best job at empowering the person.”

And that’s where Jamf gets to work: filling the gap between what Apple delivers out of the box and what users and organizations require. Jamf makes sure you can use that Apple device in a way that is consumer-simple and enterprise-secure, while protecting your employees’ personal privacy.

The end-user experience is key

With far better onboarding and BYOD options for businesses using Jamf and Apple, it’s easy to see why more schools and businesses are choosing our partnership.

IT and security question #2: does your organization trust that every person and device accessing their network is safe?

Apple’s increased popularity has one unfortunate downside: the increase in threats aimed at its devices.

Device-focused security model

“It’s important to remember that security is only as strong as your weakest link,” said Linh. “Instead of only focusing on protecting the network first, you should be thinking about the device first and foremost.” Jamf’s Zero Trust model helps to protect devices and people, as well as sensitive company data, and Jamf Protect uses behavioral-based models to ensure safety as well.

Safety for the best learning tools

What we’re really excited about, lately, said Linh, is our coming-soon offering for students and schools: Jamf Safe Internet. Students spend nearly twice as much time online as they have in the past, and they increasingly need internet access for research and connectivity with alternate learning models. Enforcing acceptable usage policies with best-in-class network threat prevention and content filtering features allows students to learn safely anywhere.

Why not both?

The dream solution, continued Linh, is when ease (and love) of use works in unison with state-of-the-art protection. ”At the end of the day,” she says, “technology should be an enabling tool. It should empower people to do their best work. Technology should fade into the background.”

What’s new for IT and how management and security work together

After enjoying Linh Lam’s keynote, attendees were treated to a talk from Tom Holbrook of Apple on what’s new for IT — hot off the heels of WWDC. After some slightly star-struck applause, Suzan Sakarya of Jamf walked participants through the strength that an interdependent security and management strategy can offer. Attendees walked away knowing why:

• Modern platforms bring modern risks
• Secure configurations are essential to conducting business
• "Always-on" devices mean always vulnerable

Small sessions at Jamf Nation Live, London

After the morning’s speakers, attendees were only getting started! Fortifying themselves with a delicious lunch, the members of Jamf Nation went on to a series of smaller sessions focusing on the pillars of management, security and education.

The only trouble was deciding which ones to attend!

Jamf Nation had the opportunity to learn about automating CIS benchmark reporting and remediation as well as automating Jamf School deployment from classroom carts. Others took a deep dive into the anatomy of a Mac attack, the importance of zero trust and how to extend management workflows to teachers.

Relaxing end to the day

All of that learning, collaborating and connecting was thirsty work! That’s why Jamf Nation took to the skies for drinks, discussion and taking in the spectacular views at Skylight, Tobacco Dock’s rooftop bar.

Don't miss out!

There is still time to register for Jamf Nation Live in Amsterdam (June 16), Paris (June 21) and Munich (June 23).

Come for the learning and laughter, and stay for the selfies!