Restaurants run on iOS: Jamf and IPORT bring Apple-first hospitality to the NRA Show

For years, Jamf has made January in New York a ritual.

Every year at NRF, the National Retail Federation's flagship conference, Jamf hosts one of the most talked-about events on the show floor, bringing:

• Retailers
• Technology leaders
• And Apple enthusiasts

Together to explore what's possible when the Mac and iOS/iPadOS devices are paired with our award-winning management platform.

This year, we took that same energy somewhere new.

At the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show, held at McCormick Place in Chicago, Jamf and IPORT partnered to bring “Restaurants Run on iOS” — and the industry took notice.

Why restaurants, and why now?

The restaurant and hospitality industry is at an inflection point; the same digital transformation that reshaped retail is now hitting food service with full force.

Modern restaurant is a technology stack on legs with:

• Kitchen displays
• Guest-facing ordering kiosks
• Workforce task management
• Digital menu boards

But here's the problem: a lot of that technology stack is expensive.

Legacy point-of-sale (POS) providers built dominant market positions by bundling proprietary hardware, software and payment processing into one locked ecosystem. For a while, the convenience was worth it.

Increasingly, restaurateurs are doing the math, and the math isn't pretty.

What started as reasonable entry-point pricing has, for many operators, grown harder to justify with every renewal cycle because of a compounding mix of:

• Subscription fees
• Transaction percentages
• And hardware lock-in

Over the past few years especially, those costs have climbed in ways that operators didn't anticipate when they first signed on. The gap between what they expected to pay and what they're currently paying is driving a fresh look at alternatives.

That's where Apple and Jamf come in.

The Apple advantage: a partner-driven, integrated ecosystem

At the NRA Show, Jamf and IPORT demonstrated what a modern technology stack looks like in practice at a restaurant.

The answer is built on hardware that operators and employees are familiar with, making it:

• Modular
• Cost effective
• Easy to use

The showcase centered on IPORT's suite of iPad mounting and hardware solutions designed for front- and back-of-house operations. By pairing these with flexible deployment options and existing iOS apps, operators can keep their restaurants running smoothly without the complexity of proprietary systems.

Compare that to a proprietary POS terminal, which requires vendor-specific service contracts, proprietary replacement parts and locked-down software that limits your options at renewal time.

With an iPad-based solution managed by Jamf, you:

• Own the hardware
• Choose the apps
• Control the experience

Chris Lawson, IPORT's partner lead, put it plainly: "What we saw at the NRA Show was an industry at a tipping point. Operators are actively looking for alternatives, and this was our opportunity to show them one. IPORT exists to unlock the full potential of iOS in the real world, and the partnerships we've built make that possible at scale. The restaurant industry is ready, and so are we."

A partner ecosystem built for hospitality

No single vendor solves every problem in food service, and Jamf doesn’t pretend otherwise. What makes the Apple approach so compelling is the depth of the partner ecosystem surrounding it.

At the NRA showcase, Jamf and IPORT were joined by several industry-leading partners:

IPORT

Their portfolio covers every deployment scenario a restaurant operator is likely to face. Tableside ordering and mobile POS run on the CONNECT PRO Case or CONNECT Phone Case with PayCase. Self-service kiosks are built around the CONNECT PRO BaseStation or CONNECT PRO WallStation. Kitchen display systems run on the CONNECT PRO VESA Station. And workforce and task management deployments leverage the CONNECT MOUNT and CONNECT Dock or MultiDock. Having the right physical layer for each use case makes the whole stack tangible and deployable at scale.

WorkJam

A leading workforce management platform with deep roots in the restaurant and food service industry. WorkJam handles:

• Shift scheduling
• Task management
• Frontline employee communication

All integrated with iOS devices managed by Jamf.

With a new pre-sales director actively engaged in partner collaboration, WorkJam brings serious hospitality expertise to the ecosystem.

Enzo by New Black

New Black's guest-ordering and engagement platform connects seamlessly with Apple hardware to deliver a modern, frictionless dining experience for guests while giving operators rich data and control.

Mood Media

For operators focused on the full guest experience, Mood Media brings digital rights-managed audio and visual content management to the equation, turning Apple hardware into a powerful ambiance and brand communication tool.

Sonance

Specialists in architectural audio solutions, Sonance brought premium sound design expertise to the showcase, demonstrating how audio integrates seamlessly into the broader hospitality environment.

iEnterprise

Rounding out the ecosystem, iEnterprise brings enterprise mobility management services and Apple-focused professional services that help operators plan, deploy and support large-scale iOS rollouts with confidence.

Together, these partners demonstrate something important: when you build on standards-based Apple technology and manage it with Jamf, you get to choose best-in-class tools for each layer of your operation. You're not locked into a single vendor's roadmap or pricing model.

What total cost of ownership looks like

A typical iPad-based POS deployment using an IPORT mount and a best-in-class ordering app like Enzo by New Black represents a fundamentally different cost structure than a proprietary POS system. The hardware is commercially available, competitively priced and repairable through standard Apple service channels. The software is subscription-based but market-competitive, with no hidden transaction fees. Jamf Pro gives IT and operations teams centralized visibility and control across every device in every location.

For multi-location operators, that last point is significant.

Consider what it takes to manage 38,000 locations globally, as one major beverage brand in Jamf's ecosystem is doing today. This requires a platform that scales management and security to meet your growing needs, this includes:

• Zero-touch deployment
• Automated configuration profiles
• And remote troubleshooting

So, adding a new location doesn't require sending a technician on-site to configure every device manually.

In contrast with proprietary POS systems:

• Rising subscription fees
• Mandatory hardware refresh cycles
• Planned obsolescence by limiting software updates
• And transaction percentage models

Each of these represent more than just inconveniences. Because they’re scaled against the success of your restaurant, they’re a meaningful margin pressure.

Jamf at NRA: What this moment means

Jamf's long-standing NRF presence proved that retail and hospitality operators respond when they see solutions demonstrated in context by people who understand the industry.

Chris Diaz, Industry Business Development Representative at Jamf, who was on-site at the NRA Show, saw it firsthand. "We had operators come to the booth who were genuinely frustrated with what they were paying and what they were getting. When they saw an iPad running Enzo on an IPORT mount, fully managed by Jamf, the reaction was always the same: Why aren't we doing this?"

• Operators actively evaluated their technology stacks.
• Rising costs from incumbent providers are creating real urgency.

Simply put: the combination of Apple hardware, Jamf management and a strong partner ecosystem gives operators a credible, proven path forward.

The restaurants, cafes and bars that thrive in the next decade will be the ones that get their technology right. Not just for today's costs, but for tomorrow's flexibility and scalability, designed to grow with your business — not extract from it.