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Realizing the possibilities with global Mac management
Serviceplan Group
Munich, Germany
Building best brands since 1970
Passion for innovative brand development, coupled with creativity over the last 48 years, led to Serviceplan Group’s rise to be the largest owner and partner-managed agency group in Europe today. Their colorful vision for creating powerful messages through written and visual communication continues to paint a bright picture for the company’s future.
Supporting their success is a premier technical platform - Apple. Through the use of their 1,500 Mac devices, Serviceplan continues to develop and coach powerful brands across the globe. But their IT team knew a robust mobile device management (MDM) solution was necessary to effectively and efficiently manage this deployment. That’s when they found Jamf Pro.
SUPPORTING GROWTH WITH MDM
Constantly striving to provide employees with the best digital experience possible, Manuel Miseré, head of Serviceplan’s central IT office in Munich, said user enablement is top priority. “A close relationship with our users is very important to me,” he said. “We do not just want to propose a new technology to them, but rather enable them with it.”
Miseré knew they needed an MDM that could scale with the company and accommodate their growing user base for years to come. So in 2017, after seeing Jamf at various Apple-hosted events, as well as hearing more about the solution at the Jamf Nation Roadshow, the choice was clear. We quickly realized Jamf would fit our needs the best,” said Alexey Puninskiy, system engineer, Serviceplan. “Jamf is a solution that aligns 100 percent with the Apple standards and offers zero-day support for new Apple Releases (versions and patches).” Additionally, he said an elevated level of support for Apple’s Device Enrollment (formerly DEP) was convincing.
The migration from our previous solution to Jamf was very smooth. The support during the JumpStart was very helpful.
EXPERIENCING A SMOOTH MIGRATION
Not entirely sure what to expect, the Serviceplan team was pleasantly surprised by the seamless migration of Jamf Pro into their existing environment. “The most important thing for our team was to make the transition to the new solution completely invisible to our end users sitting in front of the devices,” said Manuel Lindner, Mac management systems engineer, Serviceplan.
Puninskiy credits the smooth switch to the certified Jamf Integrator who lead the four-day Jamf JumpStart. “The support during the JumpStart was very helpful for a smooth implementation of Jamf Pro,” he said. But it was more than just a transition to a new MDM for Serviceplan. Puninskiy explained it was also a shift in how the team managed the devices as a whole.
Prior to Jamf, the organization’s Mac administrators focused on managing individual clients. This meant changes or updates to their systems required oneto-one attention with the devices, or push logic. Jamf Pro, however, allows for group management. The terminal fetches the necessary configurations, such as scripts and programs from Jamf Pro, utilizing pull logic. Despite this new way of thinking, Puninskiy summarized, “You do not have to be afraid of Jamf and the changeover. It’s a system that’s easy to upgrade to.”
DISCOVERING A NEW SYSTEM
Once in place, Puninskiy and Lindner had fun uncovering new possibilities in Jamf. “After the transition, we discovered features in Jamf Pro that we did not target, but that actually made our lives easier,” Lindner said. The ability to have users self enroll was a pleasant surprise and directly addressed the issue they previously had with servicing remote employees’ devices.
The capability to manage corporate-owned devices outside the company network, a shift from needing them on the corporate network, was another powerful discovery that Puninskiy calls “indispensable.” This allows the team to administer important patches remotely, as well as perform other key management tasks to Mac devices, no matter their location.
The zero-day support that Jamf provides with each Apple release is quite unbeatable.
EMPOWERING END USERS WITH SELF SERVICE
Along with its robust management capabilities, Jamf Pro also provided something Serviceplan’s IT team wanted for several years - an app catalog. With Jamf Self Service, they are finally able to create an app store that’s tailored to their organization, which allows them to more easily implement business-specific projects.
Customizable for all of their 36 global locations, users access only the apps and scripts that are relevant to them. For instance, if a user based in Berlin needs access to a printer, they’ll only see printers in the Berlin office within their Self Service instance. And with the ability to provide special solutions for download to local users, employees get what they need, when they need it - no IT ticket required. Puninskiy said this feature alone has people excited. “The users thanked us that they can now solve their problems easier and faster,” he said.
FUELING FUTURE SUCCESS
Now managing about 1,500 Mac devices with Jamf Pro, Lindner said the change in management solutions is notable. “We notice significantly fewer IT tickets than before,” he said. “While users can solve more tasks on their own, IT efforts are reduced, allowing us to focus on more important tasks.”
With Jamf Pro’s capabilities, and the extra time they’ve gained from more self-sufficient users, Serviceplan’s IT team is ready to initiate a number of projects, including the fully automated integration of system drives. This new possibility, along with numerous others, will help support Serviceplan’s goal to communicate with consumers through powerful brands on a global scale.
To learn more about how Jamf Pro can make an impact on your Mac and iOS management, Request a trial.
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