Jamf, TRUCE bring Apple to the deskless enterprise

A new partnership between Jamf and TRUCE Software will deliver significant benefits to Apple-based enterprises with remote, deskless workforces in such industries as manufacturing or construction.

The remote remote workers

The idea sems pretty solid. Think how a move to adopt Apple kit and management solutions such as Jamf has enabled remote working to flourish during the pandemic.

Workers and employees have been able to get provisioned with software and hardware, while essential data on or available to those devices is protected by an array of tools, such as console-based remote device management.

That’s fine for desk jockeys, but what about more traditionally and truly mobile professionals? Why shouldn’t they enjoy a set of relevant benefits? Solutions can support the work of field service engineers, architects, and workers across manufacturing.

These are the markets Jamf and TRUCE are aiming for with this partnership.

Mobile use policy that’s relevant

The idea is that employers can enforce mobile-use policy with customized app availability, notifications and other functions. While doing so, they can also make use of location and movement data to add a surface of relevance to what’s going on.

An architect may carry plans that are only available on site and in the office, for example, or a service engineer could find the exact documents they need are available to them when they reach a remote site.

The solution also addresses the issue of enterprise mobile use policy that becomes so restrictive it forces employees to carry two devices — one for business, another for personal — if only to build a privacy wall between those two uses.

It doesn’t need to be like that. This returns devices to normal use when they are not protected, which means a person’s app, web and other data and preferences are kept private. That way employers can enforce intended use without infringing employee privacy and while enabling the flexibility you need to use one device for business and pleasure.

Jamf Worker Safety

The combined solution is being made available as a product the partners are calling Jamf Worker Safety. It is designed to apply a dynamic mobile-use policy in response to location or movement data, returning them to a different state at other times,

“We’re completely re-thinking mobility, adding an entirely new contextual layer to MDM capability to meet the varying needs of the workforce in a way that’s never been done before,” said TRUCE CEO Joe Boyle. “In effect, we’re delivering a way to solve the human part of the mobility challenge, solving for the dynamic nature of a workforce that uses mobility as they move throughout the day, across changing environments.”

“More organizations are embracing mobile devices to replace legacy workflows, and this shift requires a nuanced balance between creating an exceptional user experience and delivering the level of safety, privacy, and security required to satisfy organizational needs,” said Dean Hager, Jamf CEO.

Digital transformation never stops

To my eyes, this solution should be of some interest to the growing number of enterprises coalescing around Apple’s solutions who also maintain armies of truly remote workers across an array of fields.

It also seems a relevant solution that may yet help meet the evolving mobile needs of Industry 4.0 deployments, in which highly complex supply chains may benefit from highly personalized, dynamic security environments. It’s another significant moment in the evolution of enterprise tech, and Apple’s part in that ecosystem. It’s also a nice example of Apple’s partner-based approach to supporting this complex sector.

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