Big Blue bites the Apple pie

ARMONK, NEW YORK: IBM has announced new cloud-based IT services to help clients securely integrate Macs with their enterprise systems and applications.

This new offering from IBM MobileFirst Managed Mobility Services (MMMS) is designed to help large enterprises incorporate Macs within their IT infrastructures – a rising requirement, as more clients adopt or allow the use of Macs by their employees.

Shipments of Macs are growing faster than the industry average, and the Mac has outgrown the PC industry every year for the last decade, IBM said in a press release.

Mac@IBM

The new mobility services for Mac are based on experience IBM gained through its internal Mac@IBM program in which IBM deployed Macs to employees around the globe.

The new partnership with Apple presented IBM with an opportunity to commercialize this offering by using its own experience in enterprise deployment and the ability to scale to clients’ specific needs.

Of late, IBM has been providing these services on a custom basis for a number of clients and with the growing interest in adopting Macs into the enterprise, IBM is now offering them as a standard services offering.

What’s on offer?

The new offering is an enhancement to IBM’s MobileFirst services portfolio specifically designed to support Macs.

The new mobility services for Mac join a growing list of enhanced IBM mobile enterprise services introduced by IBM last year. These include infrastructure development, application platform management, device procurement and deployment, managed mobility, mobile network, mobile collaboration, mobile virtualization services and IBM smart and embedded device security.

The new services also feature the Casper Suite from JAMF Software, a software solution for helping clients quickly set up and deploys Macs including MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, iMac, and Mac Pro.

How are the services delivered?

The integration services for Mac are delivered via the cloud as a software-as-a-service and also are available as an on-premise solution in the client’s data center.

According to Richard Patterson, General Manager, Infrastructure Services, IBM Global Technology Services, “IBM’s new enterprise services ensure a great user experience for clients using Macs, providing world-class support from installation through the life of the product.”