On Tuesday afternoon at an underground theater in Cupertino, California, Apple unveiled a series of highly-anticipated updates to its iPhone, Watch, TV and operating system.
But at Jamf, Tuesday was another day at the office. It had to be. On days when Apple debuts a major software upgrade, Jamf's job is to make sure the changes are integrated seamlessly into its existing tech.
"It's a really big deal for our customers," said Jamf product manager Michael Devins. "People want these updates and they need to be ready for them. But the adoption curve is high, and organizations need to make sure they can support their users."
Jamf, a Minneapolis-based firm that creates software for managing Apple platforms, has been offering zero day support for Apple's upgrades for a half-decade. The firm has more than 10,000 organizations using its B2B tech, including 15 Fortune 5000 companies.
In preparation for Apple's annual upgrades, typically announced in September, Jamf spends the summer developing its own updates to its Jamf Pro platform.
Devins explained that every June, the company gets an idea of what Apple's annual update will include. Jamf spends the following months building a system to support those updates, and distributing beta versions to the thousands of organizations that use their management systems.
"We don't know what they're going to announce, and we definitely live in a world of ambiguity," said Jamf product marketing manager Nick Thompson. "But we have a really nice track record of being ready for whatever they come out with."
Thompson added that Jamf doesn't know the full scope of the update each year. But both he and Devins had a few things they were looking forward to with the iOS 11 upgrade.
Thompson said he was enjoying the new iPad multitasking capabilities (which he received a beta of earlier this summer), and believes that it will make the device a more reliable replacement for laptops. Devins said that he's looking forward to the addition of augmented reality, and increased functionality for Apple Pay.
If Apple changes plans prior to the update announcement, Jamf modifies its platform to follow suit. But Thompson believes that the company's laser focus on Apple products gives them a distinct advantage over other software management firms.
"It's always an interesting time at Jamf," he said. "We specifically line up to Apple's cadence, and we believe no one can do it better. Apple is what we do."
