Imbema

More Professional, Faster, and Easier to Use

The migration from Windows to Mac quickly created a need to better manage and monitor nearly 400 Apple devices. Imbema wanted to professionalize its operations, save time, and make device management simpler for users. Wesley Noorhoff, IT manager, had this to say: “

Together with Root3, we’ve managed to professionalize the management of our Apple devices. We also needed proactive management.”

But it doesn’t stop there. The next step for Imbema’s IT department is to eliminate the need to handle Mac devices at all. Noorhoff:

“In the future, Apple will ship the device directly to our employees, and we’ll have configured all permissions and settings in advance via Jamf Pro. The employee unboxes their MacBook themselves—which is a pleasant experience in itself—and then the installation process begins fully automated. After that, we also want to set up a self-service portal that can be accessed from Jamf Pro on every Mac to make things easier for users in all sorts of ways. They’ll then be able to launch various applications themselves through the portal and have access to the Office templates. Finally, we want to integrate our Office 365 environment even more closely with the Mac environment.”

Sound Advice and a Proactive Partnership

Root3 was recommended by Apple in 2017 because Imbema was using Profile Manager. Root3 determined that Profile Manager, as an MDM solution, did not offer sufficient capabilities to support Imbema’s environment. Consequently, Root3 introduced Jamf Pro in early 2019 to further professionalize all Mac management at Imbema. Noorhoff comments:

“For us, Root3 is a partner that’s always on top of things. They understand us well and visit us regularly—not just to follow up on what they’ve already done for us, but also to look ahead to new possibilities. They’re simply a very pleasant partner who’s well-informed, has strong ties with Apple, and can provide us with excellent advice. They’re constantly looking for ways to improve and are very proactive in that regard.”

Thanks to the switch to Jamf Pro, recommended by Root3, our setup is now much more professional and faster. The installation process alone, for example, has gone from 4 hours to 30 minutes, Noorhoff explains:

“Previously, it took us about 4 hours to set up a Mac; now we can do it in 30 minutes or less per device. Our management is now more proactive as well, because with Jamf Pro, we can anticipate potential issues in advance. For example, we can proactively reach out to users within our organization when a MacBook’s battery is in poor condition. This helps us ensure that hardware downtime remains minimal. We thoroughly review updates first. Through Jamf Pro, we can now roll out updates in a controlled and managed manner at a time that’s most convenient for us. This ensures that users can always continue working and that their Mac doesn’t suddenly reboot for half an hour to install an update during work hours. Finally, Sophos has made things much easier to use. We initially had McAfee running on the Mac devices, but that turned out to be a nightmare combination. On Root3’s advice, we switched to Sophos, a more Mac-specific antivirus solution, and that has resolved the issues in that area as well.”