If a pandemic hadn’t shut down the world, the Jamf Nation User Conference (JNUC 2020) would be San Diego this year, and I’d be enjoying some of the best weather on the planet. It did, and therefore the conference went virtual like so many others. At the keynote today, CEO Dean Hager highlighted a number of key enhancements Jamf made to their platform in response to COVID-19.

Jamf Virtual Visits

In April, Jamf launched “Virtual Visits” for Jamf Pro. The workflow is aimed to simplify and secure the entire process when patients are in a local healthcare facility but need to chat with doctors and specialists virtually. Depending on the video platform, Jamf’s Virtual Visits can create a randomized account in a third-party video conference platform. All of the information is temporarily stored in Jamf Pro for the patient visit but removed when the patient is discharged. Doctors and other medical staff can access a video conference directory from a computer or mobile device and start a meeting with one tap.

Learn Anywhere

Remote Learning become front and center this spring, and then many districts had to prepare for hybrid and completely virtual learning this fall. Learn Anywhere includes new features that help teachers communicate with students, use engaging resources, and assess objectives from any environment. During the JNUC 2020 Keynote, key features of Learn Anywhere were highlighted:

“With Virtual Visits, we can facilitate an easy way for patients to stay connected without the technology being overly complicated in order to improve the patient experience,” said Holly Panting, IT Project Manager, Oxford Health. “With the flexibility provided by Jamf, it allows us to deploy and manage these devices easily. We can now spin up these solutions quickly and get them deployed safely.” 

  • Remote Class – Gives the ability for teachers to launch a virtual classroom or one-to-one meeting with students with one click using video conference platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet.
  • Raise Hand – When a student gets stuck on a problem, they sometimes need help from their teacher directly. Raise Hand allows students to digitally engage teachers with a question or alert them to an issue.
  • Jamf Assessment – With the Jamf Assessment app, a proctor is able to see both a live recording of the screen and video of the student through the camera. It is configurable through the Jamf Pro or Jamf School interface to allow you to customize background colors, specify the online test site, and to adjust the width of the video and exam windowpanes.

Jamf Marketplace

At JNUC 2020, Jamf also announced key updates to Jamf Marketplace, the central place for Jamf customers to discover ways to extend a Jamf environment. Currently, the Marketplace has nearly 350 listings, including news integrations with Jira, ServiceNow, and Splunk. Updates to the Marketplace include improved discoverability and direct access to the tools IT organizations need to make custom configuration much easier.

“Jamf allowed us to transition our district from in-class learning to distance learning in 24 hours,” said Jacob Luevano, Innovative Teaching Strategist, Manor Independent School District. “Many students who didn’t have access to apps, resources and all the benefits of modern technology, now do. This allows them to better engage with their peers and teachers, and empowers them to seamlessly transition from classroom to home with their Apple device in hand.”

Wrap up on JNUC 2020

While I wish the event was in person, I am glad that so many more people will get an opportunity to “attend” a JNUC, hone their Apple IT skills, and connect with other Apple IT professionals. JNUC 2020 is just getting started, so head on to over Jamf’s website to get registered.