New Parallels Software Provides IT Departments the Best OS X Management Capabilities

Parallels Mac Management 4.0 for Microsoft SCCM Provides

IT Departments the Best OS X Management Capabilities

New features include customizable OS X images with task sequencing deployments, Mac discovery and auto enrollment plus much more, saving IT departments’ time and resources as they manage Macs and PCs through one pane of glass

Singapore – July 14, 2015 – Parallels® today unveiled Parallels Mac Management 4.0 for Microsoft® System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) (www.parallels.com/mac-management), which extends Microsoft SCCM (www.microsoft.com/sccm) functionality to manage and control Mac® computers with ease. The new software will be demonstrated July 14–15 at the MacIT Conference (booth #101) in Santa Clara, CA, and will be available for purchase on July 24.

IT departments are in dire need of a solution to simply manage and secure Mac devices as an increasing number of companies are allowing employees the choice of using a Mac or PC at work, as IBM recently announced*. Additionally, the majority of IT decision-makers believe that a single PC and Mac management system would streamline operations (71 percent) and would save money (55 percent)**. Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM enables IT departments to easily discover, enroll and manage Mac devices just as they do existing PCs — all through a single pane of glass.

The new version of Parallels Mac Management adds the capability for IT administrators to create lightweight OS X® images which can be customized via Microsoft SCCM task sequence steps based on the end-user’s needs, or deploy a single “monolithic” OS X image to all users, giving them flexibility to keep every Mac secure and easy to manage, and saving bandwidth. Additionally, Parallels Mac Management enables IT admins to easily gather hardware and software inventory of all Mac machines on the network.

“It is incredible how quickly the demand for enterprises to manage large numbers of Mac devices has grown in our industry,” said Daniel Yurcovic, senior operations engineer for Slalom. “I cannot emphasize enough how Parallels Mac Management has enabled Slalom to quickly and efficiently adapt to this trend in a way which leverages our investment in the capabilities of Microsoft SCCM.”

Parallels Mac Management 4.0 empowers everyone from IT administrators to system architects to CIOs to quickly and cost-effectively extend their current Microsoft SCCM infrastructure to control Mac with customization options IT departments demand, without the significant time and expense of an additional infrastructure. The update enhances the simple and powerful plug-in that streamlines enrollment and control of Mac, simplifies rollouts of Mac software, provides features for planning hardware refresh cycles accurately, and empowers IT administrators to make their Mac computers more secure using advanced encryption techniques.

Parallels Mac Management 4.0 for Microsoft SCCM Key Features:

Asset Inventory

·        Scan the corporate network automatically to discover Mac computers, then auto-enroll them in Microsoft SCCM

·        Gather hardware and software inventory of all Mac machines on the network

·        Leverage native Microsoft SCCM reports to view information about Mac computers

Configuration Management

·        Enforce compliance via extended Microsoft SCCM configuration items: OS X configuration profiles and shell scripts

Software and Patch Deployment

·        Central management and installation of software packages and patches

·        Support for deployment of a wide range of software packages: .dmg, .pkg, .iso, .app, scripts and stand-alone files

·        Support for silent deployment and deployment with user interaction

Mac OS X Image Deployment via Microsoft SCCM

·        Seamless integration of Mac OS X image deployment into Microsoft SCCM workflow

·        Deployment of preconfigured, company-standard OS X installation on new Mac computers

“Parallels Mac Management 4.0 extends Microsoft SCCM with Mac management that is now on par with Microsoft SCCM management of PCs and Windows®,” said Jack Zubarev, Parallels president. “This is a must-have plug-in for any business that has Microsoft SCCM and Macs because it enables them to manage Macs using the same systems, processes and skills that they already have.”

Parallels offers IT departments support resources as they go through proof of concept and implementation, including a JumpStart Program that provides Parallels Mac Management for one year on up to 100 Mac computers, and 10 hours of assisted installation and configuration support.

Parallels will demonstrate Parallels Mac Management at MacIT in Santa Clara, CA on July 14–15, 2015.

Additional Parallels Solutions

Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition provides the easiest way to deliver
Windows and Windows applications to employees with Mac devices and enables IT departments to centrally deploy and control Windows virtual machine images on Mac. Details are available at www.parallels.com/business.

Parallels 2X Remote Application Server is the easiest and most cost-effective solution for IT departments to deliver corporate applications remotely to any device. Publish applications and deliver both VDI and RDSH to any device anywhere in the world. A free 30-day trial with 500 concurrent users and product information is available at www.parallels.com/ras.

Availability and Pricing

Parallels Mac Management 4.0 will be available on July 24 and starts at $30 annually per Mac. Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition starts at $100 per year per Mac. Parallels 2X Remote Application Server starts at $1,125 for 15 concurrent users.