1. Buy Parallels For Mac
2. Parallels Mac Management For Sccm
3. Mac Management Sccm

Parallels Mac Management for SCCM – Part 3 – NetBoot Server & OS X Software Update Service Date: January 25, 2017 Author: SCCMentor 15 Comments In Part 1 of the Parallels Mac Management for SCCM series I installed the Parallels Configuration Manager Console Extension. Parallels Mac Management for SCCM review (part 5) » About Peter Daalmans Peter is a Senior Consultant and Enterprise Mobility (Configuration Manager/Microsoft Intune/Enterprise Mobility Suite) MVP with CTGlobal with a primary focus on the Enterprise Client Management and Enterprise Mobility. Mac Admin Tools. Parallels Mac Client push installation: Allows the admin to initiate installation or reinstallation of the Parallels Mac Client to a single Mac or group of Mac computers. Collect inventory on request: IT admins can collect hardware and software inventory on request on selected Mac computers. Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM is ranked 18th in Configuration Management vs SCCM which is ranked 2nd in Configuration Management with 7 reviews. The top reviewer of SCCM writes 'Enables us to set up schedules, according to security needs, to automate server and desktop patching'.

For organizations that are already managing their Windows systems using Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager (2012, 2012R2) that have Apple Macs in their environment, the company Parallels (maker of the virtual machine technology for Macs) released a plug-in for the Mac that provides extensive management of Macs from SCCM. (and no, you do NOT need to be running the Parallels VM software on the Mac to use this plug-in, two completely separate parts of the company).In a nutshell, with this Parallels for SCCM add-in, you can:More specifically, what the Parallels Mac Management suite includes:Parallels Suite adds right into the normal SCCM Management Console:Uses nMAP for Network Discovery, same issue as doing a discovery of PCs on a network, will need a helper service to hop across subnets for discovery, but will identify Macs on the network (just like SCCM discovers PCs on a network). Alternate option is to just have users launch/install the agent, just a normal DMG package. (note: for Macs that are already joined to Active Directory, a Summer/2014 release will discover Mac objects through the Active Directory Discovery mechanism of SCCM).System Center’s Resource Explorer takes device inventory and provides a view of the the hardware and OS configuration of the device. A unique function of the solution is that it takes the Service# of the device and checks against the Apple warranty Website to identify whether the device is under warranty or not, that confirms also whether the device is included in AppleCare extended warranty and support program.Application Packaging is fully supported and uses normal SCCM packaging functionality where a package can be created, but instead of an EXE/MSI package in SCCM used against Windows, when creating a package in SCCM, the package for the Mac will be a DMG installer package.The Parallels SCCM plug-in also integrates with System Center’s Compliance Settings and allows for the configuration of password policies, application settings, firewall settings, network settings, etc.Within each device’s configuration profile, settings can be made such as settings as they relate to Apple System Preferences like passcode enforcement, network options, security and privacy controls, as well as Application Settings like profile settings for email, Exchange settings, calendar settings, etc.

• Do bare metal imaging of a Mac from SCCM

• Discovery and inventory Macs (just like PCs)

Buy Parallels For Mac

• Create task sequences to manage Macs (just like PCs)

• Deploy and manage software on Macs (just like PCs)

• Set compliance settings and control Macs (just like PCs)

For organizations that use Parallels Desktop for Virtual Machines, the Parallels SCCM management plug-in includes options for configuring Parallels settings like coherence, resource allocation, backup, sharing options, etc.

The Parallels SCCM plug-in also fully supports bare metal installation of the Mac OS/X operating system on a Mac. For OS installation, a lightweight NetBoot app running on a Windows server needs to be installed on the network. When a Mac is booted up, the administrator just holds down the Option key and choose to boot to the network, which will redirect the boot to SCCM for the selection of an Operating System package on the system.Overall, the solution is impressive, especially for organizations that already have System Center Configuration Manager and are managing Windows-based systems, instead of buying a whole separate management tool to just manage Macs, load up an agent on the Macs and manage them just like the organization manages its PCs.Parallels is selling the agents on an annual subscription basis that includes free upgrades during the year as they update the SCCM management components and the agents to add functionality as well as keep up with the rolling updates in System Center and on Macs. The retail price is $30/user/year, however Parallels will aggressively price the offering for enterprises, and given the alternative of buying a completely separate Mac management suite with the accompanying servers, licenses, management, and training efforts, a sturdy discount from Parallels definitely is an attraction option.For more information, the Parallels Website has more details http://www.parallels.com/products/enterprise/business-solutions/#PMM

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.

Today, we released a new version of Parallels Mac Management! Say hello to Parallels Mac Management 4.0 for Microsoft^® System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM),which extends Microsoft SCCM functionality to manage and control Mac computers with ease. The new software will be demonstrated today and tomorrow (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.”

An additional bonus: we offer 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.

Additional Parallels Business Solutions

Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Editionprovides 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.

A new snapshot feature was included, allowing one to restore their virtual machine environment to a previous state in case of issues. Keyboard not working on macbook. Further, Parallels added a security manager to limit the amount of interaction between the Windows and Mac OS X installations. This version included a long-awaited complete “Parallels tools'” driver suite for Linux guest operating systems. Therefore, integration between Mac OS X and Linux guest-OS's has been greatly improved.

Parallels Mac Management For Sccm

References

Mac Management Sccm

^* “Apple is getting an unexpected huge customer” – Fortune, May 29, 2015
^** “Trends in Mac Usage and Management” – Penton and Windows^® ITPro, September 2014