Apple acquires device management startup Fleetsmith

guest · Jun 26, 2020

Apple acquires device management startup Fleetsmith
June 5, 2020
https://www.crn.com.au/news/apple-acquires-device-management-startup-fleetsmith-549701

Apple has acquired Fleetsmith, a startup specializing in Apple device management solutions, according to a blog from Fleetsmith.

The San Francisco-based startup competes with several other companies that have developed device management software exclusively for Apple devices, including Jamf, Addigy and Mosyle. Jamf, the largest player in the space, reportedly made a confidential filing in January for a planned initial public offering.

We’re thrilled to join Apple," the founders--Zack Blum, Jesse Endahl and Kenneth Kouot--said in the post.
The founders pointed to Fleetsmith’s "shared values" with Apple “of putting the customer at the center of everything we do without sacrificing privacy and security.”
Click to expand...

The startup says that its software provides automation of device setup, intelligence, patching and security for Apple devices--across Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.
Click to expand...

Apple acquires Fleetsmith, a company that streamlines deployment of Apple devices in the workplace

Typically, Apple relies on third party MDMs like MobileIron or AirWatch for enterprise deployment. Now Apple wants to control the experience itself as it continues to penetrate into the corporate space. That said, third parties may still be able to use Apple's APIs when managing Apple products.

Fleetsmith is a relatively new company, started in 2016, it had raised $40 million in venture capital according to TechCrunch. Fleetsmith's appeal is that it simplified deployment of Apple devices with automated processes and could tie into existing enterprise tools like Office 365 and Google's G-Suite. Current MDMs utilize Apple's Device Enrollment Program which can still be a hassle to deploy.
Click to expand...

guest · Jun 26, 2020

Fleetsmith customers unhappy with loss of third-party app support after Apple acquisition
June 26, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/26/f...rd-party-app-support-after-apple-acquisition/

When Apple confirmed it had acquired Fleetsmith, a mobile device management vendor, on Wednesday, it seemed like a straightforward purchase, but Fleetsmith customers quickly learned a key piece of functionality had stopped working — and many weren’t happy about it.

Apple systems administrators began complaining on social media on the morning of the acquisition announcement that the company was no longer allowing them to connect to third-party applications.

“Primarily Fleetsmith maintained a third-party app catalog, so you could deploy things like Chrome or Zoom to your Macs, and Fleetsmith would maintain security updates for those apps. This was the main reason we purchased Fleetsmith,” a Fleetsmith customer told TechCrunch.
The customer added that the company described this functionality as a major feature in a company blog post: [...]
Click to expand...

As it turned out, Apple had made it clear that it was discontinuing this feature in an email to Fleetsmith customers on the day of the transition.
[...] they said that Apple has turned what was a highly automated experience into a highly manual one, effectively eliminating the speed and ease of use advantage of having the update feature in the first place.
Click to expand...

For starters, it let them set up new Macs automatically out of the box. This allows them to ship a new Mac or other Apple device, and as soon as the employee powers it up and connects to Wi-Fi, it connects to Fleetsmith, where systems administrators can track usage and updates. In addition, it allowed System Administrators to enforce Apple security and OS updates on company devices.

What’s more, it could also do the same thing with third-party applications like Google Chrome, Zoom or many others.
Attempts to reach Fleetsmith founders for comment were unsuccessful. Should that change we will update the article.
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Apple acquires device management startup Fleetsmith

guest Guest

guest Guest

Log in or Sign up

Apple acquires device management startup Fleetsmith

guest Guest

guest Guest

Useful Searches