Christmas has come early this year for admins of the iOS platform. With the announcement of the iOS 11.3 release, admins can get excited for the long-awaited functionality to allow the deferral of OS updates. And with general availability of the 9.3.0 version of VMware AirWatch technology on March 14th, organizations can support this now that iOS 11.3 is released.
Silencing OS updates for end users has truly been one of the most critical gaps in the admin’s tool belt since the inception of Apple’s MDM framework, but with the upcoming release, admins can rest easy and test updates prior to rolling out the update to their fleet. Allowing IT teams to test and validate OS releases prior to production adoption is vital to ensuring a stable and efficient rollout whether it’s for thousands of devices or just your CEO’s iPhone.
Why is deferring updates so important?
Users come in all proficiencies and openness to change. Some are eager to take day one updates while others wonder what’s up with that little red icon that keeps popping up. This can create cumbersome challenges for an IT organization who need to secure and provision these devices. iOS devices are often simultaneously receiving email, changing from cellular to corporate Wi-Fi, hitting intranet sites, installing enterprise apps, and doing a hundred other actions. All of these tasks might behave differently with each IT staff’s network and security preferences. It is simply not scalable for an organization to ensure the success of these critical business resources across dozens of OS versions.
Companies can typically control the details of their network, but they can’t control what is included in the latest iOS release nor its compatibility with their business-critical applications. By deferring the option to update to a version until it’s been verified by IT, it prevents users from inadvertently updating their devices and disrupting their productivity due to a potential incompatibility with applications used on a daily basis. On the other hand, there could be security patches for the operating system for known vulnerabilities that need immediate patching.
By combining this deferral with AirWatch technology’s existing ability to force OS updates on devices, IT teams can preemptively catch these threats and validate their specific configurations and use cases on a specific OS version prior to updating their entire device fleet.
Available today with 9.3.0!
With AirWatch technology, admins have another reason to rest easy. With the launch of our 9.3.0 release, VMware is thrilled to announce full support for the deferral of iOS updates! Customers can remain confident that upon general availability of iOS 11.3, they will be able to fully leverage this transformative functionality.
For more information on our 9.3.0 release and any other Apple updates, please refer to our release notes and subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Existing customers should also check out myAirWatch for updates, known issues and more as we prepare for the release of iOS 11.3.
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