Hi, my name is Dean and I'm part of EIS, working in the Technical Support team for over 3 years gaining training and experiences to support and manage schools networks across Kent.
Part of my day to day job is installing and maintaining LightSpeed MDM for schools who wish to manage their IPads this way. This Blog is just a introduction to the new MDM v3 which is due for release on July 1st 2014. When the product is released I will further investigate the pros and cons of the new version.
You may not be aware but LightSpeed are updating their platform to v3.
I haven’t yet had the chance to test and play around with the new platform but during my visit to IT14 I managed to get a closer look into the product from the LightSpeed stand. From my perspective the new version feels and looks modern, and features are now on one page rather than using tabs and pages to display different options.
The new platform uses Charts and graphs to display information about the MDM. For Example you can now view recently added Apps and recently enrolled devices.
According to LightSpeed the following are the main reasons why customers should upgrade:
Managed Distribution – V3 allows you to take advantage of Apple’s managed distribution program to seamlessly pass out and retrieve apps, as well as silently push apps to supervised Devices.
Smart Groups – You’ll automatically get two “smart” (Automatic and dynamic) groups with v3. Such as Teachers and students. This makes it easy to push apps and set Policies based on roles.
Dashboard – Get a snapshot view of your mobile deployment, including recently deployed apps and recently enrolled devices.
For EIS customers the migration will be completed by July 1st 2014. EIS are currently working with LightSpeed so you will not have to do anything. Your login will stay the same but the old MDM website will change from www.lsmdm.com to next.lsmdm.com
According to LightSpeed, v3 is fully supported for IOS7 so any bugs you may have come across hopefully will resolved with the new version.
Good work Dean! I'm looking forward to the upgrade as I can see this will significantly streamline the use of the MDM. Especially the ability to silently push apps to supervised devices as the current method where the password for the Apple ID must be entered on each device when prompted is a real bug bear.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your work on the improvements.
Andrew W
Hi Andrew, Lets see what V3 brings with Silient App deployment. There are ways to Avoid Apple ID prompt but lets see if V3 fixes the issue without using my workaround.
ReplyDeleteHi Dean, We recently setup twelve iPads (4th Gen) in an Infants school with Light Speed MDM, and we are now looking to install a number of FREE apps so I would be interested to know what the workaround is to avoid the Apple ID prompt?
DeleteNote: Unfortunately we weren't able to setup the iPads initially using Apple Configurator (Supervisor Mode) as we don't have access to a MacBook at the moment :)
Also, we are now looking to register on the Apple "Volume Purchase Program" for schools.
Kind Regards
David S
Afternoon All, I've now generated a new Post which gives you step by step instructions on how to roll out Apps without the prompt for Apple ID and Password.
Deletehttp://eisdev.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/mdm-deploying-apps-without-apple-id.html
Afternoon David, New post now available to help with silent App install.
DeleteSupervising your iPads will give you the benefit of using all the features within the MDM management, Useful features such as App lock is only available with a Supervised device. Just be aware that Supervising a device at a later date will result in your devices being wiped.
The VPP (Volume Purchase Program) account is a must when installing paid Apps, it will save your school money when buying in bulk. I'm certain that the rule within VPP is when purchasing over 19+ Apps you get them half the price. Eg. You purchase 20 of the same App you will get them for the price of 10. There is also a useful feature which allows you to link up your VPP account with the new MDM platform which means licensed paid apps can be deployed, taken off and used on different iPads if needed.
Hi Dean,
DeleteDo you have any more information on setup of linking VPP to the MDM for managed distribution. I'm in the process of purchasing some more iPads for the school and the ability to add and remove paid apps and to be able to deploy and recall licenses in a similar way to apple configurator would be great. This is the only real thing that is stopping me making the jump for these new iPads onto the MDM. The "Carts" section of the LSMDM iOS best practice document says it's possible. http://community.lightspeedsystems.com/documentation/mobile-manager/getting-started/ios-best-practices/
Thanks
Andrew W
Morning Andrew, Managed Distribution is currently buggy and not working as it should so i would advise the "Downloadable Codes" option when purchasing Apps via VPP. I'm currently working on a new post which will provide Step by Step on how to link VPP with MDM.
ReplyDeleteI'm testing the Managed Distribution weekly and will keep Bloggers up to date when the Managed Distribution issues are resolved.