Top Features of
Parallels Mac Management
Explore the key management and efficiency tools that help streamline daily tasks for IT managers managing Mac. See What’s New in v7
Mac Endpoints Discovery and Enrollment
Standard SCCM Active Directory System Discovery can discover Mac® resources, or Parallels Network Discovery can automatically push the install of Parallels Mac Client.
Support for Apple Device Enrollment Program
Zero-touch deployment for SCCM-managed Mac devices
Prerequisites Checker Wizard
Test your infrastructure to ensure Parallels Mac Management components are ready to install.
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Configuration Manager Admin Console
The Mac-specific GUI elements are integrated into the Configuration Manager console, allowing you to accomplish Mac management tasks.
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Hardware and Software Inventory
Hardware and software inventory information is collected from enrolled Mac computers and saved in the Configuration Manager database.
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Device Collection
Manage resources by combining them into logical groups based on certain criteria, including the macOS® collection and the unknown collection used for macOS deployment.
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Report User Logon Information
Mac user logon details are reported by the Parallels Mac Client to SCCM and are saved in hardware inventory. The logon information is reported using the standard nodes in the hardware inventory tree.
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Software Metering
Monitor and collect software usage data from managed Mac computers. Combined with software inventory data, software metering data can help you determine:
- Which software titles are actively used by Mac users
- Which software titles cause issues
- Whether users run unauthorized software
- How many licenses of a particular software your organization requires
“We have recommended Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM to many other colleges and universities because it makes it easy for our IT department to manage our Mac and PC devices through one pane of glass.”
Kyle Tousignant,
Senior Desktop Systems Engineer, Wesleyan University
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macOS image deployment
Deploy in three steps: macOS image capture, image delivery to an SCCM distribution point, and task sequencing to Mac computers.
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Deploying Software via SCCM Application Deployment
Natively support the Application Management feature of SCCM and deploy applications directly to Mac computers.
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Compliance Settings
Assess the compliance of Mac computers in your organization with regard to whether macOS is configured the way you prefer.
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FileVault 2 Encryption
Institutional Key Type — An institutional recovery key is created in advance by the system administrator and then used for all Mac computers being encrypted. If a Mac user forgets his or her personal password for unlocking the disk, this recovery key can be used to unlock it.
Personal Key Type — A personal recovery key is created automatically for each individual Mac during the encryption procedure and is saved in the database on the primary SCCM site. If a Mac user forgets the password for unlocking the disk, the personal recovery key for the disk can be retrieved from the database and used to unlock the disk.
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macOS Software Update Management
Deploy macOS updates to Mac computers using SCCM and WSUS synchronization through several options:
- Download updates from Apple server
- Download updates from a local server
- Restrict which updates a Mac user can install
- Host macOS updates locally and set a download URL
New Features of v7
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Internet-Based Management of Mac Computers
A transparent proxy that passes requests between Parallels Mac Client and Parallels Configuration Manager Proxy. Technically a plugin to IIS, it is also used by SCCM for communications between computers on the Internet and management/distribution points.
- Establish a permanent SSL-secured link with Parallels IBCM Proxy. Trust is established using the certificate pinning mechanism.
- Each Mac enrolled into SCCM automatically obtains the public URL of the Parallels IBCM proxy.
- When the Parallels Mac Client needs to communicate with SCCM, it first connects to the Parallels IBCM proxy and obtains the necessary links to MPs/DPs, accessible from the Internet.
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Non-OSD Task Sequence Support
A new, flexible way to use task sequences, known as non-OSD task sequences. Image Mac computers without the mandatory macOS image deployment step.
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Offline macOS Imaging from External USB Drive
Simplify macOS imaging in complex network configurations by using a USB flash drive or external HDD to eliminate the need to boot into the Task Sequence Wizard from the network. No need to install a NetBoot server or mess with IP-helpers.
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New Task Sequence Step to Restart Mac
No more scripting required if there is a need to restart a Mac during macOS image deployment. The new task sequence step is initiated with a few clicks.
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Send Hardware Inventory on Request
IT administrators can now initiate collection of Mac hardware inventory without waiting for a scheduled inventory collection cycle.
Top 3 reasons to extend Microsoft SCCM to manage Mac vs acquiring a standalone solution:
It’s a plug-in. Parallels Mac Management takes hours instead of days to deploy and requires no additional infrastructure or training.
Best of both worlds. Extend Microsoft SCCM features to support MacOS, and bring in macOS specific features to Microsoft SCCM.
Get your Mac project done. Parallels Mac Management offers a simple solution to get Mac computers managed.
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