New Zealand-based mortgage company Squirrel streamlines its device management and improves its user experience with Jamf.
With headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand, Squirrel is a quirky brand and trusted mortgage company which has written over $8 billion in home loans and $100 million in peer-to-peer loans – helping out a lot of Kiwis in the process.
It has been in business for 13 years and counting, starting as a one-man team that has now grown to over 70 strong and has also added offerings such as insurance and investing to its service portfolio. Though it has maintained a high standard of service for its customers and employees, it wasn’t always as frictionless as it is today.
The challenge
As Squirrel grew during the past few years, the task of managing the company’s fleet of Apple devices had become quite challenging.
Comprising 80 Apple Macs and 65 iPhones, the fleet was occupying an increasing proportion of time. With staff numbers continuing to rise, this was becoming a challenge.
“We also had no way of gaining oversight of the entire device fleet,” said Squirrel CTO, Colin Gardyne. “We could not see which devices were up-to-date and which needed attention. In many ways, we were flying blind.”
Gardyne says the company was also facing challenges when it came to device security. There was no way to confirm whether security patches had been installed and what anti-malware tools were in place.
“There were also increasing issues when it came to compliance. In the financial services sector, you are dealing with a large amount of sensitive data, and we had to keep up with handling this in a compliant way and remain secure at all times,” he said.
In late 2020, a decision was made to locate a solution that would help to reduce the device management overhead while also improving security and compliance.
The solution
Working with technology partner Imagetext, Jamf reviewed a range of options before a decision was made to deploy a portfolio of Jamf products, including Jamf Pro, Jamf Protect and Jamf Connect.
“We were very impressed with the capabilities of the Jamf software and could see that it would have a significant positive effect on our operations,” said Gardyne. “The rollout began in December 2020 – and was fully operational by February 2021.”
Imagetext Business Development Executive Nick Richards said the smooth deployment was made possible through planning and preparation. “We took the time to gain a clear understanding of what was required to meet Squirrel’s specific business needs,” he said.
Jamf was also used as the backend for a new user portal. Dubbed Squirrel Central, this portal provides easy access to approved applications and software updates. Users are encouraged to make use of the self-service portal to log IT support requests, download new software with one-click and order new accessories, further reducing the pressure on the IT team.
The benefits
With Jamf fully operational, Squirrel quickly began to notice some significant benefits.
Each new staff member is guided through the initial configuration and the loading of the application suite required for their particular role.
“It has also made a big difference when it comes to refreshing devices before reissuing them to other staff,” said Gardyne. “Before Jamf, this process could take more than four hours per device whereas now it is handled automatically.”
Imagetext now undertakes day-to-day management of the device fleet. Richards says his team can remotely view all devices and determine whether any require technical assistance.
“Jamf also provides a clear view of all devices and their current status,” he said. “This helps with planning as the IT team can see the age of each device in the Apple fleet and determine when they will be due to be replaced.”
Security has also been improved. Patches and updates can be pushed to devices, ensuring all are fully protected at all times. If a device is lost or stolen, it can be remotely locked to ensure that data does not fall into the wrong hands.
“Jamf is also helping us meet our compliance requirements,” said Gardyne. “We can be confident that data is being handled in an appropriate way and is stored in trusted locations.
“We no longer have to spend hours and hours on device configuration and management as much of the work is handled automatically by Jamf.”
“It has quickly become a vital component of our IT infrastructure and will continue to support the company as we grow in the future.”
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