Calendar week 46 saw an unusually large number of enterprise updates in the context of the mobility and end-user computing industry. Here is a brief summary of the top topics:
Older Android devices will be banned from a large number of websites in 2021
Android 7.1 was released on December 5th, 2016, so it will soon be celebrating its fourth birthday. Following recent numbers still around 16% of all Android devices are on Android Nougat or lower. These devices will have problems accessing secure websites in 2021 because the certificate authority ‘Let’s Encrypt’ will no longer accept the root certificate of Android 7.1. The company will discontinue the default cross-signing for the certificate that enables this functionality on January 11, 2021 and completely discontinue the cross-signing partnership on September 1 of this year. A workaround can be implemented via Firefox, but this is then limited to this browser. So if you are still using Android devices with ‘Nougat’, you should now think about replacing it at the latest.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONEN
Workspace ONE Access receives FedRamp certification
A quick message from the VMware Newsroom: Workspace ONE Access has received FedRAMP certification. The certification applies to SaaS hosted environments. Nothing should stand in the way of use in an official or regulated environment. In connection with Workspace ONE UEM, which is also FedRAMP certified, a comprehensive solution for device management, access and identity management and zero trust is available. Further information can be found in the news item:
VMWARE NEWSROOM
Samsung joins the Android Enterprise Recommended programme
The AER program certifies devices for Android Enterprise use by meeting minimum requirements for hardware, software and update availability. Criteria that Samsung has basically fulfilled for a long time with many devices, but which have not been listed in the AER program in the past because Samsung has offered its own solutions for automatic provisioning options with KME (Knox Mobile Enrollment). With the announcement that Google will open Zero Touch, both companies were able to take a step towards each other and now benefit from being able to expand the respective programs Android Enterprise Recommended and Zero Touch. As of today (November 16, 2020) no devices are listed on the AER site, but this should only be a matter of time. Samsung itself announces AER for the current flagship devices with Android 11, which is currently in the beta phase for the Galaxy S20, for example.
SAMSUNG ANNOUNCEMENT
Google updates Zero Touch Programm
Google had another significant innovation to report directly: The Zero Touch program, through which devices can be enrolled directly into a device management system during the activation process, is now available for practically all Android devices from Android version 9. This applies to both new and existing devices. With the above-mentioned changes to the Android Enterprise Recommended program, the boundaries between KME, Zero Touch and the individual programs in the enterprise environment are blurring. What remains is that the device has to be added to the Zero Touch program by the reseller – either when purchasing the device or at a later date. Samsung will support the new Zero Touch program, parallel to KME.
Another change, which Jason Bayton also mentions in the linked article, is that device management providers such as Workspace ONE receive direct integration for configurations into the Zero Touch Portal via APIs – the use of multiple portals is thus superfluous. As soon as something happens on the VMware side, there will be an update here.
For a deeper insight I recommend Jason Bayton’s blog and of course directly on Google.
JASON BAYTON’S ZERO TOUCH UPDATE
GOOGLE ANNOUNCEMENT
Windows 10 Wipe Options
Brooks Peppin is an evangelist in the field of Windows 10 management and has been documenting his experiences for a long time on his blog. This time, my colleague Pim Van de Vis contributed to Brook’s Blog on the subject of Windows 10 Device Wipe Options. Considering that there are at least five different ways to ‘wipe’ a Windows 10 device, this blog post is more than justified. It gets exciting when the respective method is brought into connection with the respective use case. The Bitlocker component is also explained in connection with wipe commands so that the all-round view is complete.
BROOKS PEPPIN’S BLOG
Gartner Hype Cycle for Digital Workplace
Gartner has been known for technology analyzes for years, just think of the various Magic Quadrants, especially the one for Unified Endpoint Management. Another institution for a few years has been the Hype Cycle, in which various technologies are placed on a timeline of their life cycle. The Gartner Hype Cycle for Digital Workplace, which I would like to recommend here, has existed since 2018.
In particular, the impact of Covid-19 has had a decisive impact on technology life cycles – in some cases as an accelerator, in other cases priorities have shifted backwards. So if you want to find out more about the “New Work Nucleus”, “Bring Your Own Things” or “Smart Workspaces”, you should spend some time with the report.
GARTNER HYPE CYCLE DIGITAL WORKPLACE
Big Sur GA and new macBooks / macMini
Everyone in the end user computing industry should have noticed that Apple has released a new version of macOS and also a number of new devices that bring a new processor architecture. The innovations of Big Sur or macOS11 will determine the coming months in the area of macOS Management. The influence of the new M1 processors based on ARM technology will show up in the coming weeks and months. From day 1, Workspace ONE UEM offers the necessary tools to manage both macOS Big Sur and the new macBooks or the new macMini. The current release of the Workspace ONE Intelligent Hub (20.10) with the current version of Workspace ONE UEM (20.10) offer the usual ‘Day-0-Support’ for the required compatibility. However, it is recommended to keep an eye on the upcoming releases, as bug fixes and new features will be added gradually. An overview of the announcements from Apple can be found here:
APPLE’S BIG SUR SITE
BIG SUR FEATURES
M1 PROCESSOR
Enterprise-Features of macOS 11:
BIG SUR ENTERPRISE
Julius Lienemann 