Security and compliance innovator Centrify Corp. has announced that its DirectControl for Mac offering now supports the just-released Apple Mac OS X Mountain Lion operating system with Active Directory-based authentication, access control, and Group Policy for SMB users.
“As Mac computers continue to move onto corporate desktops, IT managers are looking for a way to accommodate their users’ choices of platform without having to add additional management infrastructure and hire or train additional staff,” states Centrify in a press release submitted to Channel Pro-SMB.
While IT desktop support personnel can centrally configure security, desktop, and application settings for PC users using Group Policy, Macs are still often managed on an ad-hoc basis, and administrators are challenged addressing the bring your own device (BYOD) trend when it comes to Macs, iPhones, and iPads. When combined with Centrify’s DirectControl for Mobile offering, however, SMBs can obtain comprehensive control over authentication and security policy enforcement for all Apple Mac, iPhone, and iPad products.
“There is a rush of Mac products into SMBs today, and Centrify’s Apple Mac support centralizes operations and strengthens security by creating a single point of administration for all systems, devices, and users in Active Directory,” explains David McNeely, Centrify’s senior director of product management. “Since Mountain Lion is available today in the App Store for everyone to install, providing OS X Mountain Lion support from day one was important in our continued support for enterprise organizations with growing Mac user populations.”
Centrify is also adding support for new features introduced in Apple OS X Mountain Lion. For example, Centrify supports Apple’s new Gatekeeper feature by providing a signed installer package with Mountain Lion. Gatekeeper ensures safe downloads by protecting users from inadvertently installing malicious software. Using Group Policy, administrators can control which applications a user can install on their Mac by requiring that the application be digitally signed and validated by Gatekeeper.
Centrify DirectControl for Mac OS X supporting the current 10.8 version is now available from Centrify and its partners. Current Centrify Suite customers can download DirectControl for Mac by logging in to the Centrify Download Center.
Users of Centrify Express, or those wanting to try Centrify’s Active Directory authentication solution for Mac OS X and iOS, can download the free Centrify Express for Mac OS X at www.centrify.com/express.
