Introducing the SysTrack Mac Agent

A lot has been written about the rise of bring-your-own-device initiatives and the freedom that provides to the users, as well as the advantages to the IT admins. And it’s no secret that a lot of users gravitate towards using Apple devices due to the comfort they have with those products from using them in their own lives. Apple has long been considered a very user friendly company, but the enterprise space has traditionally avoided non-Windows systems. The belief that Macs can’t be managed at scale and are too expensive compared to their PC counterparts is proving to be based on very few facts.

More companies are beginning to add Macs to the mix of systems they manage for various reasons: they’re more secure out-of-the box, they’re very mobile, they tend to require less maintenance over time, and a laundry list of other reasons that make them suitable for a lot of workers at a lot of companies. Of course, once Macs are added to the mix they need to managed the same as the PCs. Recognizing that Macs are an increasing piece of the IT puzzle, we’ve built an agent specifically designed for them. And recognizing the need to cover all systems in an environment, not just Windows, we’ve expanded to monitor Linux along with the new Mac agent.

SysTrack 8.2 new capabilities

With the release of SysTrack 8.2, users will be able to add Macs and Linux systems to their tree the same as any Windows system. Not only will this allow admins to monitor the user experience and performance of the Mac and Linux systems, the same as with the PCs, but it also provides the added benefit of being able to compare performance of distinct system types, creating more insight into which systems are best suited for your environment. The same metrics and level of granularity that our users have come to expect from SysTrack will be intact so you can perform the same level of root cause investigation and management.

Adding Mac and Linux monitoring capabilities to SysTrack allows admins to do some important tasks:

• Monitor and improve the user experience for users currently using Mac or Linux systems
• Compare and contrast productivity and performance differences between Macs and PCs
• Base business decisions about expanding the use of Macs and Linux on real user data

Whether you’re just considering adding Macs or Linux systems to your environment or already have them under management, you’ll want to make sure you have the data you need to keep the systems running smoothly. We wanted to ensure SysTrack was able to monitor more than just the Windows systems, so the picture we paint of the environment is more representative of how it actually looks. The addition of the Mac and Linux agents is a big part of that, and we’re excited to see it hit the market.