Bremen, October 26, 2017 – Univention, a specialist in IT and identity management, is now offering its customers yet another option for the central administration of Apple devices. With ZuluDesk, developed by ZuluDesk BV, the Dutch developer of software solutions for use in education, education facilities can now use the user accounts created for teachers and pupils in Univention’s UCS@school solution in ZuluDesk with the greatest of ease – plus, it also allows centralized administration of iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks.
UCS@school is used by a large number of education authorities across Germany and Switzerland for the administration of school IT infrastructures and the secure management of teachers’ and pupils’ user data. Originally developed back in 2013 for a single school in the Netherlands, ZuluDesk is now employed in educational facilities in more than 50 countries.
“The regulated integration of iOS and MacOS devices is a feature which is much in demand in schools,” said Nico Gulden, Product Manager Univention App Center. “ZuluDesk now allows us to offer our customers in the education sector even more opportunities for the realization of their mobile device concepts and ensure the integration of Apple School Manager at the same time.”
“ZuluDesk helps schools and teachers to manage Apple devices simply and efficiently. Schools get an optimal identity and access management system with which they can work and teach in a secure, mobile environment,” said Kirsten Visscher, ZuluDesk Sales & Marketing International. “We believe that we can make the use of mobile devices considerably simpler for schools by offering ZuluDesk Connector in the UCS@school App Center. They benefit from the significantly reduced administrative efforts with regard to the management of their IT, which allows the teaching staff to focus on their actual duties again: Teaching the children and guiding them into the 21st century.”
Advantages of combined use of UCS@school and ZuluDesk for administrators
The combination of ZuluDesk and UCS@school makes it easy for schools and education authorities to use information concerning user accounts, groups, and classes from UCS@school in ZuluDesk. To this end, changes from the LDAP directory service are synchronized to ZuluDesk at regular intervals. This negates the need for double administration and allows teachers and pupils alike to be sure that the information shown in ZuluDesk is up to date. In addition, the ZuluDesk Management System synchronizes seamlessly with the Apple School Manager. ZuluDesk supports all Apple devices as well as the manufacturer’s Volume Purchase Program (VPP) and Device Enrollment Program (DEP). There is a step-by-step set-up wizard and video tutorial available to assist administrators with the setup. Furthermore, ZuluDesk also offers a ticketing system and a help desk for problem resolution.
Advantages of ZuluDesk for teachers, pupils, and parents
ZuluDesk assists teachers to integrate Apple devices in their teaching in a controlled manner. For example, a special teacher app allows them to make apps available to their pupils, set a focus screen, and send iBooks or PDFs. In the same way, they can also employ whitelists to permit pupils access to certain applications and websites – for example, when taking a test. In addition, they can also control the students’ Internet use, what videos they watch, activities such as chats, and the use of social media. ZuluDesk Client assists pupils to work successfully with iOS devices, offers support with the installation of apps and iBooks, helps them to reset forgotten passwords, and displays messages from teachers. The schools can also make a special ZuluDesk app available to the parents of their students. This offers similar functions to the teacher app and allows the parents to support their children in the use of mobile devices for their schoolwork or the use of their iPad.
Prices and availability
ZuluDesk Connector is available in the Univention App Center now. ZuluDesk is used on a per-device basis. Customers have the choice between two versions: € 5 per device and year or a “lifetime license” consisting of a one-off payment of € 20 per device.
