We are pleased to announce the release of ZENworks 23.4 (November 2023). This release introduces support for the following:

• Deploying of Apple VPP (Volume Purchase Program) applications to macOS MDM devices
• Unenrolling, retiring, and deleting of macOS MDM devices
• Predefined and adhoc reports for the Advanced Patch Feed
• Windows 11 Upgrade Readiness information and reports
• Updating the Vertica database to the latest version via a new Vertica upgrade tool
• Various customer-requested enhancements
• New installation media

Deploying Apple VPP Applications

ZENworks 23.4 adds the ability to deploy macOS apps purchased via Apple Business/School Manager to MDM-enrolled macOS devices. The apps are displayed in the Apps Catalog Summary along with any mobile app purchases you might have.

ZENworks supports both macOS apps and Apple Universal apps. Universal apps can be installed on either Mac, iPhone, or iPad. With Universal apps, ZENworks creates a bundle for each supported platform. You can then assign apps to users and devices and track the license usage.

For more information, see Viewing Apps Catalog and Distributing VPP Apps.

Unenrolling, Retiring, and Deleting macOS MDM Devices

ZENworks 23.4 now enables you to unenroll, retire, and delete macOS devices that are MDM-enrolled in the zone.

When you unenroll a macOS MDM device, the ZENworks MDM profile is removed from the device. If the device is only enrolled in the zone via MDM (i.e. it is not using the ZENworks Agent), the device is also deleted from the zone. For more information, see Unenrolling Mac MDM Devices.

Retiring and deleting are the same for macOS MDM devices as for other devices. Deleted macOS MDM devices are removed from the zone while retired macOS MDM devices are retained in the zone but all assignments are inactive.  For more information, see Device Removal and Retirement.

Patch Reports for the Advanced Patch Feed

ZENworks 23.4 updates two ZENworks Reporting domains—the ZENworks domain and the ZENworks Patch Vertica domain—to support generating of predefined and adhoc reports for the Advanced Patch Feed. If you are using the Advanced Patch Feed, after updating to ZENworks 23.4 you need to import the new domains into your ZENworks Reporting server. If you are still using the Legacy Patch Feed, you will not want to import these new domains as they are not backwards compatible with the Legacy Patch Feed. For information about importing the new domains, see Reconfiguring ZENworks Reporting Appliance.

In general, the updated domains ensure that patch reports from the Advanced Patch Feed work correctly based on the database changes associated with the new feed, including both the existing predefined reports and any adhoc reports you create. For new examples of commonly-used adhoc reports, see Common ZENworks Reports.

 Windows 11 Upgrade Readiness

ZENworks 23.4 includes a new Upgrade Readiness report that enables you to see devices that are ready (or not ready) to be upgraded to Windows 11 based on the upgrade system requirements provided by Microsoft.

To support this report, the following new inventory fields have been added to capture required information:

• UEFI Mode
• Secure Boot Enabled
• TPM Enabled
• TMP Specific Version
• DirectX Version
• WDDM Version

For more information, see Available Reports.

Vertica Upgrade

Vertica is an analytics database that is packaged as part of the ZENworks Appliance. It is used in large environments to provide better display performance and trending data for the dashlets in ZENworks Control Center.

If you are using Vertica, before updating to ZENworks 23.4 you need to upgrade Vertica to the latest 11.x version. The latest version resolves issues and enhances security.

ZENworks 23.4 includes a Vertica Upgrade tool for this purpose. The tool works with each of the ZENworks versions that support direct updating to ZENworks 23.4:

• ZENworks 2020 Update 2
• ZENworks 2020 Update 3
• ZENworks 23.3

For more information, see Upgrading Vertica. 

Customer-Requested Enhancements

ZENworks 23.4 includes various enhancements request by customers:

• Automatic recording of remote sessions: You can now ensure that remote sessions are always recorded and available for auditing. This is enabled through a new setting in the Remote Management policy. For more information, see Recording a Remote Management Session.
• Switching content download on location changes: Previously, when a device switched locations while it was downloading content (bundles), the content would continue to be downloaded from the old location’s Content Server. Now, when a device switches locations, the content download switches to a Content Server in the new location to finish the download. For more information, see Location and Network Environment Selection on a Managed Device.
• New view controls added to the Manage Folder Views in the ZENworks Application window: Two new buttons, (All) and  (Favorite), added to display the bundles in both tree view or non-tree view. Now you can view the favorite bundles without navigating the tree view structure by clicking the icon displayed at the top. For more information, see Viewing bundles and folders using the icons and Managing Favorites.

New Installation Media

ZENworks 23.4 provides a new ISO for installing Primary Servers on Windows and Linux, and a new ISO for installing a ZENwork Appliance Primary Server. Both ISOs will be available some time in December 2023 or January 2024.

Want to try it for yourself? Access your free trial today!

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