Company: Jamf
Company background: As an industry leader in Apple Enterprise Management, Jamf is the only solution of scale that remotely connects, manages and protects Apple users, devices and services.
Contact: Jeni Asaba
Title: Senior Manager, Community Engagement & Advocacy
Related URLs: https://community.jamf.com/
Kudos Category: Rookie of the Year
1. Describe your company and your organization.
Jamf is a B2B software provider that helps IT and security teams protect the devices, data and applications used by their hybrid workforce, while providing end users with technology that is consumer-simple and privacy-protecting. Jamf’s Apple Enterprise Management platform remotely connects, manages and protects an organization’s users, devices and services. Jamf serves more than 60,000 enterprises of all sizes, including corporations, schools and hospitals.
Within Jamf is Community — a team of Jamf employees who are responsible for creating unique and meaningful connection points between customers and the organization though a variety of community offerings. The organizations’s legacy community is Jamf Nation. With more than 100,000 members, it’s widely known as the largest online gathering of Apple administrators. In 2021, Jamf shifted Jamf Nation from a homegrown solution to Khoros as a way to support the community’s continuous growth, while also allowing community members to experience more diversified community offerings.
Meet the team behind this work, and see how they introduce themselves to their community members in this fun video: Meet the Community Team
2. Why did you choose to invest in Khoros and what was your experience before making the switch from a previous solution or investing in new technology.
The Community team at Jamf focuses on providing the best possible experience for our audience — period. For many years, Jamf created an online home for Apple enthusiasts to come together and learn from the expertise of their peers. Jamf Nation was the go-to place for those working in Apple device management. But we knew it could be more. In addition to searching for a robust community platform, we knew providing additional ways for members to connect with Jamf, and each other, was a crucial part of moving the community forward.
After loads of research, we determined Khoros was the best solution to support our goals for Jamf Nation’s long-term expansion and growth. The solution would allow us to shift what was historically a support community into a larger offering for our diverse audience. In addition to building forums to support each of our organization’s main products, Khoros also allowed us to add features and functionalities that provided further value to users, like a job board, an events calendar and a specific home for user groups.
The Khoros platform also allowed us to address one of the most coveted, and recognized, aspects of Jamf Nation — reputation. The community is comprised of really smart, industry-recognized Apple experts, so being able to highlight their accomplishments was a must. Through the user profiles, we were able to add a space for members to share their LinkedIn pages, GitHub spaces and even personal websites. This information allows other community members to quickly verify the individual’s expertise, while also gaining valuable insight into the expert’s other digital properties.
These additions, along with many that are yet to come, enabled us to make a more robust community for our members. We look forward to continuing to push the envelope of what’s possible with Khoros as a means of delivering a truly unique, inspiring and need-to-have community space for our users over time.
3. What were your goals when investing in Khoros technology and what successes have you already experienced because of the investment? Were you able to gain traction faster than expected? Please include metrics if possible.
When it comes to Community — connection is key. Whether it’s connecting people to each other, to the org or to information, they all need to be present and easily discoverable in any community setting. Since launching Khoros, we’ve see more connections happen, an early sign of proof that design tweaks, tool enhancements and more presence from the Community team matters.
Previous Jamf Nation Main Page
Current Jamf Nation Main Page
In addition to a 4.8% increase in membership (as of April 19, 2022) since we launched in July of 2021, we’ve also seen a dramatic uptick in the number of topics posted by 769%. This not only signifies an increase in activity in the community, but it also shines a light on the importance of a streamlined newsfeed and product-specific forums.
Aligning with our goal of creating more connection among community members, we’ve also seen an exciting increase in our user groups (configured with Group Hubs). While we started with six groups when we migrated to Khoros, which represented key pockets of in-person customer engagement, Jamf Nation now hosts fourteen user groups, which include key geographical expansions to Japan, South Africa and Australia. Seeing more and more Jamf Nation users connect on local levels around the globe supports Jamf’s overall expansion while creating meaningful, localized connection points for Apple administrators.
Previous Jamf Nation User Group Page
Current Jamf Nation User Group Page
Overall, a shift from our former community solution to Khoros was important for the overall long-term integrity of our Jamf Nation community, as it allowed for the aforementioned functionalities, along with increased involvement from the community moderator. Keeping the space clean (sweeping away that annoying spam), as well as aligning content in the appropriate areas, gives us the ability to maintain the overall integrity of the community.
Jamf Nation is not only a key differentiator for Jamf, but it’s also a reason we continue to thrive as an organization. Our community members are passionate about what they do, and they’re selfless when it comes to helping others achieve success in their environments. Providing them with a space to continuously develop these relationships and move the work of Apple ecosystem management forward isn’t simply an add-on offering. At Jamf — it’s an obligation. It’s what our customers want and deserve. And through the use of Khoros, we’re grateful for the opportunity to support our great Jamf Nation though enhanced community offerings now and long into the future.