Sophos, Centrify Ride the Lion with Support for New Mac OS

It’s not often that relevant channel news that includes Apple computers graces my inbox, but here’s an interesting exception: Both Sophos and Centrify have announced support for OS X Lion out of the gate. What will they bring to the table, and what should VARs know? Read on for the scoop …

Sophos isn’t exactly offering something new, but the company is promising complete OS X Lion compatibility with Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac and Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac: Home Edition. Sophos’ anti-virus software detects both Windows and Mac viruses (for mixed environment protection) and can block new and evolving Mac threats automatically. I’ve maintained my skepticism for using anti-virus for home Mac users but an SMB or enterprise environment is completely different. Ensuring Macs aren’t carriers for Windows malware is key to a heterogeneous computing environment. With Sophos ensuring OS X Lion support, IT admins can rest a little easier.

So now Mac OS X Lion has antivirus support: check. What about Active Directory support? You’re in luck, because Centrify wants to make it known it supports Mac OS X Lion — good news for all the IT admins who need to make Macs play nice with Microsoft’s user management solutions and Windows Group Policy. Like Centrify announcements of past, all the management, security, locking and authentication you’ve come to know and love is still there. Again, it’s nothing exactly new in the way of features, but knowing support exists is important.

Methinks Centrify’s and Sophos’ “Day 1” announcement is indicative of something bigger. Macs are increasingly popular, and Centrify noted Macs are finding their way into the workplace more frequently these days. I believe it’s just another example in the whole consumerization of IT trend, and both Sophos and Centrify are smart to support Apple products instead of rejecting them as unfit for business. This is a win for Centrfiy and Sophos, it’s a win for Apple and it’s a win for IT admins and channel partners who now can say “yes” when a customer asks about the Mac platform.