Mindware is now Jamf’s authorized distributor for Apple device management and security software in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Jordan, the companies announced Tuesday. The Dubai-based distributor will sell Jamf’s full commercial lineup through its regional network of resellers and system integrators.
The announcement lands under six months after Jamf itself changed hands. Francisco Partners closed a $2.2 billion take-private deal for the Apple device management specialist in January, ending Jamf’s six years as a public company. A Gulf distribution deal is a small line item next to a buyout that size. It is also an early data point on how Jamf’s new private owner plans to grow the company.
Mindware Adds Jamf to Its Gulf Portfolio
Under the agreement, Mindware becomes an authorized distributor tasked with expanding Jamf’s reach across the UAE, Bahrain and Jordan through Mindware’s existing base of resellers and integrators. The distributor will carry three product lines:
- Jamf for Mac – endpoint management and security for macOS devices
- Jamf for Mobile – device management for iPhone and iPad fleets
- Jamf for K-12 – education-focused device management for schools
Mindware will also handle training, certification and other value-added services for the partners reselling the software, according to a report by Arabian Reseller.
“Our partnership with Jamf represents a strategic step in strengthening our endpoint and cybersecurity portfolio,” said Nicholas Argyrides, Mindware’s vice president for the Gulf and East Africa, in comments carried by Arabian Reseller. “As Apple adoption continues to accelerate within enterprise environments, our role is to enable partners with the right solutions, expertise, and support to meet this demand.”
UAE, Bahrain and Jordan represent a significant and fast-growing opportunity for Apple in the enterprise. Organisations in these countries are increasingly choosing Apple devices for their workforce, and they need a management and security platform that is purpose-built for Apple to realise that investment.
David Helfer, Jamf’s chief revenue officer, made that case in the same announcement, framing the three-country territory as an early-stage growth market rather than a mature one.
Six Months Into Private Ownership
Jamf has told investors for more than a year that its growth increasingly rides on four pillars: security, mobile, international markets and channel partnerships. Company officials laid out that framework again during the August 2025 earnings presentation, months before Francisco Partners entered the picture.
International revenue is the pillar doing the heaviest lifting. It grew 15% year over year in the second quarter of 2025, and by the end of 2024 it already made up more than a third of total revenue, up from 17% growth the prior year. Jamf does not break out Middle East figures on its own, but the Mindware appointment is the clearest public sign yet of the channel pillar working in a region the company had barely touched through a dedicated distributor before.
That matters more now than it would have a year ago. Public companies answer to quarterly guidance. Private, sponsor-owned companies answer to a different clock, one built around the return timeline of whoever bought them.
Francisco Partners Paid Half of Jamf’s IPO-Day Value
Francisco Partners agreed in October 2025 to buy Jamf for $13.05 a share in an all-cash deal valuing the company at about $2.2 billion. The price was roughly a 50% premium over Jamf’s 90-day average share price before news of a possible sale surfaced in early September.
It was still a discount to where Jamf started. The stock had fallen more than 83% from a November 2021 peak of $47.97 by the time of the buyout, and the $2.2 billion price values Jamf at about half of what it was worth on its first day as a public company in 2020, according to an analysis published by SaaStr, a software-industry trade publication. Jamf’s IPO had raised $468 million.
Vista Equity Partners, which took majority control of Jamf for $733.8 million in 2017 and later led it through that 2020 listing, fully exited its roughly 34% stake when the Francisco Partners deal closed on January 30. Jamf CEO John Strosahl said the sale would “provide greater financial flexibility and strategic alignment to accelerate growth, expand through innovation and M&A, and strengthen market leadership.” Francisco Partners vice president Cherry Zou called Jamf’s spot in the Apple enterprise ecosystem “enviable” and pointed to room to scale its product suite and customer base globally.
Jamf’s security business is the clearest reason a private-equity buyer would want in. Security annual recurring revenue reached $216 million by the third quarter of 2025, up 44% year over year and equal to 30% of total ARR, compared with $156 million and 24% of ARR at the end of 2024. Jamf had already spent $215 million to acquire identity specialist Identity Automation that April, funded partly through a $400 million term loan taken out weeks before the buyout news broke.
How Big Is the Gulf’s Device Management Market?
The UAE’s mobile device management market generated $158.5 million in revenue in 2024 and is on pace to reach $504.3 million by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 21.2%, according to Grand View Research’s market outlook. Software already accounts for most of that spending, with support services the fastest-growing slice.
| Market | 2024 Figure | Growth Trajectory |
|---|---|---|
| UAE mobile device management | $158.5 million revenue | 21.2% CAGR to $504.3 million by 2030 |
| UAE share of global MDM market | 2.1% of worldwide revenue | Software holds 75.65% of the segment |
| Global enterprise mobile devices | $7.39 billion market | Set to grow at a 10.01% CAGR through 2033, with the Gulf among the fastest-expanding regions |
The Levant, including Jordan, is showing similar momentum as governments and private employers put more money into technology infrastructure and enterprise mobility. That is the terrain Jamf is now trying to reach through a distributor instead of a direct sales team, a cheaper way to chase the same growth.
Mindware Keeps Adding Vendors to Its Shelf
Mindware has been doing this kind of deal for a long time. Founded in Dubai in 1991 and now part of Midis Group, the distributor works with more than 7,500 channel partners through legal entities in 13 countries across the Middle East and Africa.
The Jamf line joins a growing vendor list. Mindware struck a separate distribution partnership with cybersecurity firm Rapid7 earlier this month to expand its Gulf security lineup. The company was also named Dell’s distributor of the year for the Gulf region in 2022, and CEO Philippe Jarre sits on the board of the Global Technology Distribution Council, the industry’s largest consortium of IT distributors.
Jordan’s inclusion alongside the two Gulf states fits a wider regional pattern. The kingdom was recently described as the EU’s most trusted Middle East partner following talks in Amman, part of a broader push to position Jordan as a stable investment base alongside its bigger Gulf neighbors.
What Jamf and Mindware Haven’t Said
The announcement is detailed on scope but thin on terms. Here is what is confirmed and what remains open.
- Confirmed: the territory covers the UAE, Bahrain and Jordan, and Mindware will distribute Jamf for Mac, Jamf for Mobile and Jamf for K-12 alongside training and certification support.
- Confirmed: both companies’ regional executives, Argyrides for Mindware and Helfer for Jamf, spoke on the record about the appointment.
- Unconfirmed: neither company disclosed the financial terms of the distribution agreement.
- Unconfirmed: it is unclear whether Mindware holds exclusive distribution rights in its three-country territory or shares it with other authorized partners.
- Unconfirmed: neither side specified how long the distribution agreement runs.
Those gaps are normal for channel announcements of this size. They also mean the deal’s real weight, how much revenue actually flows through Mindware’s network, will only show up later, in Jamf’s own numbers or in Mindware’s next vendor announcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns Jamf now?
Jamf became a private company on January 30, 2026, when Francisco Partners completed its $2.2 billion acquisition of the firm. Jamf continues to operate under its existing brand from its Minneapolis headquarters, with Vista Equity Partners fully exiting the roughly 34% stake it had held since 2017.
How many Apple devices does Jamf manage worldwide?
Jamf’s customer base grew from 47,000 organizations in 2021 to more than 76,000 by late 2025, together managing over 33 million Apple devices worldwide, according to disclosures made around the Francisco Partners transaction.
What other distribution deals has Mindware signed recently?
Beyond Jamf, Mindware added cybersecurity and networking vendors Forcepoint, Citrix, Ubiquity, Everfox and Eaton to its lineup in October 2025, expanding its East Africa business out of a hub in Nairobi.
Does the Mindware-Jamf deal include Saudi Arabia?
No. The announced agreement is limited to the UAE, Bahrain and Jordan. Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s largest economy, is not part of the territory either company has disclosed so far.
How much is the Middle East expected to spend on cybersecurity?
Regional cybersecurity spending is on pace to exceed $30 billion, according to Ken Research, a market research firm, with device management systems positioned as a core piece of that spending as data protection rules tighten across the region.
