Apple and the Enterprise? Consider Jamf
September 17, 2018
Apple and the Enterprise? Consider Jamf
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Jamf Pro
Jamf Pro is used across our entire fleet of MacOS and iOS devices. Installing apps, configuring computers, implementing policy changes, providing access to network resources. Jamf has been a tremendous help for us, and has allowed us to automate a number of processes. We still have more to learn and more to implement, but I am proud to say our philosophy is if we can do it with Jamf, we do it (or we learn how).
- MacOS Configuration - Used in combination with DEP, we can fairly easily automate the setup of computers for staff and students. The ability to install PKGs and run scripts has been a tremendous benefit. Also, the inclusion of other tasks, such as Directory Bindings has been a huge relief on technical staff's workload.
- MDM - Configuration Profiles have also similarly eased our workload. We went from dropping PLISTs and building images with DeployStudio, to being able to much more easily and flexibly enforce system settings.
- Inventory - I came into the department a few years after Jamf was implemented, but I cannot imagine how we would accomplish inventory management tasks without it. It provides us a one-stop shop to keep track of storage and production computers, as well as software management.
- MacOS Configuration - A lot of what we are doing feels homespun for DEP-enrolled computers, and many of Jamf's resources are lacking in detail as to what they would recommend. They say "Use DEP...", but not "Here's how we use DEP..."
- Resources - Much like above, Jamf's GitHub seems a little outdated. They are doing tremendous things everyday, I can tell, but they have not been as forthcoming with what they are doing. I would love to see more use of the API (or really anything).
- iOS Management - The inability to have iOS apps automatically update their version numbers is maddening. Our catalog is bigger than it needs to be, but it would still be quite the task to manually update the version number every time a new release drops.
- Centralizing Management - Before Jamf, we relied on building staff to run updates through ARD and configure iOS devices using Apple Configurator. Now, we have switched almost entirely to a one-to-many model, which is much easier to support and provides a much better experience for users across the district.
- Automating Tasks - Tasks we have taken on over the last few years would have been impossible without Jamf. Some of these include an SSID change (for 15,000+ Apple devices), managing software updates (for iOS and MacOS), and using Jamf to install apps (VPP and PKGs).
- Solving Common Problems - Keychain errors, Active Directory Bindings, lost devices, and much more can be handled with a standard procedure now.
Jamf has many more capabilities than Apple Remote Desktop and provides a much more enterprise-ready solution for managing MacOS devices. We have a way to go to providing a complete management platform, but that is better than working with a tool that comes up short when you have as many devices to manage as we do.