Item: JumpCloud
Rating: 10
Author: Rob Lyons

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use JumpCloud as Identity Prover, MDM, and User Control system.
We leverage its cloud integrations for LDAP, RADIUS, and Microsoft Azure/365 for authentication and Single Sign On. As a small company, having a few panes of glass was a major point in deciding to go with JumpCloud, as we have a mix of Linux, Windows, and primarily macOS machines. Having less tool sprawl for administration was essential, and has affected our choices with other software/services as we first look at, and heavily tilt in favor of services that can integrate with JumpCloud, either via LDAP, or some other cloud directory/SSO option like SAML.

Pros and Cons

User security - Passwords, password resets, lockout, etc.
Single Sign On support
Multiplatform support
Feature expansion
Very generous trial options
Great community support from both JumpCloud, and their userbase
Respond well to feature requests

MacOS MDM features - Improving, but not to some Apple dedicated service levels yet (Jamf, Mosyle...)
Better communication of software/feature/agent changes
More RADIUS options (multiple connections from single IP!)

Return on Investment

Very easily add, or disable employee logins
Reduce "password fatigue" by being able to reduce password expiration requirements, and having single sign on
Higher security and visibility of security issues
Reduced onboarding time from days to minutes
Enabled easy reassignment of user accounts to another user via groups when employees leave
Quick securing of terminated users, or otherwise compromised accounts
Reduced user disablement time from previous manual methods requiring days, to literal minutes

Support Rating

I have rarely contacted support. When I have, the responses were within expected time frames, and easy to access.

Community support is incredible, both from the JumpCloud representatives, and the user base community at large. The support pages on the website also are typically very well written and strike a nice balance between having the technical information needed, and also being easy to understand for the small business types that might not have as much of a technical background as an IT Admin.

Key Insights

Do you think JumpCloud delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with JumpCloud's feature set?

Yes

Did JumpCloud live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of JumpCloud go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy JumpCloud again?

Yes

Usability

Overall, very usable. Some tweaks to the website could be done to help speed up some repeat tasks, and PowerShell APIs could be more accessible and documented.

Very user-friendly for "full-stack" admins.

Contract Terms and Pricing Model

Some features would make more sense for us to be bundled by machine, instead of the user. We have fewer machines, and multiple users log into one machine, so doing something like paying per user for services like Patch Management are difficult to warrant the cost. I also feel a more complete package that includes common addon features; Patch Management and Password Manager, would be an improvement.

It would also be nice if we could change packages, addons, and other billing services via self-service instead of reaching out to our account manager.

Likelihood to Recommend

JumpCloud is least suited in situations where you have few devices, but lots of users. JumpCloud heavily focuses on the "One-User-One-Device" type of use, and does lack some of the features things like Active Directory is better suited for when having multiple users accessing one machine.

Their Powershell APIs are fantastic and getting only more powerful. Lots of features are hidden behind these APIs, so admins not as familiar with Powershell would have more issues leveraging these tools.

BYOD deployments are amazing, especially for macOS devices that are using Apple Business Manager and can leverage Zero Touch deployments. It is especially good at handling mixed systems, whereas other options, such as Jamf, are really suiting only for macOS, or Intune is more suited for Windows; JumpCloud managed to handle both systems well.

JumpCloud is the best option iDP for SMB and multiple platform deployements

Overall Satisfaction with JumpCloud