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Apple @ Work: Machine Administration Service migration goes to elminate vendor lock-in on Apple fleets


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Apple @ Work is solely dropped at you by Mosyle, the one Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the one resolution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all of the options essential to seamlessly and routinely deploy, handle & defend Apple gadgets at work. Over 45,000 organizations belief Mosyle to make tens of millions of Apple gadgets work-ready with no effort and at an reasonably priced price. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL right now and perceive why Mosyle is every thing that you must work with Apple.

Migrating between Machine Administration Providers (DMS) often concerned full gadget wipes, customized scripts, and hoping every thing re-enrolled correctly. Some distributors leaned into that ache. They’d provide cut price pricing in yr one, then quietly ratchet it up over time. As a result of what have been IT groups going to do? Switching DMS (beforehand MDM) distributors meant hours of handbook work or rebuilding gadgets from scratch, and workers actually wouldn’t see a lot distinction.

About Apple @ Work: Bradley Chambers managed an enterprise IT community from 2009 to 2021. Via his expertise deploying and managing firewalls, switches, a cellular gadget administration system, enterprise grade Wi-Fi, 1000s of Macs, and 1000s of iPads, Bradley will spotlight methods through which Apple IT managers deploy Apple gadgets, construct networks to assist them, prepare customers, tales from the trenches of IT administration, and methods Apple may enhance its merchandise for IT departments.

Apple is altering that with a brand new characteristic for the autumn software program updates inside Apple Enterprise Supervisor and Apple College Supervisor constructed for gadget administration migration. It solves an actual downside that many IT groups have struggled with for years. Extra importantly, it places stress on distributors to maintain delivering worth at truthful costs. When migration is simpler, IT groups have extra energy to maneuver to one of the best resolution for his or her wants. That’s a win for the purchasers and distributors who intention to ship worth and never lock-in.

How gadget administration migration works

Inside Apple Enterprise Supervisor or Apple College Supervisor, IT admins can now reassign iPhone, iPad, and Mac gadgets to a brand new gadget administration service. There’s even an choice to set a migration deadline. As soon as a deadline is about, customers will get a notification letting them know that they should migrate. In the event that they don’t take motion, the migration kicks off routinely.

In the course of the migration course of, the gadget removes the outdated configurations and installs the brand new ones. Utilizing the bootstrap token, the brand new service can take over issues like Activation Lock and FileVault key escrow. It’s a reasonably clear handoff and makes switching to a brand new platform much less of a trouble. It follows a pattern within the enterprise I’ve seen Apple do during the last decade: take issues that require loads of hacks/workarounds and make them turn-key.

App preservation is a giant deal

Some of the vital components of this new course of is app preservation. With out it, each gadget would really feel like a wipe and rebuild for managed apps. With app preservation, the gadget retains managed apps put in via the transition. That features each apps and their knowledge, which makes the migration really feel seamless to finish customers. Apple recommends utilizing the await gadget configured step to make sure every thing reinstalls correctly earlier than the consumer exits enrollment. That is particularly crucial for iPhone and iPad, the place the entire apps are possible going to be managed.

Issues to remember

This isn’t a magic swap. There are nonetheless some gotchas to pay attention to. One situation people have seen in testing is when a Wi-Fi configuration profile is eliminated earlier than the brand new one is utilized. In that case, the gadget can get disconnected from the community in the course of the transition. If it occurs on the workplace, IT Groups might want to spin up an open community to permit people to hook up with end the method. In the event that they’re at residence or someplace with saved networks, it often resolves itself.

Apple additionally talked about that there’s ongoing work round FileVault and Activation Lock throughout migration. The brand new service can rotate the FileVault key utilizing the bootstrap token, however how that behaves in edge circumstances continues to be one thing to observe because the rollout continues.

Wrap up

This new characteristic from Apple solves an actual downside for enterprises that use Apple at work. It helps prospects keep away from vendor lock-in, helps distributors compete on product high quality as a substitute of contracts and switching prices, and makes managing Apple gadgets rather less annoying for IT groups. There are nonetheless issues to observe, like how FileVault keys behave or how Wi-Fi reconnects in the course of the changeover, however total, this can be a huge win for the whole business.

Apple @ Work is solely dropped at you by Mosyle, the one Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the one resolution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all of the options essential to seamlessly and routinely deploy, handle & defend Apple gadgets at work. Over 45,000 organizations belief Mosyle to make tens of millions of Apple gadgets work-ready with no effort and at an reasonably priced price. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL right now and perceive why Mosyle is every thing that you must work with Apple.

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