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2 min readLast week we told you about two of Apple’s most significant announcements for Mac admins at WWDC 2021: Declarative MDM and Apple Configurator on iPhone. But Apple made plenty of other news at its annual developers conference. One of the best bits: Erase All Content and Settings is coming to Mac.
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1 min readCurrently, the only way to assign Mac computers to your organization in Apple Business Manager is to buy them from Apple or an authorized reseller. If you bought one somewhere else, it can't be added to ABM and, so, can't take advantage of helpful features such as Automated Device Enrollment. But Apple says it will change that this fall, making it possible to add Mac computers to ABM no matter where you bought them. The key: a new Apple Configurator app for iPhone. Here’s how it will work.
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4 min readAt its 2021 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced a significant advance in the MDM protocol. Dubbed “declarative MDM,” the technology promises to make device management more powerful than ever before. But what is it, and how will it help Apple-focused IT admins in their day-to-day jobs? We’ll have to wait for Apple to release complete details about this protocol update in the months to come to completely answer those questions. But we can try to provide some preliminary answers based on what Apple announced at WWDC. We’ll look at: Why Declarative MDM? What Is Declarative MDM? How Does Declarative MDM Work? How Can I Take Advantage of Declarative MDM?
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5 min readIt’s that’s time of year again: At its 2021 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced the next version of macOS—named Monterey—as well as iOS and iPadOS 15. The final versions of these new operating systems won’t actually ship until sometime this fall. In the meantime, Apple will make prerelease (a.k.a. beta) versions of the new macOS, iOS, and iPadOS available for download—now for registered developers, in July for the general public. Those prerelease versions give you a chance to start testing so you can be sure that, when official releases come out, your upgrade will go as smoothly as possible. But how do you manage that testing program and the prerelease software? Here’s some advice on that. We’ll cover: Apple Programs for Prerelease Software How to Install Prerelease Software How to Prevent Devices from Installing Prerelease Software
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2 min readKandji is excited to announce an updated interface for managing integrations with user directories, as well as support for SCIM (in early access by request). And following our recently released support for custom apps and scripts in Self Service, we’re also happy to announce the addition of custom printers there as well.
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4 min readApple Business Manager is absolutely essential for managing Apple devices in the enterprise. With it, you can enroll your company’s devices in your MDM solution, distribute apps, and create Managed Apple ID accounts that your organization retains ownership of. It’s the central component of zero-touch deployments, letting you drop-ship new Mac computers and iPhone and iPad devices to users and have those devices configure themselves the first time they boot. For the most part, ABM is pretty straightforward to use. But we've got some tips and tricks that will help make it—and you—more effective. (Note that these ideas apply to Apple School Manager as well.) Use Safari on a Mac Trust the browser Use a Staff role account to set up APNs Make sure you have a second Administrator account Set up locations first
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6 min readThe release of macOS Big Sur and Apple silicon in 2020 brought a lot of changes to the Mac environment. Apple introduced Rosetta 2 to help make those changes easier for developers and for Mac admins, by enabling code designed for older Intel-based hardware to run on the new Apple systems. As the transition to Apple silicon continues, with the ongoing release of new Mac computers using the M1 chip, Rosetta 2—which is free—still has a role to play. Here are some quick answers to the questions admins have about this technology: What is Rosetta? How do you install Rosetta? Which apps require Rosetta?
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1 min readThe Kandji team is excited to announce the addition of custom apps and custom scripts to Self Service, along with updates to the Kandji Agent. In case you missed it, we also recently released support for Enrollment Customization and updates to our API.
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2 min readKandji is excited to announce its $60 million Series B round of funding, led by Felicis Ventures with participation from SVB Capital, Greycroft, B Capital Group, Okta Ventures, and the Spruce House Partnership.
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5 min readApple is famous for the out-of-box experience new users get when they open up a Mac, iPhone, or iPad for the very first time. Kandji can help make that unboxing moment even better—for you as an Apple admin and for your users—with enrollment customization, by requiring users to sign in with their Single Sign-on (SSO) credentials the first time they boot up a new device. It’s a streamlined experience for you and for them; as they authenticate, they can be automatically matched from your user directory and assigned to their devices. Kandji recently added support for enrollment customization. Kandji’s Head of Solutions, Weldon Dodd, recently hosted a webinar to talk about how this new feature works. Here’s what he had to say.
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2 min readThe Kandji team is excited to announce the addition of enrollment customization, as well as some updates to our API. In case you missed it, we also recently released an updated script editor and new global variables.
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4 min readUsing IT asset management and mobile device management (MDM) in tandem can make life easier for you as an Apple IT admin. Kandji’s MDM solution now integrates with Oomnitza’s Enterprise Technology Orchestration solution; here’s what an integration like that can do. A quick overview of the topics we’ll cover: What Is IT Asset Management? What IT Asset Management Can Do Using MDM and IT Asset Management Together
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1 min readThe Kandji team is excited to announce an improved script editor, as well as two new global variables that will make automated onboarding easier. In case you missed it, we also recently released updated Blueprint templates and multifactor authentication.
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6 min readAt Kandji, we get a lot of questions about best practices in mobile device management. We decided to get answers to some of those questions by asking the best sources we know: The IT admins who manage Apple devices day in and day out. We’ve recently posted their thoughts on migrating to macOS Big Sur and on the subtle science of managing users. But we were particularly interested in hearing about their suggestions for adopting Apple-focused MDM solutions (such as Kandji) to manage fleets of Mac computers, iPad and iPhone devices, and Apple TVs. Here’s what they told us: Take the time to find the right solution. Don’t wait to start managing mobile devices. Take advantage of Automatic Device Enrollment. Lean on existing skills. Test early and often. Nail down security. Stay one step ahead.
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2 min readThe Kandji team is excited to announce updated Blueprint templates to support our transition from parameters to Library Items. We are also releasing multifactor authentication (MFA) and two new Auto Apps: RingCentral and Fellow. In case you missed it, we also recently released SSO, new Self Service features, and more.
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