The Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and Volume Purchase Program (VPP) from Apple are powerful services for efficiently deploying devices and managing apps in the enterprise and small business. A panel of Apple and Jamf experts discussed how to get the most out of these programs using Jamf Pro (formerly Casper).
The panel began by comparing the DEP workflow to traditional imaging workflows and why organizations should consider moving to DEP. “We want to create an out-of-box experience for your users while making the program as flexible and speedy as possible,” Jeremy Butcher, Product Marketing at Apple, explained about the intent behind DEP.
Steve Vogt, WW Enterprise - Technical Enablement Architect, referenced no longer needing to image Macs saying, “Look at the bits you are replacing with imaging. The majority of those bits are the known-good operating system.”
The panel then moved on to discuss best practices for configuring devices after enrollment, along with how to test DEP workflows. Daniel Flynn, enterprise and education consulting engineer, recommended using a virtual machine for testing by configuring that VM with a serial number already assigned in DEP and then taking a snapshot prior to the enrollment screen to easily test multiple configurations.
In addition to DEP, the panel fielded questions about VPP and best practices for deploying apps. Last year, Apple introduced device-based app deployment allowing Jamf Pro admins to deploy apps without users needing an Apple ID. Butcher commented on the importance of this change, stating device-based assignments was designed with a ton of feedback from the community.
The panel also discussed the emerging AppConfig.org community (of which Jamf is a founding member), which brings together MDM vendors and App developers to help admins pre-configure apps for their users. “AppConfig offers a lot of potential to get Apps in the state you want them for your users,” Butcher noted about the growing number of developers joining the community.
The panel wrapped up by discussing how the deployment programs have evolved over time and continue to offer more functionality and the way to provide the best out-of-box experience for users. IT admins can learn more and and signup for the program at https://deploy.apple.com/.
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