Jamf After Dark: I inherited a Jamf instance. Now what?

Our host Kat Garbis is joined by Matt Jerome, Senior Engineer for Desktop, Fanatics to discuss the common admin situation of inheriting a Jamf instance.

In this podcast, Jerome provides insight into how he’s approached the shift in responsibilities. Additionally, he explains critical points to consider and outlines why they’re significant to not just managing devices currently but how the decisions of the past could lead to opportunities to streamline management today and pave the way for future scalability.

Critical consideration points for inherited instances

Jerome emphasizes the need for sustainable practices in Jamf Pro administration to ensure continuity, scalability and ease of management. This is especially crucial in environments where team structures or personnel may change.

By avoiding reliance on a single admin and implementing a change management-centric process, clear documentation helps organizations streamline onboarding workflows for new team members, optimizing productivity. In summary, these practices support day-to-day operations but also contribute to long-term success as the environment evolves.

The criticality of documentation

One of the most actionable takeaways for inherited Jamf Pro environments is the critical need for comprehensive documentation. Admins often walk into undocumented setups where policies, scripts and configurations were created by a single admin, and often, with only one perspective in mind.

The episode stresses that documenting everything that is managed by admin roles, like:

• Policies
• Processes
• Tools
• Configurations
• Scripts
• Services
• Credentials
• Dependencies

– alongside their purposes – can transform a chaotic environment into a manageable one and make future transitions smoother.

Challenges of siloed IT

Jerome raises a common occurrence in IT: Jamf instances are managed by an admin solely responsible for this task, meaning that the sole admin works in isolation from other team members and stakeholders.

The end result?

Siloing IT from other departments, even those that fall under the umbrella of IT, like Security teams, leads to environments that are not scalable, sustainable or agile. This siloed approach that is meant to foster standardization, and security typically creates significant challenges for other team members supporting organizational devices when the responsible admin leaves or is unexpectedly unavailable.

Furthermore, the lack of communication between departments impacted by IT processes is limited to the admin’s knowledgebase.

Jerome used the example of a scenario where a former admin explained that keeping apps up to date on a regular cadence was not possible. The example speaks to the heart of the best practice of keeping up to date with patches to minimize security vulnerabilities, meaning additional risk was introduced to the organization because there was something the previous admin didn’t know or had difficulty implementing.

Recognizing the risks siloed environments pose can help current admins build more collaborative and transparent processes moving forward.

If you've ever inherited a Jamf instance and felt overwhelmed by where to start, you're not alone. Listen to this episode to hear real-world insights and practical strategies on how to take control and set your environment up for success.