
Apple’s newest operating system macOS Sonoma is here, and Jamf is ready to support you.
With Apple’s release of macOS Sonoma on Sept. 26, the 2023 upgrade season is in full swing, following the release of iPadOS 17, iOS 17 and tvOS17. Once again Jamf offered same-day support, delivering consistent and reliable support for when you’re ready to upgrade your employees’ OS.
macOS Sonoma upgrades
The successor to macOS Ventura, macOS Sonoma brings new capabilities to elevate productivity and creativity. Upgrades include new presentation options for video calls, messaging, keyboard and accessibility updates to improve productivity and even more desktop personalization options.
This snapshot of user updates included in macOS Sonoma offers a glimpse into why Macs are embraced by employees for both work and personal use. Each update offers even more features that enhance productivity and make these powerful tools fun to use.
And when given a choice of device for work – more employees are opting for Apple.
As Fletcher Preven, SVP and CIO at Cisco said at JNUC, when given the choice between Mac or PC, 60% of Cisco employees use Mac today, with 24% switching to Mac from PC at device refresh.
As more employees are allowed to work on their preferred device, they are not only happier, but more productive. Cisco's internal analysis indicates that 33% fewer IT admins are required to support staff using Mac compared to PC. Not to mention experiencing gains in sales, employee productivity and overall IT satisfaction.
While the individuals using Apple devices have many enhancements to look forward to, the IT and InfoSec teams that handle Mobile Device Management (MDM) and security solutions also need to keep on top of how they can support employees while managing, securing and protecting devices for the organization.
OS upgrades season brings new features to MDM
Jamf is ready to support the adoption of Apple’s most critical workflows and extend the power of Apple-specific technology with purpose-built solutions that enable unique industry-specific workflows.
New MDM features introduced in the macOS Sonoma updates include:
Managed software updates by Declarative Device Management (DDM)
- Managed software updates – powered by Declarative Device Management (DDM) – add more functionality to the existing DDM protocol and empower cloud admins to better schedule and enforce the latest software updates to managed devices. In the past, MDMs (like Jamf Pro) would need to consistently check devices for the latest data. With Apple introducing managed software updates via DDM, admins can specify the data and time of updates. Devices inform MDMs when a change is made, so admins know when updates are starting, installing and completed, and notify end users in a timely fashion.
Software updates via DDM are much more reliable, reminding users more frequently as the update deadline approaches and continuing to provide a friendly user experience, particularly on macOS. And if a device can’t update due to an issue such as power, battery life, storage, etc., the OS is resilient and continues to keeps trying until the update is complete.
New macOS restrictions
- New macOS restrictions help organizations to get more options to restrict specific functionality within System Settings, allowing for more granular controls and an improved end-user experience.
Setup Assistant enforcements
- Enabling FileVault during the Setup Assistant allows admins to force end users to be prompted to enable FileVault in the Setup Assistant when running macOS 14.0 and above, increasing the security posture of the device. By enforcing FileVault encryption to protect files from being seen or copied, if the device is lost or stolen, sensitive data stored on the Mac is encoded so it can’t be read unless the login password is entered.
Passkeys
- Managed Apple IDs now support iCloud Keychain, which means organizations can deploy passkeys at work for employees and make sure passkeys securely sync to all their devices. Using access management functionality, they can also control which devices their employees can access iCloud data on, including passkeys in iCloud Keychain. Declarative Device Management ensures that passkeys for work are created only on managed devices and are synced to the iCloud Keychain associated with a Managed Apple ID.
When you’re ready to upgrade, Jamf is ready for you
For organizations, embracing the latest OS advancements can not only enhance productivity, but also fortify you against potential security vulnerabilities.
Jamf helps organizations embrace the latest Apple operating system advancements with confidence by ensuring compatibility and seamless workflows. Through extensive testing with macOS Sonoma, iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and tvOS 17 betas, Jamf empowers IT teams to upgrade to the most secure OS versions without disrupting critical business processes.
Whether you want to make the new operating system available to your team today or delay OS upgrades to take time to test and validate, Jamf is here to support you.
Check out how Jamf Pro can help you now.
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