Simple, powerful, highly scalable, and best-of-breed
What is our primary use case?
It's used for package deployment, security patching, and zero-day vulnerability patching. It is also used for reporting and provisioning new machines into the enterprise.
It is primarily in the cloud. Most companies are migrating Jamf to the cloud. They're trying to get rid of their on-prem instances, and Jamf prefers that as well.
What is most valuable?
It is a great tool. Its ease of use is fantastic. It is very simple, and you don't really have a high learning curve with this.
It is a very powerful tool, and there is so much that you can do with it.
What needs improvement?
There should be an option for exporting the data for reporting purposes so that we can give that to the higher-ups, such as CIO. We should be able to see bar graphs and charts on different data points. It would be great to have a good reporting tool to look at, for example, data points of how many versions of Adobe Acrobat we have in our environment in a bar graph or pie chart. They don't have anything like that. There is an application called Tableau Reader, which does statistics, and you can put a statistical or analytical aspect in there to extract data and share it on a graph or a pie chart. Such a tool would be great.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using it for over 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable. There's no issue that I can see.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's highly scalable. You can have 10,000 clients.
It's used on a daily basis. We have 700 users on one and 1,500 users on the other. We also have about 200 users on another. There are about 3,000 machines.
How are customer service and support?
They are good. They are very accessible. I would rate them a five out of five.
How was the initial setup?
It was pretty straightforward once you're in the cloud. I see it from both ends. I was the one who could set up Jamf in the cloud for clients, and now, I'm on the other end having them doing it. I can just jump and set it up on my side. It takes about five minutes or less.
In terms of maintenance, if you have a good engineer, you don't really need a lot of support. I've supported over a thousand by myself.
What was our ROI?
A good ROI is the end-user community in which everything becomes more stable and you can provide a self-service feature where you can put the latest applications available within your enterprise, on something like an internal portal for software distribution, for the end-users to download. This way, you have more user empowerment, and you also have more stability in the enterprise regarding updates and patches. There are also fewer issues. If the end-user has a problem, you can use Jamf Remote to remote in and take care of that issue then and there.
It provides ease of use. The ROI is the end-user experience. Jamf is all about the end-user experience, making sure that they're happy with the product and things of that nature.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I've looked at different solutions. KMG was one, and Fleetsmith was another, which was bought by Apple. There was also Blackberry. So, I have looked at all the other ones, and this tool is the best. It is very simplistic and easy to use without a high learning curve.
What other advice do I have?
You have to make sure you have a good engineer who knows how to use the tool, and you're off to the races.
It is a very powerful tool, and you can do so much with it. Therefore, you'd have to figure out:
- What does success look like?
- What is your end goal?
- What do you want to achieve?
- Why do you want to use Jamf Pro?
- What is your use case?
Once you have an idea of what you really want to do, it's very easy to execute that. Some people flounder when they get a tool like this because they have no idea what they want. The best thing is to keep it simple and then build upon a good, sound foundation of simplicity. That's what I've found out. If you jump into using this tool and want it all at once, you might get a little overwhelmed.
I would rate it a 10 out of 10. As compared to any of the others, it is best-of-breed.
It lets jamf and org admins do anything
What do you like best about the product?
We were able to use this to check certain required configuration items on employees' company-issued laptops. The agent software that runs on the laptop had a lot of capabilities, including to read these things, such as whether the hard drive was encrypted and how much free space there was.
What do you dislike about the product?
The agent software gave jamf and our organization admins more power than needed. An admin could go on the control panel and send a laptop arbitrary commands to run. We didn't need nor desire that capability, and it added that additional piece to our company's attack surface.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We check that certain computer configuration items are set in accordance with company policy. Jamf was the solution we chose for our Mac computers. We chose another solution for Windows and Linux devices.
Powerful MDM Solution for Apple Environments
What do you like best about the product?
One of my favorite aspects of using Jamf is the available support avenues. There's official documentation, yes, but there are also countless online communities that are incredibly helpful in answering questions and offering solutions to new issues. The sysadmin environment in an Apple ecosystem is far more friendly than Windows. People are eager to help
What do you dislike about the product?
It can be somewhat frustrating to encounter issues that are only solvable with 3rd party solutions. We do need to use tools like MUTT to maintain a reliable naming convention across all devices. Most of my complaints are due to limitations introduced by Apple and not Jamf.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We use Jamf as our MDM. We are a new medical school, and an Apple Distinguished School. It was critical to adopt a tool on day one that would have staying power in the industry and a track record of success. We manage all our mobile device and computer deployments with Jamf and it has been central to our success as a small IT department that supports both students and professionals in the medical industry.
Powerful device management
What do you like best about the product?
The ability to manage thousands of devices as quickly as we do is amazing. Device setup that could otherwise take 3 - 6 hours can be done in 40 minutes - 2 hours
What do you dislike about the product?
The programming is not as efficient as it should be. Some tasks that should be pretty simple can overload the server due to database management.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
App deployments can be addressed and applications installed on thousands of devices in less than 5 minutes.
Same with device configurations and it significantly speeds up device deployments.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
If hosting on site plan for significantly more system resources than Jamf specifies the compensate for inefficient programming.
That makes the product work very well
Great companion to Jamf Pro MDM
What do you like best about the product?
Integration with Jamf Pro makes it simple to monitor and deploy
What do you dislike about the product?
Nothing in particular. Jamf keeps up to date with new OS releases and emerging threats
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We've been able to improve our adherence to CIS standards
Amazing tool for Mac management
What do you like best about the product?
We can manage our staff's computers almost 100% using Jamf: software installation, updates, OS updates, security settings and more. If you can script it on a Mac you can package that and deploy it to thousands of devices in just a few clicks. Self Service provides the level of user-based options: other software, maintenance scripts, and more. Some specific examples:
-allow staff to turn on FileVault in self service
-remote lock computers if lost or stolen
-add user accounts remotely
-help users get into account if they loose their password.
-deploy new software
-update existing software
-create local scripts that are available in Self Service to perform unique functions: clean up file names to be Windows compatible, run basic housekeeping scripts for macOS, enable or disable settings on the fly.
There is also an active user community that is very helpful. The official Jamf Nation as well as other ad-hoc groups on Slack and elsewhere.
The people at Jamf are also very good to work with. I have never spoken with anyone who was not professional and friendly. Great people and great product.
What do you dislike about the product?
It does require someone who is pretty well versed in Mac management and Jamf. It does not have simple one-click setups for most functions. You do need to build it out and spend time learning the product. However, once you get there it is largely set and forget.
This is not a tool for non-technical people. There is a cost and technical hill to climb, but for those who need excellent Mac management, it is the right tool.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Give staff the software and security they need. It helps us prevent staff from doing foolish things or even innocent mistakes that can have huge consequences for our organization. It also greatly simplifies deployment of new computers (upgrades or new staff). some specifics:
-prevent installation of malware or "potentially unwanted programs"
-make sure devices are encrypted
-forgotten passwords
-give users the access they need but not Admin access
Some of the benefits:
-no more malware installs
-users are not locked out of their computer when they forget their password.
-software is ketp up to date
-optional software is added by the user
-reduced tickets and IT support
Recommendations to others considering the product:
Don't be intimidated by the set up and roll-out. It is well worth it, but come prepared to learn. If you need to, hire someone to help get you set up with some of the basics in the right way. Once you get that done you are able to manage what is there.
Great policy management, lots of API integrations, and helpful technical support
What is our primary use case?
We manage macOS and iOS devices using Jamf Pro. We are a K through 12 school district and have single users and shared devices. We use Jamf Pro to set up and keep all our Macs and iOS devices up to date and make sure all our corporation's software is installed. Jamf has the ability to not only deploy configuration profiles but also deploy management policies. This allows for a total deployment tool to manage all aspects of our fleet.
How has it helped my organization?
Jamf has given us the ability to manage and make live changes to our entire fleet at a click of a button. At any time, I can see a user's devices, what their IP is, what apps they have been using, and any pending software updates. This allows us to give real-time updates and reports to management and allows our IT staff to better assist our end-users in our organization.
What is most valuable?
Policy management is very valuable to us. It can do so many things - from setting up accounts to installing new software or just editing a .plist file. It can do it all!
You also have Jamf's recon tool that keeps your inventory up to date and allows you to pull real-time reports of your devices.
With the countless API integrations and Jamf Marketplace add-ons, Jamf is customizable and is a total device management tool for Apple's ecosystem.
What needs improvement?
The mass update management tool could be better. We need the ability to tell Macs on next check-in to run all software updates that are pending and authenticate this via bootstrap and root. It should offer a run-on login window so no client needs to be logged in.
There needs to be a mass policy change tool. We would like the ability to make changes to multiple policies at the same time. For example, 50 Printer policies for different printers. We'd like to be able to change the scope or change the driver on the policy en-masse.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Jamf Pro for five years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is very scalable! There are tons of API integration and add-ons. Also, Jamf has zero-day support and is always adding new things.
How are customer service and support?
Jamf is fast to reply and if the person you get doesn't know the answer they will stay with you through the process and help you find the answer.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Meraki MDM. We switched as it could not do everything we needed and we needed a complete management solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
New users should make sure they pay to do the onboarding, and then, once onboarded, attend Jamf user groups and join the Jamf Heroes group.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate other options.
great software, great community
What do you like best about the product?
time saving, more security, great support and great community
What do you dislike about the product?
difficult start for MDM newcomers, but with the training offered it is doable
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
patch management, closing security gaps, daily support, software rollout
Easy, Modular, just the right way
What do you like best about the product?
Migration of accounts away from mobile accounts and binding to accounts that are softly bout with Azure in our case is the best thing ever! With the ability to change the looks aswell this is a verry cool thing.
What do you dislike about the product?
Sadly it is not possible to use Jamf Connect Login for a login before the filevault2 unlock.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Account Creation and Account migration is the two big things we use it for. Having a login from the user of the device aswell gives us confidence in who is using the device :)
Jamf Pro is where it's at! If you’re an Apple Admin!
What do you like best about the product?
This is the flagship solution that you're looking forI like the fact that I can manage my entire Apple environment all in one place.
What do you dislike about the product?
There isn't anything I dislike about Jamf Pro. Maybe a few UI flows could stand to be redesigned, but other than that, it's solid.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I can only imagine how difficult it would be to manage our Apple environment without Jamf Pro.
