What does macOS^® Catalina™ fleet management look like? For most IT organizations, it consists of user and system management.

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Of course, the challenge for admins is that traditional IT fleet management tools struggle with non-Windows^® platforms, including Macs. Historically, IT organizations have leveraged Microsoft^®-based solutions such as Active Directory^® (AD) and System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) for managing Windows systems.

However, IT infrastructure continues to expand, incorporating Mac^® and Linux^® systems, cloud-based resources like AWS^® and GCP, G Suite™ and Office 365™, and a multitude of web applications.

• OS X Server has the ability to cache local copies of Apple Software Updates in order to improve performance and reduce network congestion when updating your fleet. Custom Settings: Your policy for.
• Take command of a fleet of powerful starships in this adventure-driven strategy game from legendary designer Sid Meier. Travel to new worlds, completing missions to help save and protect the planets and their people from dangerous Space Pirates, to powerful Marauders and other hostile factions.
• By Joseph Andrew Lee. Editor’s note: The author served 10 years in the U.S. Eleanor Roosevelt is rumored to have once described Marines as having “the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals” she had ever seen.

In response to this expansion, IT admins have sought cross-platform solutions that integrate natively with macOS, among others. But what’s the best way to manage mixed-OS environments, including macOS Catalina, without becoming overloaded with AD add-ons?

macOS User Management

User management is the process by which admins manage identities and control user access levels. They can, for example, change access levels for users by department or role. As a central part of security, user management is core to organizations’ directory services.

Ideally, IT management tools should enable user-management functionality such as provisioning, deprovisioning, and modification of user access. Additionally, they should allow for password complexity requirements and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to step up account security.

With the release of macOS Catalina, Apple has modified how IT admins can manage user access to their machines. macOS has a tightly integrated user management model in which a user’s local account is also connected to FileVault 2 and KeyChain. This creates a number of challenges, as Apple has introduced new ways to control user account creation and management to make it more secure. Specifically, the company introduced the concept of a Secure Token, which is required in order to enable FileVault on machines.

Although historically managing Secure Tokens was painful, with Catalina, Apple enabled mobile device management (MDM) tools to manage the Secure Token process remotely. The release also allowed account management via SAML — but it did not address local account creation or the original Secure Token users. Admins still face challenges in creating Mac accounts at scale and navigating the trust chain originally required for Secure Tokens (in which the original trusted user needed to create subsequent trusted users).

A comprehensive user management solution should create Mac accounts and navigate the trust chain, as well as provide tight control over user access to systems, applications, files, networks, and other IT resources.

macOS System Management

System management is another important component to consider, as admins control such devices as iMacs, Macbooks, and macOS servers with policies to make them more secure, easier to manage, and configured properly.

Mac admins want GPO-like policies for macOS — i.e. full disk encryption (FDE) through FileVault2, screen saver lock, patch management, password requirements, and other policies. This type of configuration management helps admins ensure their users work on clean and secure systems. They should also look for a solution that enables command execution for tasks such as system checks, compliance reports, and software installation.

Another important component of system management, for both Mac and other operating systems, is monitoring to understand what is occurring on those systems and look for red flags that might signal a bad actor. IT admins should seek a solution that allows them to review and analyze user authentication and access System Insights™ and data via reports. They should also be able to access information about the systems themselves, such as storage space remaining, applications installed, or CPU utilization.

Ideally, this system management solution would work not only for macOS Catalina but also for Windows and Linux platforms to suit heterogeneous environments at scale.

Learn More

Altogether, IT admins should seek comprehensive user and system management capabilities, ideally through a central identity provider, to streamline critical processes and increase security.

If you’d like to learn more about implementing macOS Catalina user and system management, consider browsing Quantifying the Value of Directory Services, a guide that examines management from the cloud. You can also check out our resources page for more information.

Comments

Fleet Morals Mac Os Download

• As we all already could have predicted but nice to see in print.
• Whoa. Windows@IBM users were about 500% more likely to need migration assistance just within Windows. That stat blows me away. This in a workforce of 381,100 is a feather in Apple’s cap. Goodonya folks. (https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/IBM/ibm/number-of-employees)

• ...

  employees that used Mac machines were 22 percent more likely to exceed expectations in performance reviews compared to Windows users. Employees generating sales deals has 16% larger proceeds from Mac users as well.
  ...
  

  I guess having read enumerable medical studies proving that black is white and the sun rises in the west, and having started as an accountant fully cognizant of the truth behind the saying that: 'Figures lie and liars figure', I have become quite cynical of statistics -- particularly those that fail the smell test.
  In the case of medical studies it has become generally accepted in the medical community that the primary determinant of the outcome of a study is who funded the study. And, we all know about accountants and lawyers...
  This one fails the smell test. It reeks of using statistics to prove a point.
  Are Macs better in the business environment? Very likely -- particularly if you it's a favorable environment. But, these stats sound highly suspicious to me.
  

• ...

  employees that used Mac machines were 22 percent more likely to exceed expectations in performance reviews compared to Windows users. Employees generating sales deals has 16% larger proceeds from Mac users as well.
  ...
  

  I guess having read enumerable medical studies proving that black is white and the sun rises in the west, and having started as an accountant fully cognizant of the truth behind the saying that: 'Figures lie and liars figure', I have become quite cynical of statistics -- particularly those that fail the smell test.
  In the case of medical studies it has become generally accepted in the medical community that the primary determinant of the outcome of a study is who funded the study. And, we all know about accountants and lawyers...
  This one fails the smell test. It reeks of using statistics to prove a point.
  Are Macs better in the business environment? Very likely -- particularly if you it's a favorable environment. But, these stats sound highly suspicious to me.
  

  This isn't new news and has been quantified before. IBM has done their own studies and thus are not funded like drug manufacturers do for their studies:
  https://www.cio.com/article/3133945/ibm-says-macs-save-up-to-543-per-user.html
  https://www.businessinsider.com/an-ibm-it-guy-macs-are-300-cheaper-to-own-than-windows-2016-10
  

• ...

  employees that used Mac machines were 22 percent more likely to exceed expectations in performance reviews compared to Windows users. Employees generating sales deals has 16% larger proceeds from Mac users as well.
  ...
  

  I guess having read enumerable medical studies proving that black is white and the sun rises in the west, and having started as an accountant fully cognizant of the truth behind the saying that: 'Figures lie and liars figure', I have become quite cynical of statistics -- particularly those that fail the smell test.
  In the case of medical studies it has become generally accepted in the medical community that the primary determinant of the outcome of a study is who funded the study. And, we all know about accountants and lawyers...
  This one fails the smell test. It reeks of using statistics to prove a point.
  Are Macs better in the business environment? Very likely -- particularly if you it's a favorable environment. But, these stats sound highly suspicious to me.
  

  I don’t follow, isn’t this a study performed by IBM about IBM? Who is IBM trying to pump up?

• As we all already could have predicted but nice to see in print.

  Not surprised at all! I work in a MS only workplace and see what the support people go through and frankly I suspect even Linux would be dramatically less trouble. The biggest problem with Apple in the corporate world, especially manufacturing, is suitable hardware. The Mac Mini is not a universal solution and all in ones are completely unacceptable. I still don’t think Apple gets it but then again neither do many corporate IT managers.

• Duh! Every user of Apple products knows this.

  That's a bit facile, in the enterprise context, where things are a lot more complicated.
  This is exactly the kind of news and analysis that enterprises need to hear more of: I will be passing this article on to the head of IT in my organization, for sure.
  (Was there a link to the IBM study in the article?)

  edited November 2019

• Duh! Every user of Apple products knows this.

  That's a bit facile, in the enterprise context, where things are a lot more complicated.
  This is exactly the kind of news and analysis that enterprises need to hear more of: I will be passing this article on to the head of IT in my organization, for sure.
  (Was there a link to the IBM study in the article?)

  Not yet. When they publish the entire piece, we'll link to it. We're on the ground at the Jamf conference.

• ...

  employees that used Mac machines were 22 percent more likely to exceed expectations in performance reviews compared to Windows users. Employees generating sales deals has 16% larger proceeds from Mac users as well.
  ...
  

  I guess having read enumerable medical studies proving that black is white and the sun rises in the west, and having started as an accountant fully cognizant of the truth behind the saying that: 'Figures lie and liars figure', I have become quite cynical of statistics -- particularly those that fail the smell test.
  In the case of medical studies it has become generally accepted in the medical community that the primary determinant of the outcome of a study is who funded the study. And, we all know about accountants and lawyers...
  This one fails the smell test. It reeks of using statistics to prove a point.
  Are Macs better in the business environment? Very likely -- particularly if you it's a favorable environment. But, these stats sound highly suspicious to me.
  

  Honestly I believe just about the entire article. Why? I’ve seen first hand just how bad MS based solutions are and the support structure to keep them running.

• As we all already could have predicted but nice to see in print.

  Not surprised at all! I work in a MS only workplace and see what the support people go through and frankly I suspect even Linux would be dramatically less trouble. The biggest problem with Apple in the corporate world, especially manufacturing, is suitable hardware. The Mac Mini is not a universal solution and all in ones are completely unacceptable. I still don’t think Apple gets it but then again neither do many corporate IT managers.

  There’s nothing unacceptable about AIOs at any of the Fortune 100 and 500 enterprise orgs I’ve worked for over the years. In fact most issue laptops, which are....AIOs. This hasn’t been a problem whatsoever. We use cloud and network data stores, and if a machine breaks down it is replaced readily.
  And for my own personal business I have no issue with my new iMac AIO and it’s kickass 5K display, it’s incredible sharp and less expensive than buying a stand-alone plus 4+ K monitor.

  edited November 2019

• wizard69 said:
  I’ve seen first hand just how bad MS based solutions are and the support structure to keep them running.

  We use Macs for everything except our accounting software which has been running on Windows for more than 20 years. Just for the sake of legacy compatibility we still use Windows in that department. I have no issues with Windows 10. It works fine in my opinion, but for our programming, publishing and design projects we are all Mac. I haven't upgraded anything to Catalina yet due to various issues that have been reported.
• I’m equally comfortable with both macOS and Windows but I completely agree that macOS is more reliable and easier to maintain than Windows 10. The difference is not huge, but when you’re talking thousands of users small differences in reliability have a large impact on availability, which is where the rubber meets the road for most end users. End users are very intolerant of any downtime caused by computer system glitches and failures. Downtime leads to frustration, loss of productivity, and decreased moral. More recently I’ve even seen new employee hires that have a contractual commitment from their new employer that allows them to use a Mac inside what is traditionally a Windows-only shop. Is this kowtowing to hipsters? No, it’s allowing employees to perform at their best and not setting them up for failure or frustration by creating needless barriers to the employee's and company’s success. I know, this sounds too hard to take for conformists and government workers, but some companies (around 30% I’d guess) actually understand the value of having happy and engaged employees. Sounds like IBM gets it and good for them.

• As we all already could have predicted but nice to see in print.

  The biggest problem with Apple in the corporate world, especially manufacturing, is suitable hardware.

  I have worked in a mixed environment, at a print shop. All the design was done on Macs, but the presses ran Windows software that was customized for our shop, ages before I worked there. I helped support an NT environment, which had its issues, mostly with sales people’s laptops not connecting to the network and the like, but the Mac side ran smoothly nearly 100% of the time. I think the only time I serviced a Mac was when an OS 9 System Folder became “un-blessed” , and wouldn’t boot. Luckily, I remembered the trick to fix that (drag Finder out and then back in). The design staff were very pleased with me that day!

  edited November 2019

• As we all already could have predicted but nice to see in print.

  Not surprised at all! I work in a MS only workplace and see what the support people go through and frankly I suspect even Linux would be dramatically less trouble. The biggest problem with Apple in the corporate world, especially manufacturing, is suitable hardware. The Mac Mini is not a universal solution and all in ones are completely unacceptable. I still don’t think Apple gets it but then again neither do many corporate IT managers.

  What? Where are you living? We see a lot of iMacs on reception desks, hospitals and many crowded business places every day...

  edited November 2019

• ...

  employees that used Mac machines were 22 percent more likely to exceed expectations in performance reviews compared to Windows users. Employees generating sales deals has 16% larger proceeds from Mac users as well.
  ...
  

  I guess having read enumerable medical studies proving that black is white and the sun rises in the west, and having started as an accountant fully cognizant of the truth behind the saying that: 'Figures lie and liars figure', I have become quite cynical of statistics -- particularly those that fail the smell test.
  In the case of medical studies it has become generally accepted in the medical community that the primary determinant of the outcome of a study is who funded the study. And, we all know about accountants and lawyers...
  This one fails the smell test. It reeks of using statistics to prove a point.
  Are Macs better in the business environment? Very likely -- particularly if you it's a favorable environment. But, these stats sound highly suspicious to me.
  

  Why would it fail the smell test. IBM was never a Mac user because they were Apple's biggest competitor. For most people, it's hard to go public and tell the world that what you used to sell and support is garbage. It's like the CEO of Ford telling the world that now, 40% of his workforce drives GM cars and they are more productive, happier, etc. IBM still has a vested interest in Lenovo, which is one of the biggest PC mfg. and that's the brand IBM uses. So why would IBM go around basically telling the world that PCs (Lenovo) suck in comparison to Macs? And that doesn't pass the smell test?

• ...

  employees that used Mac machines were 22 percent more likely to exceed expectations in performance reviews compared to Windows users. Employees generating sales deals has 16% larger proceeds from Mac users as well.
  ...
  

  I guess having read enumerable medical studies proving that black is white and the sun rises in the west, and having started as an accountant fully cognizant of the truth behind the saying that: 'Figures lie and liars figure', I have become quite cynical of statistics -- particularly those that fail the smell test.
  In the case of medical studies it has become generally accepted in the medical community that the primary determinant of the outcome of a study is who funded the study. And, we all know about accountants and lawyers...
  This one fails the smell test. It reeks of using statistics to prove a point.
  Are Macs better in the business environment? Very likely -- particularly if you it's a favorable environment. But, these stats sound highly suspicious to me.
  

  IBM is just reporting their findings. IBM sells and supports Windows and Macs to their customers, but their internal use of each platform is what THEY are researching because it helps them make better decisions moving forward in how to deal with their internal IT issues with employees. IBM used force their employees to use Windows, but they don't anymore and now they are looking at various metrics and reporting just to let people know what happens when you change to their new and different method of dealing with IT and their employees.
• even with today’s purported keyboards on the macbook pros. imagine that... /s