WWDC
Let’s begin with the one everybody is aware of about, which is Apple’s Worldwide Builders Convention (WWDC) held each June. The occasion has turn out to be an Apple keynote occasion in its personal proper, and whereas many of the content material is meant for Apple builders, it all the time consists of at the least a number of periods for IT execs; the precise quantity varies annually, however the “What’s New in Managing Apple Gadgets” is a perennial choice. Some years there are a number of others, equivalent to when Apple unveiled declarative system administration or check in with Apple at work, or when the corporate opened up about tips on how to use Managed Apple accounts in your group.
The matters range, however they’re virtually all the time vital choice to discover yearly.
- Apple Developer Sources. Apple makes a great deal of extra info obtainable to its developer group. Once more, a lot of it isn’t strictly IT-focused, however there are a shocking variety of helpful references — for those who’re prepared to do some digging. These embody:
- Gadget Administration — That is the useful resource on tips on how to handle Apple units. There are overviews and detailed descriptions of cellular system administration (MDM) payloads and the whole lot in between.
- What’s new in Apple platform deployment — Because the title suggests, that is additionally a must-know useful resource, as a result of it covers the fundamental details about tips on how to deploy Apple units at scale throughout the entire firm’s system lineup.
- ManagedAppDistribution — That is used for managing apps when you’ve enrolled and begun to deploy apps throughout your fleet.
- AppleSeed for IT — That is the place you arrange and handle the testing of Apple’s beta applications inside your group. I’ve greater than as soon as famous how partnering with adventurous workers may also help you extra successfully take a look at and plan for upcoming releases; that is the place to get began.
- Apple Enterprise Important consumer information — For small or medium-size companies (SMBs), Apple affords an in-house system administration resolution known as Apple Enterprise Necessities. For IT execs new to Apple units, this can be a nice beginning place, whatever the measurement of your group and it serves as a stepping stone to Apple Enterprise Supervisor, which all bigger organizations and MDM options would require.
- Apple Coaching — Apple doesn’t provide the breadth of IT coaching and certification it as soon as did (and that different enterprise gamers proceed to supply). Regardless, the corporate does provide vital coaching assets. These break down into developer coaching (as a category with no certification and meant for budding builders, enterprise or not) and IT coaching. For IT coaching there are 4 classes, solely two of which provide certifications. The primary two — system assist and deployment coaching — are those for which Apple gives research supplies and associated workouts in addition to a certification examination that may be proctored on-line. The opposite two — Mac Safety Compliance and Apple Enterprise Necessities — are extremely helpful programs (the latter is very essential for SMBs) however don’t include a certification examination or credential connected.
- Apple developer documentation and assist — Once more, Apple’s developer documentation is nicely value learning, however its developer assist boards (and assist boards) centered on the enterprise group are additionally essential assets.
MDM and cloud vendor assets
Though Apple gives unbelievable system and consumer administration capabilities throughout its platforms, implementing them largely requires working with a number of MDM distributors — together with JAMF, Kandji, Microsoft, VMWare, Fleet, JumpCloud and SimpleMDM, to call a number of.
