The future of Jamf Admin and Composer?

I don't see Jamf Admin getting any updates going forward. I keep hoping, possibly in vain, that Jamf will revamp the Jamf Pro UI Packages section to include all the features that Jamf Admin has and make it easier to use, but every update for Jamf Pro that comes out, there are no updates in that area, so I can understand your concern.

As for Composer, it's still fine for what it promises to do, though I do agree its well past time for it to be reworked and modernized, that is, if Jamf plans to keep it around. Though I don't see a reason they would kill it unless it came down to a lack of resources for upkeep.

I too hope for some updates and they don't just leave it by the wayside. Without Jamf Admin how are we supposed to Index packages for uninstallation via Self Service and easily capture printers to throw into Jamf Pro? In my experience working with Jamf I have always been directed to upload packages via the Web and not to do so via Jamf Admin. There are quite a few things Jamf needs to work out for sure I guess that is taking priority like the horrible macOS update/upgrade process via their mass update command that hardly works and fixing the available updates hanging problem when running Recon.

With that said though Jamf isn't cheap and I kind of expect a little better for these problems. Some problems are my own fault though 😛 

@Levi_ +4, from the four of us here that work with Jamf Pro.  I'd like to do everything from the web GUI, because I have to VPN into our data center to do Jamf Admin (on prem Jamf Pro), but failing that Jamf Admin needs some love.  And don't even get me started on macOS updates/upgrades, that's a daily rant here.

@AVmcclint Yes, I agree. Admin still lists PPC as a platform to filter on but not Apple Silicon! Maybe Jamf should spend a little less on acquiring new additional products and a bit more on maintaining what they've already got.

Does anyone know what the new workflow will be for packing up and deploying an app for macOS now that Jamf Admin is set for deprecation later this year? I was just on a Jamf Support call where I learned about Jamf Admin and Composer going away, which I was shocked. I asked this question to him and he had NO IDEA. Not to mention Jamf has not updated their documentation indicating any workflows beyond says "Jamf Admin and Computer are set for deprecation late 2023." Great. Thanks. I must be missing something major here...

I'm not seeing any mention in the notes of Composer being discontinued. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I don't see a reason Jamf would kill it. It's not even tied to Jamf Pro in any way, which can be seen as either good or bad I suppose. But the point is, it's a standalone app that does basic packaging. Could it stand to be reworked? For sure, but even if they don't, it still does what it says on the tin. Hopefully they at least keep Composer around for a while? I mean, sure, there is Packages.app and other similar tools, but as you stated @AVmcclint it's not the easiest tool to use, especially for a beginner. You kind of have to already understand packaging to really make use of Packages.app and not run into issues.

I know I'm behind the times but does anyone know what they're going to do to replace Admin? We're on-prem so my understanding is that you cannot use the packages feature in Jamf Pro to upload packages (unless that has changed since I last took Jamf training...) without having a Cloud Distribution Point.

Here is what I was told by jamf:

I would highly recommend you send email to success@jamf.com and tell them how you use Jamf Admin. I sent a long list of pros and cons, raves and complaints, and requests about Jamf Admin. I made a lot of comparisons to the web interface and how much it sucks compared to a standalone tool.  Please tell them what's on your mind so they know we still NEED an App like Jamf Admin. 

I, too, put in a ticket with Jamf. We are on-prem only at this time, and Admin is the only easy way we can upload and sync packages on our DPs. I find a lot of the time Jamf completely overlooks its on-prem customers when planning their product "improvements" and that just saddens me. I am constantly asked why I can't do my job with Intune, and Jamf is making it harder and harder for me to keep management happy with my answers.

We are also onprem and need to use Jamf admin to upload packages, Calculate the Checksum (Packages cant not be deployed with out this) and Replicate to our DMZ share, Jamf needs to add these to the Web app before they stop distributing Jamf admin

We are about as late into 2023 as you can get and there has been nary a word said about the Jamf Admin replacement. I would really like to see a demo of this new replacement BEFORE it is released to the general public. Don't treat it like Jamf Remote Assist and release it without testing it.  But it sure would be nice for us to get some kind of idea how our workflows are going to change.

Agree. We need more info on this change

It looks like the date has now been named (19 March 2024):

Deprecations and Removals - Jamf Pro Release Notes 11.1.0 | Jamf

It would be nice if they updated the text in the Deprecations section from the current "Jamf is committed to finding alternative solutions for key workflows from Jamf Admin" to something like "Jamf will roll out an alternative solution for workflows from Jamf Admin". The way it continues to be worded there makes it sound like they're still trying to figure this out, and March 2024 isn't far off at this point. Doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies.

I honestly wouldn't care all that much about losing Jamf Admin.app, except that I rely on it for just a few specific package uploads that seem to fail to complete when using the Jamf Pro Packages upload UI. If it goes away and I'm not able to upload those pkgs anymore, that's going to be an issue.

I agree 100%. When I saw  "Jamf is committed to finding alternative solutions for key workflows from Jamf Admin" I read that as "We're not sure what we're going to do, but we'll figure out some kind of half-baked solution that does a fraction of what JamfAdmin does and is far more unstable. Over the course of the following 24 months, we'll insist everything is fine and you're just using it wrong.Then we'll cave in and agree to make a change. We'll change the colors of the icon and consider the matter closed."

We use it 100% of the time for our packages, so I really hope they come up with something soon!

Same! We are still using Jamf Admin 100% over here, especially since we are hosted on-site. 

Sadly, I've noticed that Jamf really doesn't keep on-prem customers in mind when they develop their new features/changes, etc.

The release notes for Jamf Pro 11.3 still say "estimated removal date: 19 March 2024" That's less than a month from now. Still not even a hint of what's to come.

I have to believe it’s not going anywhere just yet without a plan. The support people don’t know anything about what a replacement workflow would look like still. I suppose you could upload your packages directly into the container and in the web interface. Still need a way of grabbing a self contained app though and I don’t know of another way of doing that, do you? 

Unfortunately, on-prem folks (like me) can't even use the web interface. If admin stops working, we're pretty much screwed.

We are in the same boat being on-prem so still using composer and admin as well. Hopefully it just stays for now. 

I suspect Jamf will back off on that deprecation date once the date rolls around, IF they don't have a solution in place by then. If they decide to go forward with that removal date without having something to replace it, they're going to end up having quite a few angry customers, and their support lines will get clogged with people opening support tickets and calling in. I doubt they want that. Not a good look.

Either Jamf is working on something in secret and will spring it on us when it's ready (really not ideal, so hopefully not), or they miscalculated and were too aggressive on that removal date, and they'll push it back. I can't see any other options, other than the aforementioned stick to the removal date and piss off a lot of customers one.

I suspect (and hope) you're right on that!