Why is Jamf Cloud required for Software update: Download and schedule to install?

My guess is product segmentation, it's trying to incentivize to you move to Jamf Cloud. There are other features that need Cloud like Jamf's Mac Apps, which yes use the cloud distribution services but there is no reason that could not be made to work for On Prem instances with at most a fee.

The "Download and schedule" option uses Declarative Device Management (DDM), and DDM requires support for a status channel to the MDM server to receive status reports from devices related to any DDM commands they have applied (see https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/intro-to-declarative-device-management-depb1bab77f8/web). That's not to say it couldn't be implemented for on-prem Jamf Pro installs, but since it's very clear that Jamf wants all customers to be Cloud customers I wouldn't bet on them adding DDM support anywhere but there.

Thanks. I think that's a bad move for JAMF to "Lock" this option to the cloud as more and more things become DDM means more and more features locked to the cloud. They are going to loose customers over this

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@BCPeteo wrote:

Any one know why this is restricted to JAMF cloud? With DDM and macOS14+ I can't see how JAMF cloud would be needed at all

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Jamf Cloud is required for the "Software update: Download and schedule to install" feature because it provides centralized management and enhanced capabilities that are crucial for orchestrating updates across multiple devices. This feature often relies on Jamf Cloud's infrastructure for seamless coordination, scheduling, and monitoring of software updates, which might be challenging to manage with on-premises solutions alone. Even with Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and macOS 14+, Jamf Cloud facilitates better scalability, real-time reporting, and remote management, ensuring that updates are efficiently deployed and tracked across all managed devices.

Yeah other MDM's can handle this while not being in the cloud