From a small email distribution list to a formalized community forum, Jamf Nation has served as the premier online resource for Apple management enthusiasts for more than a decade. And recently, in case you missed the news, it hit a milestone - 300,000 posts. Jamf’s founder, and former CEO, Zach Halmstad, not only recognized the desire for customers to share ideas as a way to problem solve, but he also saw their need to connect as humans. So in 2012, he pitched an idea - Jamf Nation.   “Early on we witnessed the huge benefits our customers saw when they could ask each other questions and share their solutions,” Halmstad recalled. “Jamf Nation was the next step for us to ensure customers were successful.”In a 16-slide Keynote, Halmstad pitched his idea to his colleagues at Jamf. He shared the reasons to shift the company’s rapidly growing email distribution list to an online forum, citing communication as a main goal. (Slide from original deck shown below). Fast forward 12 years, a

Engage. Empower. Elevate.When we started Mac Admins India, the vision was simple: create a place where Apple IT professionals across India could learn from one another, build meaningful connections, and strengthen the enterprise Apple ecosystem.On 1 August 2026, the Apple IT community came together at Radisson Blu Hotel, Outer Ring Road, Bengaluru, for the second edition of Mac Admins India Connect. What began as an idea to bring Apple IT professionals together has quickly grown into India’s largest community-driven conference dedicated to Apple enterprise professionals.What began as an idea has now become India’s largest community-driven conference dedicated to Apple IT professionals.Community FirstTechnology conferences are often measured by attendance numbers, sponsors, or session counts. While those are important milestones, the true success of a community event is measured by the conversations that happen between the sessions.This year we welcomed 370+ attendees from across India

An original version of this post has been shared to Patch Notes and Progress. Reflections from JNUC 2025 — automation, openness, and community taking Mac management to new heights. Denver, Colorado | October 6 – 9, 2025Day 0 — Travel and New ConnectionsJNUC 2025 in Denver was my first in-person Jamf Nation User Conference — and my first time ever on a plane. Over three days, I watched Jamf redefine what MDM means in an API-first world, connected with the Mac Admins community I’ve long admired, and saw firsthand how automation, identity, and community are working to shape the next chapter of Apple device management services. As mentioned in a previous post: Prepping for JNUC 2025, I had been awarded sponsorship by Jamf to attend this year’s Jamf Nation User Conference in Denver Colorado. Before I even left Pittsburgh, Jamf had already dropped next year’s headline: JNUC 2026 will be held in Kansas City, Missouri (Sept 23– 25), with early-bird registration open. JNUC 2026 to be hosted at

I've worked in IT for over 20 years, and I've seen plenty of changes. But AI is the biggest shift I've faced yet. Like any new technology, it brings real benefits and real challenges. That's especially true in training. Most of the students I work with are already using AI, and the rest plan to start soon. It's making them faster and more efficient. But it's also introducing a new risk,  the quality of the answers their AI tools hand back. This is where I think Jamf has gotten something right. Their own AI Assistant, built into Jamf Pro, takes a different approach than the general AI tools my students reach for. AI Assistant can read, analyse, explain, and surface information from your Jamf environment. But it can't modify configurations, push policies, enrol devices, or take any action that changes your fleet's state. It's built to help you understand, not to act on your behalf. What makes it useful is where its answers come from. When you ask it a question, it pulls from two places b

I recently traveled to the Matter Career Readiness Institute (MCRI) in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to teach a macOS fundamentals and essential skills workshop alongside my teammate, Tyler Davis. MCRI's mission is to train students for jobs in the tech industry and create opportunities for those who might not otherwise have a clear path forward.We knew the students had potential before we arrived. Our MCRI intern, Anita, had just joined us full-time as a Client Platform Associate,* and hiring her was undoubtedly one of the best decisions our team has made. While I didn't expect the whole class to be like Anita, I had a feeling I'd catch glimpses of her intellect and drive in them.When we walked into the room, everyone was focused and ready to begin. As a woman in tech who spent the earlier years of her career struggling to be taken seriously and have her voice heard, seeing them all genuinely eager to listen was a full circle moment. Part of why I cofounded the Women in Tech Apple Admins g

If we want to use Jamf’s built-in Patch Management notifications to let clients know about new patches as they become available in Self Service, they will receive a notification for each patch title as their Macs come into scope for each patch policy. That’s not really a big deal if we only push out one or two patches at a time, but say after Patch Tuesday… yikes! That can easily result in a string of notifications which can get pretty annoying. Additionally, there may be situations where notifications do not behave as we would expect, such as with PI104511, which can result in Self Service notifications not consistently appearing in the Notification Center when they are scheduled to do so, resulting in unpatched apps quitting unexpectedly when they reach their install deadline. This is where we found ourselves and why we built our own patch notification workflow. It leverages jamfHelper and a Smart Computer Group to send our clients one notification each day while patches are availabl

Mac Apps, App Installers, Jamf Apps, Jamf App Catalog… whatever name you know it by, the feature found in your Jamf Pro server at Computers – Mac apps – Jamf App Catalog is a great tool for deploying and patching many commonly used Apps which aren’t available through Apple’s App Store. For the sake of clarity, I will refer to them as App Installers for the remainder of this post. App Installers do have some caveats which are documented here. Being aware of those is well and good, but even the most experienced admins can make mistakes. Jamf Pro will not alert you if you have done something like overlapped scopes for different deployments of the same App Installer title.If this occurs, that App Installer will likely cease to recalculate its deployment as more Macs are added to the Computer Group it is scoped to. If you toggle the “stuck” app’s deployment off and back on again, it’ll force it to recalculate and the Macs it was missing will begin to receive it.This overlapping scope behavi

When I first learned about Jamf Setup Checklist, I didn't view it as merely an optional companion to Setup Manager. In my mind, this was the rare movie sequel that genuinely had a clear, critical purpose.Setup Checklist was something our users needed. Something our technicians needed. And frankly, something I needed.🤔 Imagine this scenario…💻 Your user receives a brand-new MacBook Pro.The user opens the lid, glides through the beautiful Setup Manager workflow, and waits patiently as Jamf Pro onboards the Mac.⏰ 30 minutes pass. The Mac reaches the Desktop. The user is excited and ready to be productive on day one.So, they try to open Outlook. Error: No Internet connection.Okay… so they try to open Safari. Error: No Internet connection.😰 Minnesota, we have a problem. Panic sets in. What’s the Help Desk number again?Because this user is tech-savvy, instead of immediately calling support, they double-check the Wi-Fi connection and try the classic fix: toggling Wi-Fi off and on. Safari st

Microsoft has announced plans to move storage of the Workplace Join Key out of the user’s Login Keychain and into Apple’s Secure Enclave:    Microsoft Enterprise SSO plug-in for Apple devices - Microsoft identity platform    Announced in March 2024, Microsoft Entra ID will be moving away from Apple’s Keychain for storing device identity keys. Starting in Q3 2025, all new device registrations will use Apple’s Secure Enclave. There will be no opt-out of this storage location.  Applications and MDM integrations that have a dependency on accessing Workplace Join keys via Keychain will need to start using MSAL and the Enterprise SSO plug-in to ensure compatibility with the Microsoft identity platform.    In the same document, Microsoft provides guidance on how to test the Secure Enclave today to ensure the change will be compatible with your environment when the change goes live:   If you would like to enable Secure Enclave based storage of

Written by Diane Meza The demand for skilled Apple IT professionals isn't slowing down. As more schools and businesses build their operations around macOS and iOS, they need people who know how to manage, secure, and support those devices at scale — and the talent pipeline hasn't kept pace.Mesa Community College is helping close that gap. Through the Maricopa Information Technology Institute (MITI), in partnership with Jamf, the college offers the Enterprise IT Professional Apple Technology course series: a hands-on iniative built to turn students into job-ready Apple IT professionals.Learning by doingUnder instructor Carl Cortez, students get more than lecture time. The initiative combines classroom instruction with real device management experience, covering how to work with macOS and iOS and how to manage them in both business and education environments. Along the way, students earn Jamf 100, Jamf 170, and Jamf 200 certifications, credentials that carry weight with employers already

Launching the inaugural Mac Admins User Group Paris meetup during Apple annual developer conference week was quite a challenge… but a good one, and I must really thank all the Jamf team for helping us to make it happen in such a short time! As a long time Mac user, I loved the energy from Apple Expo in the old days. Since its termination, Paris has long needed a localized hub for Apple IT professionals to connect face-to-face. I worked on different Mac admins events in the past (Command IT, Gete.Net Connect), but I felt that choosing WWDC 2026 as our kickoff theme for this new Paris User Group provided the perfect catalyst, uniting the community around massive technical shifts. WWDC 2026 Highlights for Mac Admins Apple made it absolutely clear this year that Declarative Device Management, aka DDM, is no longer just the future, but the present standard. Hopefully, the message was well sent, and as our favorite management tools have been updated to use DDM properly, and this transition s

Another year, another Jamf Nation Live London and Berlin in the bag! And this might be bold to say, but I think it was the best one yet. This year, the Community team wanted to approach things differently. Rather than assuming we know what you need from us, we wanted to hear it directly from you, the community members, so we could understand our gaps and figure out how to close them. My "vision" was simple: create an interactive space that got attendees to stop and think about where they are in their Apple admin career, and see other people right there alongside them. We built a wall showcasing the different stages an Apple admin might find themselves in, from just starting out in management and security, all the way through to leading teams and strategy, with plenty of stops in between. Attendees filled in cards with a mix of light-hearted preference questions (light mode vs. dark mode... guess what won? 🌚) and the areas where they'd like more help, like AI integration, career growth

Many organizations recommend or prescribe a specific web browser for their users. The user can change the setting in the user interface, even though it is not really obvious where to look. Many MacAdmins would like to pre-set this browser and the default during enrollment. However, there are several challenges associated with this in macOS. It would be really nice if Apple provided some means to manage this with a configuration profile. If you agree, please file feedback with your AppleSeed for IT account. While we wait for that, what can we do?   Use the browsers Most third party browsers have a built-in command option to set themselves as the default browser. Most Chromium based browsers (Google Chrome, MS Edge, etc.) can be launched with the --make-default-browser option: open -a "Google Chrome" --new --args --make-default-browser open -a "Microsoft Edge" --new --args --make-default-browser For Firefox, the options are different: open -a "Firefox" --new --args -silent -nosplas

I joined Jamf as a training instructor in March of 2022. It was a strange move for me. Prior to that, I was a mostly lone-wolf Jamf Pro admin, enjoying my days in relative solitude with a CodeRunner window and my ticket queue open, communicating mostly by typing words into a document or a chat window. When I did have to hook my laptop into a projector or share a screen during an online meeting, the majority of the time I was meeting with colleagues that I knew well already. For an introvert, not really too big of a lift, I think. So jumping into a job role where I would not only be speaking, but managing a class full of a dozen different people, mostly not-colleagues, but customers, nearly every week for four days straight, was as you can maybe imagine, a bit of a shock to the system. There were a lot of lessons I had to learn very quickly, and some new problems to try and solve, though most of them are rather specific to this job I know few readers share. But there are a few I think a

I'm ​@TyBorrell the product manager for Jamf AI Assistant. My second week at Jamf, I was at JNUC in Denver, talking with admins about AI. I haven't stopped since: what they're trying, what's working, what they're quietly unsure about. Here's what I keep hearing, and then I'd like to ask you something.At Jamf Nation Live London this year, 221 admins were asked what they need help with most, and AI integration topped the list at 84%. It came up across every career stage, from first-timers to people running teams. What I keep hearingMost of it comes back to a few questions:How do I use AI to manage my fleet more intelligently? How does it make me a more impactful contributor at my org? How do I free up time for the parts of the job I actually want to do?People are approaching AI every which way. Some have built plenty, some are just starting, and none of that is the point. If you'd like to work through it alongside other admins, there should be a place for that. An invitationI created a g

Introducing the MacAdmins Definitive Resource DirectoryOne of the greatest difficulties I found when I began my career as a Mac Systems Administrator was not learning the technology or the tools, but rather finding out where I should be looking. The MacAdmins community holds a vast amount of information and resources, however, due to the sheer volume and the fact that there is so much spread around the web, it can become quite intimidating, especially for newbies.This is why I decided to create the MacAdmins Definitive Resource Directory: https://github.com/maccy10/definitivemacadmins Reasons for Building This ProjectOf course, there are already other very good, curated collections of links, and it would be unfair not to mention the projects that inspired this one:* Community is Valuable: A List of My Favourite Community Resources: https://community.jamf.com/tech-thoughts-180/community-is-valuable-a-list-of-my-favorite-community-resources-53430* https://github.com/JordyThery/bookmarksJ

Last year, I had the extraordinary privilege of travelling to Zimbabwe to meet and teach some of the most driven, curious students I've ever encountered — the cohort at the MATTER Career Readiness Institute (MCRI). If you're not familiar with MCRI, let me explain why it matters. You may already know the Matter Innovation Hubs (MIH): tech-forward, student-centred environments designed to foster active learning and creativity for children who often lack access to critical educational resources. MCRI takes that mission further. It's a post-secondary workforce training program with a bold goal — equip young Zimbabwean students with the skills needed to become software engineers and secure remote employment with Western companies. In an environment where opportunity can be rare, MCRI is opening doors that were once closed, helping students turn potential into power.  How the program worksStudents apply from local secondary schools, go through a rigorous selection process, and dive into a cu

There’s a certain irony in traveling 3,500 miles to Leiden only to feel like I was heading home.I’m a New Yorker now, living in Yonkers—a city that owes its very name to the Dutch. It comes from the title Jonkheer (or “Young Lord”), the nickname for Adriaen van der Donck. Back in the day, the area was simply known as “The Jonkheer’s land.” As the years passed and the English took over, “Jonkheer” evolved into “Yonkers.” So, when the opportunity came to attend MacAdmins-EU in Leiden, Amsterdam, it was an immediate “yes.” I wasn’t just visiting the “Old World”; I was tracing a line back to where the story of my hometown began. The Jordy Factor The spark for this trip started when ​@Jordy-Thery told me to “save the date” for the end of April. He couldn’t say much more at the time, but I was already sold. I’ve followed Jordy on the #macadmins Slack and LinkedIn for years, finally meeting him in person at an event in Nashville a few years back. He represents the soul of this community—a lea

In April, I had the opportunity to attend MacAD.UK in Brighton for the first time. It was the conference’s ninth year and the tenth anniversary of the very first gathering, which made it feel like a special moment to be part of. Even more importantly, it was my first professional conference presentation, made possible by the Charles S. Edge New Speaker Grant from the Mac Admins Foundation. The MacAD.UK team also played an important part in making it possible for me to speak at the conference, and I’m incredibly grateful for that support. I had applied earlier in the year and, to be honest, almost forgot that I had done it. So, when I received the email from Chris Dawe saying I had been selected, I could hardly believe it. The excitement was quickly followed by nerves, because I knew I would soon be meeting with Chris and Diego Laconelli and later with ​@rebecca_latimer. Speaking English does not always come naturally to me, so I spent a lot of time getting ready for those conversations

The Dinner Table Tech DeskLet’s be honest, we’ve all been there - so let me paint the picture. It’s the holidays, everyone is gathered around the table, you’ve managed to dodge most of the argument inducing conversations and you’re about to take that first mouthwatering bite out of <insert your favorite festive food here>. Suddenly someone pulls out their iPhone and says one of these (or many other) nightmare inducing phrases; ”Hey can I ask you a question about iCloud real quick?” or “Hey, how many Apple IDs should I have?” These questions are par for the course when you are the designated tech person both at work and at home. I’m having a little fun here and I know that we all do our best to help out that relative to the best of our ability and get them not only back up and running ASAP but hopefully also feeling good about their tech. It’s likely the reason we keep getting asked for help, because we are good at it (and be honest, you enjoy it at least a little)! This article i

There are hundreds if not thousands of Terraform examples and walk throughs on the internet today. Most of them start in a clean environment. They assume a brand new account. No history. No surprises.But that’s rarely the situation most of us inherit.More often, we’re working on something that’s been evolving for years:Resources created manually in a GUI Naming conventions that shifted over time Temporary fixes that became permanent Configurations that “just work,” but nobody is entirely sure whyApplying Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform in an existing, already-provisioned environment is often called Brownfield Terraform.You’re not building from scratch.You’re (very carefully) translating the current reality into code. What Does Success Actually Look Like?Before getting into mechanics, it helps to define the goal. In a brownfield migration, success is not:Rebuilding everything Refactoring immediately “Cleaning it up” on day oneSuccess is simpler. You run: terraform planAnd T

I found out on a Monday evening in July, riding the subway home from work. I opened Gmail on my phone somewhere under Manhattan and saw I'd won the Jamf diversity scholarship, and I couldn't stop smiling the rest of the ride. I texted my partner right away. I'd applied because my department couldn't afford to send anyone, and JNUC had always lived in my head as this glowing space from the way senior engineers at old jobs talked about it. JNUC was in Nashville that year. I'd been to the city before for work, but never really gotten to enjoy it. Walking into the venue I just thought, wow, this is huge. I loved the vendor floor, finally putting faces to the account people I'd only ever emailed, and I got to meet up with an old coworker from a previous job, which made the whole thing feel less like a solo trip. One moment I keep coming back to: I was heading up the escalator and a woman struck up a conversation with me. Turned out she was also from NYC, and we ended up talking tech and Jam

For over 16 years, Apple admins have gathered at the Jamf Nation User Conference (JNUC) to learn, connect and discover better ways to manage and secure Apple devices. In its tenth year, the JNUC Diversity Sponsorship awards 10 individuals a full conference registration, a meet-and-greet with Jamf leaders, a networking happy hour and a $500 stipend to help cover expenses. We're looking for passionate people eager to learn and bring fresh perspectives to the tightest community in high tech.Applications close at 5 p.m. CST on May 1, 2026. Apply now!Read further to get all the details about Scooter and Alan's first-hand experience as scholarship recipients. SCOOTER’S STORYMy name is Scooter Kohler and I currently work at Alhambra ESD in Phoenix, Az. My journey with Apple hardware didn't start in a server room; it started in my daily life. I’ve been a MacBook user for the entirety of my adult life, drawn in by the clean hardware and stayed for the intuitive nature of the software. When the

Apple Intelligence is finally here now that iOS 18.1 and macOS 15.1 has shipped. However, many people and organizations want to know how they can block it.Apple Intelligence is an Opt-In service from Apple, so unless you Opt-In, there’s no concerns about AI, on or off device.Officially, Apple has provided the following configuration profile keys for the X.1 OSes for the preference domain com.apple.applicationaccess.allowWritingTools allowMailSummary allowGenmoji allowImagePlayground allowImageWandAnd DDM management of Math Notes.There’s also the key allowAssistant to disable Siri, which has become more intelligent with Apple Intelligence.Currently in the X.1 OSes, these are the features which are available and able to be restricted: Siri, Writing Tools and Mail Summary, even though there are controls for the other features not yet implemented.This will allow you to fully block those features. But is that it? …the answer is …No. So even if you implement all the Apple supplied restrictio

A complete, step-by-step deployment guide - including macOS Onboarding and Jamf ConnectAuthor: Meir ElimelechWith contributions from: Omer Ninyo / ​@Ninyo Why this guide exists – and who should read it Jamf’s move to make Self Service+ mandatory for macOS has prompted many organizations to re-evaluate their deployment and enrollment workflows. While Jamf’s documentation covers the supported installation and migration paths, real-world environments often include a mix of enrollment models, identity integrations, and timing-sensitive workflows that are not always addressed in isolation.This guide exists to provide a single, practical reference for migrating to Self Service+ across all common macOS scenarios — from brand-new enrollments to existing fleets, with or without Jamf Connect.It is intended for Jamf administrators, partners, and consultants who want to understand not only how to deploy Self Service+, but when different approaches are appropriate. In particular, it highlights a cr