Why is This Required?
Mobile Device Management (MDM), traditionally used to manage devices such as mobile phones and tablets, is an operating system protocol that now extends to laptop and desktop computers to enable the configuration, management, and deployment of software. As part of Apple’s commitment to security and privacy, MDM enrollment is required to manage macOS computers in an enterprise environment such as Lafayette College. Starting with macOS 10.13, Apple has moved to an increased reliance on an MDM platform to align with their enhanced security and privacy initiatives. Mosyle, an approved Apple MDM solution, provides ITS the capability to manage College macOS and iOS devices which includes the deployment and updating of the operating system, applications, security policy, and lifecycle management.
Having macOS devices enrolled in MDM will allow :
- automatically allow system extensions like those used by Google Drive
- ensure software like backup software is able to operate properly
- streamline the delivery of college licensed software
- reduce annoying dialogs and notifications
Does This Replace Managed Software Center?
No. Managed Software Center will continue be used to install software payloads to College owned macOS computers.
What is the Manager Application?
You may notice Manager.app in you Applications folder. This is Mosyle Manager which can provide some functionality beyond Apple’s MDM protocol. As we already use Managed Software Center, you will not need to interact with Manager.
Does this mean ITS can track the location of my Mac laptop?
No. MDM does not allow for location tracking for macOS devices.
MDM seems powerful. Does this mean a shift in the way ITS is managing Macs on campus?
College owned Macs are already managed. Adding MDM is simply updating the toolset used to manage our Macs. In some ways MDM is less powerful than existing management tools, but it does fill some gaps in functionality. Our philosophy and practice of device management remains unchanged.