
MDM Solution for small environments or the lab…
Firstly you are probably thinking why would I want & or need this…. Basically this solution I am going to tell you about is free for 100 endpoints. Its a great way to get your head around MDM (Mobile Device Manage) solutions and their benefits and pit falls. Including bring your own device. I learnt many risks here about selective wiping and containerisation of apps. At some point (even though it can be easy once you have done it) I will write a document about demystifying the Apple VPP, DEP programs and push certificates along with the magic triangle of trust.. Yes that does mean Macs on your Active Directory domain.
The one nice thing is this MDM may allow (with me doing a bit more testing) not always requiring a Mac server to manage all your Apple endpoints. You will lose out on some benefits such as caching and deployment but if you have say only a handful of Macs this may well be a good option. Or at least its a starting point for you so that you can introduce a proper Mac server but have the relevant security policies for ISO27001 compliance for instance.
The solution I have been testing out is Meraki’s System Manager. The dashboard itself if very clean and easy to use. It also integrates very well with their other products for easy deployment of VPN and WiFi access profiles. This is what I do for my lab and to also push out my Active Sync profiles.
They have also recently released the Cellular tracker feature which is quite nice if you have a small fleet of Mobile devices you wish to manage. I must also point out this works on Android and some features on Microsoft phones. I am yet to retest this on an Samsung with Knox but I have been very impressed with the work profiles on the Moto G4 Plus I am testing.
They are always adding features and since coming back to it much has changed but in a good way. It can always track Windows clients to and perform remote administration if required.
If you have never played with Meraki or heard and want a free AP or free switch use those links and I promise you that you wont get a sales call from me! I am not a sales guy I am a techie but its just so I can track how much Meraki love I have spread. I am curious creature and its nice to know I may have helped someone. The only call you should get is one from your local Meraki rep to confirm the address to send you your free kit 🙂 The webinar is about an hour and worth if for the kit with a 3 year license and see what it can do for you. Otherwise use this link to view all the webinars .
If you do have any questions do feel free to reach out as I have done the Apple push certificates so many times I forget it can be confusing to people the first time. Such as you cant use a personal or already in use Apple ID etc etc. Oh and also set a 1 year reminder so that you update this as you need to re do this annually.

