Product Notification

LATEST - June 2019 – Release 2

KACE Cloud Mobile Device Manager

We are excited to announce our most recent updates to KACE Cloud Mobile Device Manager.

What's New

New Feature:

macOS beta — In our second June release, we are introducing the beta of our support for macOS. In addition to Android and iOS, KACE Cloud MDM will now offer device management for macOS devices. The new feature lets administrators streamline configuration of corporate settings including apps, VPN, and Wi-Fi, as well as simplify device enrollment with the Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP). Learn more

Feature Details:

Enrolling Devices:

macOS Enrollment - macOS device enrollment follows the same process as enrolling an iOS device. First, a provisioning profile must be installed on the mobile device, then the admin provides an enrollment URL to the device user to initiate enrollment. Note that accounts and passcode rules are not supported for macOS devices.

Apple Device Enrollment Program - The Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP) is also available to admins enrolling macOS devices. Apple DEP lets admins create an automated device enrollment process for their end users on macOS devices. Set up automated enrollment using Apple DEP.

App Deployment:

VPP Apps - To deploy apps from the Mac App Store to an enrolled Mac, apps must first be purchased or selected through the Apple Volume Purchase Program. Once purchased and synced, apps will appear in the Apps section of the Library. Learn more about VPP and App License Management.

Custom Apps - Custom apps must be installed using signed distribution packages. This requires two commands to be run on a macOS device with an Apple code signing certificate. Learn more in macOS - App Management.

Device Configurations:

macOS-specific Settings - When creating a DEP profile, an admin can choose macOS-specific settings for devices. macOS options include the ability to force token authentication, set supervision in the form of local user accounts, and set disk access options.

Force Token Authentication - When configuring a device with a DEP profile on a Mac-enabled tenant, an admin can enable 'force token authentication'. This setting forces a user to enter their username and a deployment token to enroll their device. This restriction helps prevent unauthorized access to sensitive customer information like VPNs, certificates, and custom applications.

Passcode Policy for macOS - Passcode rules are not currently supported for macOS devices.

macOS-specific Commands:

macOS Profiles - To create a custom Apple Profile for a macOS device, an admin can use the macOS Server utility. Custom profiles can then be applied to different devices that are managed in KACE Cloud MDM.

Set/Clear Firmware Password - In addition to protecting the data on macOS devices with a user account password, admins can set a firmware password to prevent unauthorized start-up of a device.

Local User Accounts - During account setup, an admin can choose one or more account restrictions to assign admin-level control of the device. Different local admins can be assigned to certain devices using different profiles.

Read more about what's new in this update