11 Apr April 2025 – MacAdmins Meeting
April 16th, 2025 – University of Utah, MacAdmins Meeting
The University of Utah MacAdmins Meeting is held virtually monthly on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 11 AM Mountain Time. Presentations cover Apple technology and integration in a heterogeneous university enterprise environment. This month’s meeting will be held on Wed, April 16th, 2025, at 11 AM MT, and we will provide live broadcasts and archives that will be made available 2-3 days after the meeting.
Setup Manager – Mischa van der Bent, Jamf
Setup Manager is the new enrollment tool from Jamf Concepts. It is available for all Jamf Pro and Jamf School admins. It provides a modern, native interface, and you don’t have to edit a complicated shell script to configure it to your needs. We will take a close look at the features and capabilities of Setup Manager and how an admin can configure it for their environment. We will look at a few different and new deployment workflows that Setup Manager enables with Jamf School, Jamf Pro, and Jamf Connect, from simple to fairly complex. We will explore how Setup Manager can improve your zero-touch or pre-provisioning workflows. We will also look at some new features introduced in Setup Manager 1.2.
🧩 Key Features:
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Visual Setup Workflow: This offers a customizable, GUI-based experience for device provisioning.
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Script-Free Configuration: Admins can configure behavior via profiles, no scripting required.
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Cross-Platform Support: Works with Jamf Pro, Jamf School, and Jamf Connect.
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Modular Deployment: Enables simple, conditional workflows based on user, group, or device type.
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Improved Branding: Allows for a polished, branded end-user experience.
🎯 Use Cases:
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Zero-touch deployments – Automate initial setup without hands-on IT interaction.
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Pre-provisioned device handoffs – Great for education or enterprise environments.
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Multi-role configuration – Tailor setup flows based on user type or department.
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Self-service onboarding – Let users walk through their own customized setup flow.
About Mischa van der Bent
I have been supporting Apple devices since the late 90s. Had a couple of Apple IT roles before I started my own company, which grew into an Apple Authorized Enterprise Reseller. Currently working as a Manager, Consulting Engineering at Jamf, and helping organizations understand how to manage, deploy, and support Apple devices on any scale, from small businesses to large international enterprises. The goals are to keep it simple, connect the dots, and automate what is possible.
- Video – To view the archived presentation video, click here.
- Slides – To view the archived presentation slides, click here.
Rocketman Command Center (RCC) – Christopher Schasse & Patrick Blackmore, Rocketman Tech
In this session, we’ll introduce Rocketman Command Center (RCC) and give you an early look at Auto Deploy. You’ll see how RCC consolidates best‑practice Jamf Pro workflows—like temporary admin grants, secure‑token management, FileVault tools, and more—into a free toolkit that slashes manual effort and boosts security. Then, get a sneak peek at Auto Deploy, our upcoming free utility for one‑click provisioning of roles, groups, profiles, packages, and policies via a YAML “recipe.” We’ll demo real‑world examples, highlight customization options, and show how you can contribute your manifests to streamline Jamf Pro deployments across your organization.
Rocketman Command Center (RCC) is a macOS automation interface designed to simplify and enhance the user experience around Jamf Pro workflows.
🧩 Key Features:
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Customizable GUI to trigger Jamf policies with friendly labels
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Progress tracking and real-time status updates for tasks
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Deep SwiftDialog integration for alerts, progress bars, and feedback
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Conditionally visible actions based on OS, device state, etc.
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Great for macOS upgrades, app reinstalls, and helpdesk tools
🎯 Use Cases:
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White-glove deployments
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End-user self-remediation
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Post-enrollment workflows
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macOS version upgrades with interactive feedback
About Christopher Schasse
Christopher has been managing Jamf Pro servers since 2015. He started on the Pro Services team and Jamf delivering Jumpstarts (now called Service Engagements) and in 2017 he started Rocketman Tech, with a mission to help companies succeed with Jamf. Since that time, he has helped hundreds of companies get the most out of their Jamf servers.
About Patrick Blackmore
Patrick Blackmore is the Director of Product & Development at Rocketman Tech, where he leads the development of tools that streamline Jamf Pro workflows. With a focus on product strategy and user-driven solutions, he works closely with engineering teams to deliver efficient, scalable deployments, helping admins save time and reduce complexity in managing macOS environments.
- Video – To view the archived presentation video, click here.
- Slides – To view the archived presentation slides, click here.
How Apple Rolls: A Guide to Whats Next – A
This presentation aims to equip MacAdmins with a strategic advantage by examining Apple’s historical patterns of iteration and decision-making, enabling better anticipation of future changes. Eschewing deep technical dives in favor of “reading the tea leaves,” we’ll explore, based on publicly available information and personal insights, how Apple consistently iterates on its products and platforms, much like the evolution seen visually in System Preferences over the decades. Understanding Apple’s operational priorities—typically focusing first on its own needs, then users, developers, and finally enterprise admins—provides crucial context for interpreting their actions. We’ll trace Apple’s predictable, often long-term approach through key transitions: the multi-decade journey of file systems from HFS to the modern APFS, the related security advancements in FileVault culminating in hardware encryption, the methodical playbook used for major technology deprecations exemplified by the 64-bit transition, and the fundamental shift in device management from traditional imaging to MDM and now towards the increasingly vital Declarative Device Management (DDM) framework.
Learn how Apple constantly iterates and how it affects MacAdmins in this mini history lesson in Cupertino-ology, as we take a look at technical milestones and transitions such as Apple silicon and learn how to see what’s coming next.
About Adam Selby
Adam Selby is a Lead Platform Engineer working in the Financial Services Industry after spending a decade managing Apple platforms in Higher Education.
- Video – To view the archived presentation video, click here.
- Slides – To view the archived presentation slides, click here.
Open Discussion
Questions, comments, problems, and fixes.
Directions
This meeting will not be held in person but virtually via Zoom video communications architecture.
- Require a Password to Join This meeting will require a password to join. Information will be emailed via a campus internal list, but if you are external and want to attend the meeting, please use the Contact Us form to receive details. Otherwise, the archive of the meeting will be available 2-3 days after the live meeting.
- Waiting Room When joining the meeting, you will be placed in the Waiting Room by default, and the hosts will give you access to the live meeting.
- Miscellaneous We will also implement other settings and safeguards to secure the meeting.
Archived Presentation(s)
- Archives of the presentations will be available on this web page.
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