Learn how automation simplifies Mac management paradigms, like reducing manual tasks and optimizing resource allocation for IT pros and leaders alike.
April 3 2025 by
Jesus Vigo
The concept of automation in IT is mercurial, meaning one thing to IT professionals and something different to IT leadership. To set expectations about this blog, we take a moment to define what automation means to each group before explaining why both takes are equally important to the efficacy of your management and security strategy.
For both, automation can be distilled down to the following phrase: to do more with less. But exactly how automation helps to achieve this varies between groups.
The chief benefit of automation lies in reducing the number of repetitive actions required of day-to-day management and security functions. Automating redundant tasks allows IT pros to instead focus their expertise to:
The primary benefit of introducing automation is for IT functions to achieve a greater level of support for business operations. Automating IT processes allows leadership to effectively measure key performance indicators, such as:
Regardless of your industry, automation is a critical component of your management strategy. The growing number of devices used in the enterprise speaks to its continued reliance as a business productivity tool. This means that IT pros who haven’t yet embraced automation are not only missing out on opportunities to “work smarter – not harder” but IT leaders are strongly urged to consider the significant business impacts on both performance and security of continuing to manage IT operations through manual processes.
In this section, we present five key areas where automation transforms Mac management, mixing real-world scenarios and features to demonstrate automation success in enterprise environments.
Deploying devices, including enrollment, provisioning and configuring them for the end user is a core function of management. Manual processes, especially as device counts grow into thousands of devices become exceedingly difficult to consistently maintain at scale.
Implementing a Zero-Touch deployment strategy leverages automation in the form of pre-enrollment profiles tagged to devices shipped from Apple, ensuring that they begin the provisioning process exactly as IT has mapped out. From the initial power on, the managed setup process is presented to the end user, shifting the burden from IT and empowering end users to proceed through curated device setup windows that install business apps, apply secure configurations and integrate critical services, such as cloud-based identities, seamlessly onboarding devices so that users don’t have to wait for IT to address their help desk request – automated workflows get employees onboarded quickly, meaning they have everything necessary to be productive sooner.
Apart from service tickets, patch management is arguably the single task that occupies the majority of an IT team’s valuable time. OS patches and app updates aren’t just critical for endpoint security but play a crucial role in compliance as well.
Considering the average macOS system update takes approximately fifteen minutes to install, extrapolating the time impact on IT and productivity, one update multiplied by a thousand Macs equals 15,000 minutes (250 hours) of manual intervention by IT and the same amount of downtime employees experience during the install of said update.
Now imagine automating installs and updates of macOS system updates, security patches, and first- and third-party applications, alleviating this workload from IT’s extensive “to-do” list. What could IT and end-users do with all the time saved by ensuring that software remains up to date and enforced by policies?
Keeping data secure, preventing malware and protecting users are three pivotal use cases that all stem from endpoint security. With the evolving threat landscape and growing sophistication of threat actors, Security teams must respond to myriad threats and analyze large data sets of threat intelligence all while keeping their heads on a swivel in the hopes of catching threats before they lead to a data breach.
A noted lack of security personnel and potential gaps in protection are what threat actors are banking on to find a way into corporate networks, making cybersecurity workflows particularly well-suited for supercharging via automation. Consider the three-pronged approach aided by Machine Learning (ML), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and automation.
Each key area we’ve discussed thus far is part of the holistic support Jamf for Mac delivers to enterprises. While the features and functionality presented are designed to support macOS natively, each organization is different and may have unique solutions in place to support their equally unique needs. This is why integration with third-party solutions is so important, because existing solutions, such as Microsoft Entra ID, Okta or Splunk represent valuable tools that integrate with and extend support of our solution.
Not just that, but by securely integrating solutions, advanced functionality is enabled, developing feature-rich automated workflows used in the advanced management and security of your device fleet. A few examples of this are:
The Device Lifecycle doesn’t end, it just continues the loop when a new device is procured and the previous one is decommissioned. Keeping on top of decommissioned devices is a critical step of IT management requiring a 360-degree view of your assets. Not just devices, but apps licensed, users’ and organizational data must remain updated and secured as well.
Features like the Declarative Device Management (DDM) protocol for example ensure autonomously applied management settings and that changes are reported asynchronously resulting in the fastest, most reliable and current device information. A critical automation to leverage when sending remote management commands to devices in inventory from your mobile device management solution. When combined with dynamic features, like Smart Groups, automation-driven workflows streamline the offboarding process by restricting access to company resources, uninstalling business apps and facilitating secure erasure through remote wipe to ensure sensitive data is safely removed.
Automation empowers IT professionals and directors alike by delivering enhanced efficiency, device and data security, and scaling IT processes.
By reducing their reliance on manual, repetitive tasks, IT teams can apply their skills to developing innovative workflows and focus on delivering top-notch end-user support. Meanwhile, IT leaders gain strategic insights to aid data-driven decision-making to closely align IT processes with business operations through measurable business outcomes.
From streamlining management and security enforcement to extending Jamf for Mac with existing enterprise tooling, automation is a catalyst for operational excellence, maximizing performance and minimizing TCO. Organizations that embrace automation not only improve productivity and compliance but also optimize their IT infrastructure. As the enterprise landscape evolves, automation remains an essential component for buffing IT management and security strategies.
IT Professionals:
IT Directors: