Jamf Pro vs. SOTI MobiControl

We run a technology lending program for students. Jamf Pro has been instrumental in allowing student staff to prepare the laptops in a systematic, consistent manner. The same can be said with iPads and deploying apps to the iPads is automated. Also, extra software titles are made available in Self Service (both for laptops and iPads). Additionally, putting policies in Self Service for IT student workers to deploy to sit-down machines to run as needed is quite useful as well. Less appropriate scenarios would be in cases where there are fewer than 10 to 20 machines. Looking at Jamf Now would probably be a better use of resources. Jamf Now is not as robust as Jamf Pro, but for smaller entities it would be a better fit and a better choice financially.

The experience using SOTI MobiControl has been excellent as a user. My notebook and smartphone devices have the security policy applied and it works perfectly. I have all the apps I need to work installed, up to date and with no issues. All devices are tracked by the software and are safe in case of theft, and the information contained in the devices is erased remotely. Each group/user has their permissions specified according to what they need and that makes things even more secure. I recommend SOTI MobiControl for its ease of use and security and for not slowing down my devices.

Incentivized

• Custom Scripts mean you can accomplish almost anything you need.
• Extension Attributes gives you a way to report on anything.
• Extremely configurable. Just know that means it can be hard to find what you're looking for.
• Training and community resources are readily available.

• Allows for real-time use of the devices
• Allows the technician full control over a device
• The ability to send scripts and batch files is extremely helpful

Incentivized

• While already in progress, the Configuration Profile editor is a little unwieldy
• User dialog messaging. While Jamf [Pro] helper is very useful, a more feature-rich utility with editor functions would be extremely welcomed to interact with the user while installing software.
• Policies: I would desperately like to see the ability to organize the order of packages and scripts within a policy without needing to use names, numbers, and 'priority'. Just let me drag items in a policy around in order.
• Policies: scripts can only be run before or after, please let me place them in between packages

• Slow to support other platforms.
• No cloud version at the time I used it.

Incentivized

We stepped away and are looking at different products that integrate with our entire fleet MDM solution rather than focusing specifically on Apple products. An all in one solution fits our needs better and is more cost-effective in the long run. Jamf Pro needs to improve some features and support but overall its a good product.

Incentivized

Jamf Pro has done pretty much anything we've needed with little setup headache. If we hit a wall, the Jamf user community and tech support departments both are more than willing to help solve problems. Tech support is excellent, but the surprising thing is the user base is by far the biggest resource. Jamf users love to help each other, by directly chatting about issues, posting best practices, or just posting info on the forums.

I support other users with the help of this tool. I really like the remote support functionality. You can make screenshots or even capture videos. If you face network problems, the tool doesn't help at all. It might be helpful, if they would develop a kind of offline support mechanism. So that there is some kind of logging even when there is no network and we can check the logs afterwards (or do video capture while being offline, etc.).

Incentivized

Jamf Support is very responsive and usually assists in any challenge we are tackling. They are also very transparent when they are allowed to be. I personally love our Jamf Pro support rep and don't fear messaging their support team.

We had a feature request. They accepted the request, but couldn't tell us whether the feature will be developed or when. I think this is not helpful for us as a customer. We do not always ask the SOTI MobiControl for help but other consultants. I think that is quite expensive.

Incentivized

They made me more comfortable using the product.

The training session was beneficial because it expanded my knowledge about Jamf products and really learn what I am capable of doing with Jamf Pro in terms of managing Apple computers and devices. Immediately after the training course, I was able to implement what I learn to our cloud instance.

Migration from an existing MDM requires device wipe and reenroll for full supervision of the device. It's somewhat painful. User enrollment makes things easier, but you miss out on full management.

Even thought we are using this solutions for different purposes (macOS device management VS mobile device management), I think at the end Jamf Pro is more focused or aimed for macOS management, and mobile device management is just a good addition to that. Same I can tell about Ivanty, is more about iOS/Android management rather than macOS

I did not evaluate other tools than SOTI MobiControl. I read an article about Microsoft MDM. I think, that might be a reasonable competitor. The whole topic "mobile device management" is bigger than you might think at the beginning. And the challenge is that you need to work closely together with other departments like logistics or even development.

Incentivized

• Jamf Pro has allowed us to minimize the time it takes to deploy devices. We can use zero-touch deployment methodologies which allow devices to go directly to end users and allow end users to get up and running without needing IT's help.
• We have implemented both a third-party & macOS patching service, which allows us to ensure all apps and versions of macOS are updated and secure.

• Costly per device.
• Capable solution.
• Relatively limited configuration capabilities.

Incentivized