Here are some of the things to come.

Improved fleet management tools

The new tools address many needs that have arisen with the shift to remote work over the past two years. One of the biggest has been the challenge of keeping the entire device fleet up to date and protecting against devices being used outside your MDM system.

The enhancements mean IT professionals can remotely manage and deploy software updates to Apple devices without relying on end users to install them.

This also gives you control over your technical support, given that many business users like to test system software releases to make sure the code complies with policy. While that’s usually what happens anyway, the ability to manage the software update process helps companies that care about this keep control.

What’s new in MDM?

Apple has introduced several new features that MDM providers will be able to make available through their systems after macOS 13 is released.

It is now possible to:

  • Set priority.
  • Initiate software updates while a device is asleep.
  • Improve system status reporting.

Here’s more information about each of these tools:

Update priority

This lets IT administrators assign a new priority key, which is sent with the ScheduleOSUpdate command. You use it to assign high or low priority to updates. When set to High, the priority is treated as effectively equivalent to a user requesting an update in Settings. Administrators will be able to tell your company’s device fleet to update its software remotely, and they’ll all do it as soon as they’re connected to power.

Initiate software updates

IT administrators had a problem: when they tried to remotely update devices that were asleep, they couldn’t; the command was rejected, and a “not right now” message was returned instead. This is frustrating, since the administrator has to either resend the update instruction at another time or contact the user directly to ask them to update their devices. Of course, it’s not the end of the world, but it takes a lot of time.

What’s changed in MacOS 13 is that a Mac will respond to the command—even when asleep or in PowerNap mode. Once it receives the command, it will install the update later when connected to power. If you zoom out and consider all the tens of thousands of Macs now managed by MDM systems, the time and efficiency gained from this enhancement will be significant.

Improved reporting tools

Apple has also introduced improved reporting tools in macOS. They provide IT professionals with console-level information about important items such as software update status, how often users have postponed updating their systems, when the next installation attempt is scheduled, and a list of the exact dates and times when update notifications were previously sent to the user.

Apple continues to address enterprise technology

There are several additional changes to remote Mac management, including a new automatic device enrollment feature that means Macs must enroll in an MDM solution to receive initial setup instructions.

There used to be a way around this. But Apple has tightened up its system, so when an enrolled Mac first connects to the network, it is recognized as belonging to the organization that enrolled it.

Apple has also improved Migration Assistant to better protect endpoints. Migration Assistant makes it easy to move between Macs by automatically transferring user data, apps, and device configurations from one computer to another.

However, starting with macOS 13, Macs enrolled in an MDM solution will not transfer system, network, or printer settings using Migration Assistant. This helps ensure that every new Mac is properly enrolled in the MDM system and that all system, network, or printer settings comply.