Ask HN: Best way to manage a small fleet of Macs

3 points by raasdnil 3 years ago | 4 comments

In a growing startup, we have settled on macs as our work machines using cloud software for most of our work. We are at about 20 people now and plan to grow over the next few years pretty rapidly and I want the company to get on top of the IT and equipment issues (think compliance, SOC2 etc). What are other startups using for this to start small and grow and be able to keep track of systems across the world?

daydream 3 years ago |

In addition to Google Workspace I believe Office 365 offers device management capabilities too. I know you said you’re on GW, and it’s basically the default choice for small companies at this point, but office 365 is worth a look especially if you’re hesitant about GW.

Since you’re using Macs (and presumably iPhones) then Apple Business Essentials[1] is worth a look. It’s device management specially targeted for small business, and seems pretty cheap. I think the max is 300 users but don’t quote me on that.

A step up from there is JAMF[2]. They’ve been doing Apple device management for years and companies both huge and small use them. They are probably more expensive than GW, O365, or apple business essentials though.

(No affiliation with any of the companies mentioned above.)

Good luck!

1 - https://www.apple.com/business/essentials/

2 - https://www.jamf.com/

mvip 3 years ago |

If you're on Google Workspace, using Google's Device Manager (assuming you use Chrome as the 'forced' browser), you can get pretty far. It's not as full-featured as other enterprise device mangers by any means, but it should be sufficient for some compliance (ISO27001 and SOC2) as I know companies who have passed with this setup.

raasdnil 3 years ago | |

I am on Google Workspace, to be honest, more than a little concerned with the legendary Google support if something goes pear shaped... but I didn't know they had a device manager, will check it out. Thanks :)

brudgers 3 years ago |

My first thought is your company may have grown beyond the point where Mac’s have clear advantages.

I mean when someone asks me which computer should I buy, I say a Mac because it is quantity one.

But at fleet scale? Something like Dell because of support, product line breadth, and a B2B ethos…I mean Dell has technicians who will come on site and fix your gear.

And your employees gear.

Companies like Dell have staff that helps companies meet compliance targets. They have relationships with specialized consultants who solve business problems.

They work with small businesses. Apple doesn’t do that because it’s business model is different. That might be why you feel like inventing your own wheel is the way forward.

Because the current friction is only likely to increase and the solutions are not a core competency of your business, my advice is to find a consultant who solves these problems for a living.

This is a cost center not a profit center.

Good luck.