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Make the note is a weekly series of Bradley Chambers covering Apple in Education. Bradley has been managing Apple devices in an educational environment since 2009. With his experience deploying and managing hundreds of Macs and hundreds of iPads, Bradley will highlight how Apple products operate on a large scale. could improve its products for students.
iOS 12 and MacOS Mojave have both been in the news this week. At the announcement of the iPhone, Apple announced the release of iOS 12 on Monday and the launch of macOS Mojave 24. For IT administrators, when the season of software update Apple is fast approaching, fear. Right now, we are using the most stable versions of iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra. We've had almost a full year of bug fixes, so things work the way they do. As we enter a new season of X.0 updates, we often hit the rest button on stability. Although iOS 12 is very stable in the beta period, it is still a new operating system. Third-party application providers will also need to update their stability. The question I want to help answer today is the following: When do you need to update iPad, iPhone and MacOS managed devices?
Backblaze
90 days delay
With the update of iOS 11.3, earlier this year, Apple has built very good controls that allow IT departments to delay operating system upgrades for 90 days. I would definitely recommend doing this for your managed devices.
The reason for this is to allow your external providers to have the time to update their devices. Although the betas have been out for months, not all suppliers will be ready to leave. Delaying the update will also let you skip the 12.0 update. After 90 days, Apple will probably have released iOS 12.0.1 (or possibly 12.0.2), so you can get started.
Hardware and software dependencies
While consumer hardware and software companies often expect consumers to seek compatibility from the first day, businesses do not expect them to do so (and often do not provide them). One of the reasons I run MacOS and iOS betas over the summer is that I can start testing the compatibility of our software applications and on-site hardware (printers, etc.). If I notice problems, I report them.
Even with an extended beta testing period, external vendors are often not ready to use 100% compatibility, so giving them an extra three months is ideal for keeping your users up and running. When publishing the beta and the 90-day window, be sure to test everything. You should contact your suppliers to find out what works and what does not work. In the future, I keep in mind that vendors are updating faster than others for new releases.
Communicate, communicate, communicate
When you decide to delay operating system updates, be sure to communicate your policy to your users. Please give them a schedule on when you will make it available, current problems, etc. Users interested in new features can update after 90 days, but others will not have to buy it for a few weeks.
As we prepare to enter another season of software update, run your macOS and iOS tests, communicate with your suppliers and users, and drink an extra coffee! Take your time and do your homework before allowing your users to update. Even if the upgrades are free, it's still possible that workflows are affected or that bugs are slowing down your users.
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