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Pros
The ability to deploy a number of key pieces of software from their catalog was great and there we some good levels of control over device settings including key escrow for disk encryption.
We are lucky that we have an all Mac fleet, but the combination of Fleetsmith and all Macs is a delightful IT deployment environment.
Overall, Fleetsmith has been great to work with. Product support is responsive and friendly.
If you ever tried finding MDM software for company computers, you will understand why I love the product so much. Super easy, super effective and completely secure.
Cons
There is no roadmap from Apple to say what the plans are.
Lack of integration with volume app purchasing, and the sale of the product to Apple which resulted in massive loss of functionality.
The biggest issues I have encountered come with the implementation of profiles in FS and the lack of custom package deployment.
The inability to view installed applications per device. Not able to audit users & groups within each device.
Showing Most Helpful
Showing 25 of 29 reviews
"Easy solution to bootstrap your IT and MDM"
Overall: Fleetsmith makes managing large number of devices easy and foolproof even when the organization is too small for an official IT owner.
Pros: We've been able to harness MDM and smoother onboarding with very little resource thanks to Fleetsmith. It's easy and very intuitive for any team member. Very light weight and functional.
Cons: It does not allow for remote wipe unless the computer is connected to online. I have also heard that when we have a robust security and IT process, we may have to move onto a more robust system.
"Great for startups on budget"
Overall: Keeping up to date with all patches and forcing users to do their updates is now a breeze. Checking computer compliance such as hard disk encryption, screensavers, password policy is now also fully centralised. Added controls such as remote wipe or preventing computer to connect to unknown wifi spots also certainly limit or mitigate risks of data theft.
Pros: Pricing is very attractive (free) with less than 10 assets, impossible to beat. Profiles are easy to setup and it does help to get started very quickly. Installation is also very straightforward which is GREAT as opposed to some other tools we assessed. MDM and DEP are supported, which is awesome so that you can literally leave the computer setup itself (although we have not yet activated DEP). Would recommend to anyone considering to secure a small park of computers to give it a try on a machine to see if it fits their needs.
Cons: It supports only Apple devices, pricing may give me second thoughts going over 10 users (we will want to retain the software but some competitor may become more interesting). It does integrate a lot of features and software that can be installed automatically on computers, however it does not support ALL the software we wish to see. It also does not include (as yet) device location tracking or some "smart" features such as automatically enforcing updates within X days for vulnerable softwares (for example some Chrome updates are "cosmetic" but some do fix security issues and it would be great to see them automatically enforced without manual action). Still... quite sure these will come in time!
"Fleetsmith Was Great - Maybe They Will Be Again One Day?"
Pros: Fleetsmith was a great fit for us until Apple purchased them and removed all the functionality that drew us to the product in the first place. Under Apple's ownership the security standards are high, and they are slowly adding functionality back in, so it might return to greatness.
Cons: Lack of integration with volume app purchasing, and the sale of the product to Apple which resulted in massive loss of functionality.
"Very strong MDM solution - but scalability can be hard with complex needs/environments"
Overall: I've been happy with the basic uses of Fleetsmith and the team is amazing. They are constantly working on new features and hopefully they tackle some of the biggest feature requests soon but it's the best value for money for SMB that I've ever worked with.
Pros: Fleetsmith has great integration with GSuite and a clear and straightforward management dashboard to deploy and manage assets. The setup is very simple and takes no time to get plugging away at configuring your environment. The support team via tickets or in Slack are super helpful, responsive, and all around a great group of people to help out if needed. Also, the way that FS keeps apps that don't require an update continuously updated while closed is a really elegant way to not worry about an ever growing collection of end user apps.
Cons: The biggest issues I have encountered come with the implementation of profiles in FS and the lack of custom package deployment. The approve and assign process could definitely use some streamlining as it's a few steps to get things how I like them. The Global Profile is not useful for me as there are a lot of different subsets of devices. This is further compounded by the inability to assign multiple profiles which I would find very useful in an enterprise settings (tailoring devices by department and/or geographic location). As for the applications catalog, it's got some standards in there, but it is very limited. Without the ability deploy custom packages and now whitelist KEXT unless it's in the FS catalog, it really defeats a lot of convenience of an MDM
"Fleetsmith - a missed opportunity"
Overall: Fleetsmith is very good at the bits it does do, you need to keep in mind there are limitations in what you can manage now. The lack of any roadmap from Apple means other options namely the Jamf products are worth evaluating before paying for Fleetsmith. If you find it fits your requirements though it is a reliable product.
Pros: We started using Fleetsmith before Apple acquired the company and the ability to easily onboard users with a generous free tier was superb. The ability to deploy a number of key pieces of software from their catalog was great and there we some good levels of control over device settings including key escrow for disk encryption.
Cons: Many of the features that made it so great disappeared overnight though and have not returned. There is no roadmap from Apple to say what the plans are. There were also little things that you couldn't acheive with Fleetsmith such as easily deploying a website shortcut to the desktop. Luckily they did leave the custom script in place so bash is an option but this is something that should be slicker.
"Solid product, fast support and oozes quality."
Overall: We were able to take a process that was painful, cumbersome and time-consuming and reduce it to something simple, fast and joyful. The lack of a lengthy sales cycle was very refreshing. Being able to land on the homepage, click a few buttons and be up and running in less than five minutes was delightful.
Pros: It makes managing fleets of machines with a directory of users from Gsuite and flawlessly handles assignment of machines with Apples DEP product and removes 80-90% of the headache of managing a fleet of macs. The UI is dreamy and is joyful to use due to the large (and ever-expanding) list of software and configuration options.
Cons: The one thing that lacks is support for Apples Volume Purchasing Program. It may be one thing, but it is a big thing. The app store is central to Mac OS and not being able to make use of VPP is the one part of Fleetsmith that removes joy.
"Great software for managing Macs - the way deployments should be"
Overall: We needed to ensure our fleet of Mac computers were kept up to date with both OS and applications to meet our security certification requirements. Whilst some solutions are heavyweight, Fleetsmith is simple to set up, simple to manage and lets us be sure our computers are compliant. Zero touch deployments when combined with Apple's DEP was the icing on the cake!
Pros: The software is the perfect balance of enterprise ready and user friendly - almost zero setup time, easy to manage and keep running smoothly.
Cons: Initially it only worked with G-Suite accounts but the move to support Azure AD/Office 365 solved that.
"Simple to use, automated MDM + App management for the modern IT team"
Overall: Overall, the experience has been great! We've cut down onboarding times and have freed up our IT team members to focus on more pressing issues, longer term projects, etc.
Pros: The learning curve and ease of implementation. I literally setup in less than 30 minutes!
Cons: There are some feature sets that are lacking which can be found in most other competitors.
"Finally IT that works like you expect it to"
Overall: We are a small digital healthcare company. Despite being small, we need to have a very strong security posture for our clients. Fleetsmith makes compliance with various checklists easy, and reporting and visibility comes basically for free. We are lucky that we have an all Mac fleet, but the combination of Fleetsmith and all Macs is a delightful IT deployment environment.
Pros: Deployment and MDM setup is simple. Available software is bleeding edge and well supported. Visibility into our laptop fleet is exceptional. Most of all, this product makes compliance a cinch.
Cons: My only gripe is really the lack of written support for many of the software applications, but the support team more than makes up for this.
"Best MDM for Mac"
Pros: -Integration of Gsuite with Fleetsmith -Simple deployment, can get MDM certificate and whole account up and running within 30 mins -Get you SOC 2 compliant -Dashboard, new and really easy to see major areas of concern -Easy to use even for non-IT staff -Fantastic support team when we need assistance or would like to see upgrades and enhancements -Top notch security
Cons: -New platform, so still features missing like custom apps -Would really like to have windows compatibility so I don't need 2 separate MDMs
Vendor Response
"Fleetsmith - Great MDM Option"
Overall: Overall, Fleetsmith has been great to work with. Product support is responsive and friendly. Fleetsmith is also easy to implement and set up. I would recommend Fleetsmith for small to mid sized businesses as an MDM solution.
Pros: I really love Fleetsmith's UI and ease of use. No training is required to figure out how Fleetsmith works.
Cons: I wish Fleetsmith had kernel extension whitelisting. This would make it possible to silently deploy custom software such as anti-viruses.
"Great up and coming product"
Overall: Solves the problem of managing assets + keeping endpoints up to date with latest patches for smaller organizations without the overhead of maintaining a more complex solution.
Pros: - ease of use - unintrusive for end users - up to date with latest patches
Cons: - lacks some customizability - not enough self service software installs available for end users
"Fleetsmith for Me"
Overall: Fleetsmith has accomplished a quality solution with its central OSX device management solution.
Pros: The ease of completing tasks such as archiving, reports and application integration make Fleetsmith fun to use. The solution is stable and free of any annoying lag or sync issues. The dashboard keeps me up to date with informative and useful data.
Cons: The inability to view installed applications per device. Not able to audit users & groups within each device.
"Feedback"
Overall: I generally have had a great experience using Fleetsmith at SunFunder. The user interface now looks pretty cool. The on-boarding process is made significantly easier. When the security of some apps is compromised Fleetsmith takes quick action to ensure safety of its users, like recently with Zoom.
Pros: I think locking and erasing stolen laptops is pretty cool. We recently had a stolen laptop that has not come on yet, waiting to see what happens then. Checking a laptop's health status, battery and storage space is also really helpful in our situation.
Cons: That some of the software applications that we use aren't on Fleetsmith yet though you recently added box drive, could you add more such as Tunnelbear?
"Fastest implementation ever"
Overall: We really care about security at company and this tool helps us to manage our macs. We are always in control of patch management.
Pros: That if I have gsuite I can use the product straight away. I don't need to go throw sale persons and long response from the distributor. Great fit for startups.
Cons: Lack of functions we have a lot of suggestion to a product that we want to see in future
"Great, but maybe oversimplified"
Pros: The UI is good and getting started is really easy. Having lots of integrations is really nice too.
Cons: Sometimes things are so simplified that I can't do what I want to do. For example, the Malwarebytes integration is SO simple that I have no idea if it's actually doing anything or working as anticipated. Also for things like forcing Mac software updates, I mandate a change by X date, then the date rolls by and the fleet hasn't updated and now it says it will update by X date + 3 days.
"More of a DIY product instead of something that requires experts who've been trained in the software"
Overall: I called, they answered, I had my trial setup. They answered my couple questions immediately and I felt confident enough to start rolling this out to a handle of different devices. After a few minutes things were just working. Couldn't believe the simplicity and effectiveness of this platform.
Pros: That I was able to setup in minutes, not months! The other solution I was looking into required costly onboarding that would requires weeks-months of setup and training. No thank you!
Cons: Haven't found anything I dislike yet. Still working on figuring out how to deploy office products but I haven't spent much time on it yet. I'm sure it will make sense once I start working on it.
"Fleetsmith works great"
Pros: It works, and works very smoothly. Everything that Fleetsmith does, it does without having troubles of any kind - and in a very simple, most obvious way.
Cons: Fleetsmith is fairly expensive. If you have large enough number of endpoints to manage, the competition's offer becomes very attractive.
"Product"
Overall: I do something to deploy all our Macs
Pros: Manage all Mac Laptops and easy to deploy
Cons: Process register DEP and ABM were long.. Instruction was not clear!
"why don't they upgrade?"
Overall: This is the first time I've supported a Mac fleet - sure makes it easy
Pros: the ease of use in pushing out mandated updates and software
Cons: while I admin the software I use a windows machine (I know) so I can't assign myself a machine - that makes a hit on my overall score
"Great product!"
Pros: If you ever tried finding MDM software for company computers, you will understand why I love the product so much. Super easy, super effective and completely secure. The price is extremely reasonable as well
Cons: Not a current issue with us at the moment, but does not work with PC's. We only use Mac's in our office, but if I needed to, would not be able to use for PC (from my understanding, may have changed by now)
"The best of all "
Pros: Really good design for IT admin and for the user
Cons: I would like to have more possibility in term of app deployment
"Lost it's appeal after being bought by Apple"
Pros: It was easy to get started with and they have a simple interface.
Cons: After being acquired by Apple, App management disappeared and made it a poor product.
"Made it easy to update my computer"
Pros: Updates are sent directly to my computer so I can update as needed without having to give my computer in.
Cons: Can feel like an employer has unlimited access to your computer.
"Different approach to many processes, well thought of not finished yet in main areas"
Overall: I enjoy the people who work there. The concepts are great.
Pros: easy to setup, Excellent support, great concepts how do mundane tasks in a fun way.
Cons: Google sign in not for everybody. Not feature complete