On November 10th, 2021 Kolide announced its intent to exit the Apple MDM space and retire any features associated with that offering. This article is designed to answer any questions you may have about our transition away from this space and help existing customers prepare.
Q: What features are being removed?
At a high-level, they amount to the informed consent remote lock and remote erase capabilities.
It's important to note that Kolide's Lost Mode feature (which works on macOS, Windows, and Linux) did not rely on MDM technology and will not be affected by this decision.
Q: What is the timeline for removal?
For customers who were not already using our MDM, the features will become immediately inaccessible.
For customers who have the Apple MDM set up but no active devices enrolled, we will be removing the MDM features on or shortly after November 30th, 2021.
For customers who have the Apple MDM setup and at least one active device enrolled, the MDM features will be retired on or shortly after March 31st, 2022.
Q: Do I need to do anything to my devices before the cut-off date?
No. As soon as the service is retired, Kolide will send an unenroll signal to any remaining connected devices. This will remotely remove the Kolide MDM profile. If you are still a Kolide customer, Kolide's endpoint agent will not be automatically uninstalled by this un-enrollment process.
Q: Are there any changes to Kolide's price?
Kolide never charged extra for its MDM service, and thus its price will remain unchanged.
Q: Will Kolide integrate with MDM vendors in the future?
Now that we are exiting the space, we will be exploring an integration-based approach. We do not have any specific announcements to make at this time around specific vendors or what that integration will entail.
Q: I still need MDM, what should I do?
Choosing a new MDM vendor will depend entirely on your requirements and budget. If you only need remote-wipe and lock, Apple's upcoming official offering will likely be a reasonable choice. Other popular vendors like Jamf, Moysle, and Kandji, have more features and are already available at the time of this writing.
Whichever vendor you choose, they will be able to help you migrate your Macs to the new service.
Other questions or concerns not covered here? Please reach out to us directly at support@kolide.co or using the Intercom widget located on the bottom-right of your screen.