In Chapter 4, Organizational Controls, we looked at managing devices locally using the Apple Configurator. The Apple Configurator works by installing profiles on devices using the USB connection from the computer to the devices. This works great in certain environments, such as when you just want to load settings onto a device prior to giving it out to a user. However, for a number of scenarios, you will want to update devices over the air. And, for a number of other scenarios, you need to use Apple Configurator or a combination of Apple Configurator and an MDM solution.
As mentioned, there are a number of tasks that cannot be managed using an MDM solution. These include the following:
Restoring data to devices
Setting the background image of devices
Upgrading devices
Enabling supervision, with the exception of Device Enrollment Program (DEP) devices (DEP allows Apple devices to be tied to an MDM solution)
Apple Configurator, on the other hand, can be used for all of the...