Jamf’s Next Mission: FedRAMP Authorization and the Future of Apple Management in Government
With Jamf officially entering the FedRAMP process through UberEther, federal Mac admins can finally start planning a real path off on-prem, representing a long-awaited modernization path for governmental Apple environments
For years, Jamf Pro has been the go-to MDM solution for federal agencies managing Apple devices—but only in on-premises deployments. While the rest of the enterprise world embraced Jamf Cloud for its automation, security insights, and support for Declarative Device Management (DDM), federal environments remained grounded, waiting for one thing: FedRAMP authorization.
This has been a long-standing gap for those of us keeping Jamf Pro alive on-prem while balancing compliance, audits, and modern Apple requirements.
In recent conversations with Jamf leadership and my own Jamf SE, I confirmed that Jamf is actively pursuing FedRAMP authorization. It was then that I began writing this very post while I awaited an official announcement. This critical step will finally open the door for federal agencies to adopt Jamf Pro Cloud while maintaining compliance with the government’s most stringent security standards. During my time at the Jamf Nation User Conference (JNUC 2025), I stressed how urgently this was needed across federal agencies. The push to migrate away from Jamf on-prem has never been stronger, and it’s becoming obvious that on-prem Jamf is nearing its end of life. Without DDM support and with legacy controls like the Software Update Deferment keys being deprecated in macOS Tahoe 26, organizations may soon find themselves unable to fully manage systems via on-prem Jamf.
Today, December 2nd, 2025, the announcement was made.
This isn’t just about certification. It’s about giving government IT teams a secure, scalable future for Apple management aligned with Apple’s own shift toward DDM-based control and automation.
A Short History: From StateRAMP to GovRAMP to FedRAMP
To understand what’s happening now, it helps to trace how Jamf got here.
Early 2020 — StateRAMP is Born
StateRAMP was created to extend FedRAMP-style security validation to state, local, tribal, and educational organizations (SLED), built directly on NIST SP 800-53 standards.
2023 — Jamf Achieves StateRAMP Ready
Jamf Pro and Jamf School earned StateRAMP Ready status, meeting foundational requirements for authorization review.
Read more: StateRAMP Cybersecurity for Education with Jamf
January 27, 2025 — Jamf Becomes StateRAMP Authorized
Jamf completed the full StateRAMP process for both products, demonstrating full compliance and continuous monitoring under the StateRAMP framework.
Press release: Jamf Achieves StateRAMP Authorized Status
February 2025 — StateRAMP Rebrands to GovRAMP
The rebrand reflected StateRAMP’s broader reach across SLED verticals.
Details: StateRAMP Announces Rebrand to GovRAMP
2025 and Beyond — The Path to FedRAMP
Jamf publicly confirmed that it is partnering with UberEther to pursue FedRAMP authorization. UberEther already operates secure cloud environments designed for High-baseline federal workloads, making them a practical and strategic sponsor. You can find their current listing on the FedRAMP Marketplace.
This puts Jamf on track not just for FedRAMP Moderate, but for FedRAMP High and DoD IL5—the compliance tiers required for some of the government’s most sensitive unclassified workloads.
Rather than standing up a brand-new Jamf “government cloud,” Jamf is moving into an already-authorized UberEther boundary. This dramatically speeds things up, avoids years of platform-building, and lets Jamf inherit a large portion of UberEther’s existing High-baseline security controls.
Press release: Jamf Partners With UberEther to Accelerate FedRAMP High and DoD IL5 Authorization
Why FedRAMP Matters for Apple in the Federal Space
Federal agencies have long depended on Jamf Pro on-prem because Jamf Cloud could not be used legally without FedRAMP authorization. While functional, on-prem now faces real limitations:
- It lacks DDM support, which is where Apple is putting nearly all new MDM capabilities.
- Manual patching, backups, scaling, and database maintenance create ongoing operational overhead.
- On-prem environments miss out on cloud-native features, integrations, and automation available only in Jamf Cloud.
Apple’s MDM strategy is becoming fully declarative. Over time, on-prem Jamf Pro will fall further behind and eventually be unable to deploy or enforce modern configuration profiles.
FedRAMP changes that future. It lets agencies migrate to Jamf Cloud confidently—meeting compliance requirements while finally gaining access to the tools, insight, and automation the broader Apple ecosystem already relies on.
Most agencies assume Apple management tools will top out at FedRAMP Moderate. Jamf’s decision to pursue High and IL5 shows that Apple platforms are ready to support missions that previously excluded them.
This matters even more as the DoD quietly grows its macOS footprint across specialized units, cybersecurity teams, and development groups. IL5 support would also open Jamf Cloud to defense contractors working with sensitive CUI.
Comparing the Frameworks: Commercial vs GovRAMP vs FedRAMP
| Environment | Certification | Typical Use | Security Framework |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Cloud | SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / CSA STAR | Enterprise + Education | Vendor-managed standards |
| GovRAMP | Authorized / Ready | State, Local, Education | Modeled on NIST SP 800-53 Moderate/High |
| FedRAMP | In progress (for Jamf) | U.S. Federal Agencies | NIST SP 800-53 Moderate / High; GSA and JAB continuous monitoring |
Learn More
- GovRAMP: How It Compares to FedRAMP
- FedRAMP vs StateRAMP Explained – Schellman & Co.
- Ignyte Platform: StateRAMP vs FedRAMP Differences
- FedRAMP Program Overview – Wikipedia
What Government IT Teams Should Do Now
Even before authorization is complete, agencies can prepare:
1. Engage Jamf Early
Ask your Jamf team about timelines, architecture, pilot programs, and migration considerations.
2. Audit Your Environment
Document every automation, API script, integration, and scheduled task you’ve built around your on-prem instance. Trust me—you’ll uncover several “temporary” solutions that have quietly become mission-critical.
3. Plan for DDM and Modern MDM
Understand DDM. Map out which of your existing profiles need updates or replacements as Apple continues to deprecate legacy functionality.
4. Build Leadership Alignment
Create a simple executive summary connecting compliance, modernization, and operational cost reductions. FedRAMP Jamf Cloud is not just a security upgrade—it’s an efficiency upgrade.
Within my own team, we have been holding regular meetings with Jamf as a way to state up to date on all things FedRAMP; from roadmapping, to gathering technical details, and planning a hopeful future migration. This will allow us to share any blockers with Jamf leadership, while also being able to properly pass along information to internal organizational leadership and decision makers. It will be a large project with many hands, but one that is well worth it to get away from on-prem infrastructure.
Looking Ahead: Cloud-First, Security-Always
When Jamf achieves FedRAMP authorization, it will be a meaningful shift for Apple in the federal space.
Agencies will finally gain access to cloud-native capabilities that commercial and SLED customers have had for years—without sacrificing required compliance protections. It also signals something bigger: Apple is no longer the odd one out in government IT. It’s becoming a first-class, fully supported platform inside a FedRAMP-authorized boundary.
If you manage Apple devices in a federal environment, now is the time to start preparing. Talk to Jamf. Map your dependencies. Get your migration ducks in a row. The cloud era for Apple government management is coming fast, and those ready to adapt will lead the way.
A Broader Shift in How Apple Joins Federal IT Architectures
The partnership with UberEther underscores something important: Apple ecosystem management is being elevated to the same compliance tier as other mission-critical SaaS platforms.
Anyone who has kept Jamf on-prem through major macOS releases, patch weeks, or database rebuilds knows how overdue this is. This shift finally recognizes that Apple platforms are essential to federal missions—and the management tools behind them deserve the same level of rigor.
The next chapter of Apple in government IT will be cloud-first, highly compliant, and far more aligned with Apple’s future than anything we’ve had before.