Sometimes, we hit the end of the year, and we don’t want to look back. 2020 sure felt like that, after the first year of the Pandemic. 2021 felt that way, too, there was far too much left to accomplish to look back on what had been done. 2022 was no exception to that.

This year felt different. This year feels like something worth standing back and taking some stock of.

Miles Traveled: Well, this was a doozy, so I’ll let Flighty do the talking here:

66,000 miles is a whole lot of flying. Six and a half whole days in the air! That’s not even airport time!

2023 took me back to Australia and the United Kingdom, as well as The Netherlands and Sweden for the first time. I have really missed my friends, and I have really, really missed traveling to see them in person, and 2023 was a great year for that.

Conferences Attended: 5

This year, I had the great fortune to keynote at X World in March, speak at MacAD.UK in May, Mac Admins in July, and MacSysAdmin in October. In addition, I attended Google’s Android Enterprise Partner event in London in May to learn about the Android EMM world.

I was sad to miss MacDevOps YVR and JNUC this year, but hope to return in the future!

Having now presented in Göteborg in person, I think I can safely claim to have completed the Mac Admins Grand Slam, by speaking at all the major conferences. Part of me is considering taking a break from conference speaking in 2024, but it’s such a great way to be in the community and share important knowledge, it’s hard to step back.

Features Built: 17 major feature efforts.

2023 was a growth year for me at work, and that meant I took over managing a team at JumpCloud, not just working on Apple device management, but also Android EMM, Windows MDM, Remote Desktop Support, and all kinds of cross-functional pieces that span our directory platform.

2023 saw the major launch of Android EMM capabilities at JumpCloud, and expansions into new device types (like dedicated kiosk devices, as well as ruggedized purpose-built devices), as well as handling zero touch enrollments.

We launched Windows MDM in 2023, as well, using Microsoft’s own protocol for managing devices natively, not just fiddling with the registry under the covers. Windows MDM was a real revelation, with a ton of functionality, and a rich status channel.

Remote Assist at JumpCloud got kicked into the stratosphere, as we added new connectivity types (consent prompt sessions, as well as silent sessions) to help IT admins of all skill levels help their people in the field. Late in the year, we also added remote command line and file sharing capabilities to our platform.

In June, Apple announced new functionality for Apple admins everywhere and started the clock ticking toward the release of iOS 17 and macOS 14 Sonoma. This is always a bit of a nerve-wracking time for MDM companies, because you don’t know what’s coming, and worse, you only have a generalized idea of how long you have to prepare. It’s a special kind of stress! But we made it this year, and had full release day support for macOS 14 and iOS 17 again!

Most of my 2023 was spent shepherding a couple big efforts, the first of which is JumpCloud Go, the safest and most secure identity on the market today. Using device-bound credentials in your Secure Enclave or Trusted Platform Module, and JumpCloud’s identity platform, we enabled passwordless authentication for all your key apps, saving tons of time typing passwords.

Teammates Hugged: Approximately 50

I didn’t get a ton of face time with my team this year. We did a lot of really great work remotely, and it was pretty effective overall, given that we’re spread out across a dozen countries, 44 US states, and the sun never quite sets on JumpCloudia. I did get a chance to see a bunch of folks, though, and that made the difference in my year.

Foundations Kickstarted: 1

The thing I’m proudest of, though, in 2023 is the Mac Admins Foundation. We launched in 2022, yes, but this was first big year of growth for our programs and efforts. We went from a board of 5 to 9, expanding our capacity for programs. We sent our first 10 Community and Conference Grant Awardees to events in 2023, with 2 going to MacADUK, 5 going to Mac Admins at Penn State, and 3 more going to JNUC in September. We sold a bunch of great shirts, some really comfy sweatshirts, and we kept the lights on another year.

In addition, we helped fund the Mac Admins Open Source program, which launched with full code signing (Thanks Apple!) and code hosting options at Github this year.

We’re positioned for a huge growth year in 2024, also, thanks to a lot of preparatory work that is never sexy, and always necessary, on behalf of our board members.

Pounds Lost: 51 and Counting

This year in April, I made a hard decision to do something about my overall health, and with the help of my doctor, I went on Wegovy for obesity control. Look, none of my markers were out of whack; my blood pressure is right in line, so’s my cholesterol, but my knees have been bothering me, and so I made a decision to try something new.

I have had a complicated relationship with food and diet my whole life. Since leaving college, I’ve been over 300lbs (136kg), and in the beginning of the year, I was tied with the highest I’ve ever been. Everyone says dieting is easy. The reality is a whole lot more complicated than that. I am jealous of those whose natural metabolic cues and reactions make weight maintenance easy. I’m not one of those people, it turns out.

All the guilt I’ve had over the years over “matters of willpower and self-discipline,” well, it’s a substantial and painful part of memory for me. In 2012, I made a huge effort, working out 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, counting every calorie, focused on getting into incredible shape. I succeeded, but at a cost. I hurt my back, I had a nerve impingement in my chest, and it was demoralizing. I spent six months crushing it to lose 40lbs, only to have injury sideline me, and the weight came back over the course of the healing year. Then I became a dad, and the first ten years of Charlie’s life didn’t really allow for that kind of approach anymore.

Imagine my surprise, and, frankly, my anger, when I started on Wegovy, and the hunger “voice” inside my head just… stopped talking. The side effects weren’t great at first – nausea is never fun! – but they were manageable, and the results were tangible and rapid.

I’m within 10lbs of that 2012 weight, and I should hopefully reach that goal by the end of March. I’m down two pants sizes, and a shirt size at least. I’ve never, ever felt better. My markers are pretty much what they were in April: average BP, average cholesterol, all within healthy margins, but boy do my knees feel better.

It’s expensive, and my company insurance is pretty much useless against it, but it’s worked in ways that I can’t even begin to describe. I hope to reach a stasis point by the summer of 2024, or I hope that the American health insurance industry recognizes what a game-changer the GLP-1 Agonist family is (they won’t, their jobs depend on them not supporting this, unfortunately). The evidence is mounting that these drugs protect cardiovascular health, foster weight loss, decrease diabetic conditions, and even curb addictive behaviors.

I’m definitely in the gym and on the bike, and watching my intake of high sugar carbs, but I’m not having to risk injury to make progress. And that is all that I need right now.

These drugs may not be right for everyone, but if you’ve ever wondered “is it possible there’s another way to do this?” the answer is a resounding YES there is, and I encourage you to look into. Or, come talk to me and ask me more about my experience, I’ll be happy to talk about it.