Free Mac readiness check

Are your Macs ready for work?

Twenty quick questions about how your Macs, iPhones and iPads are set up. It takes about five minutes, and at the end you’ll get a short list of where I’d start.

Start the check

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1 of 5

Devices & setup

Whether your company actually owns and manages the hardware, or each device is kind of on its own.

Your devices are in Apple Business Manager
They’re tied to your company, so nobody can activation-lock a Mac on their way out the door.
Every Mac, iPhone and iPad is enrolled in MDM
We use Addigy, but any good MDM works. The point is that nothing used for work is unmanaged.
A new Mac sets itself up
Someone opens the box, signs in, and their settings and apps show up without anyone touching it.
You know what you have
Who has which device, how old it is and what it’s running. A spreadsheet counts if it’s current.
2 of 5

Security

The stuff that matters most if a laptop goes missing or someone clicks the wrong link.

FileVault is on, and the keys are somewhere safe
Every Mac is encrypted, and the recovery keys are stored in your MDM rather than on a sticky note.
Updates actually get installed
macOS updates come with a deadline, so nobody can click “Later” forever.
Something is watching for trouble
Security software beyond the built-in protections, and it alerts a real person when it finds something.
People aren’t admins by default
Everyday accounts are standard users, and admin access is there when someone genuinely needs it.
3 of 5

Accounts & access

Who can get into what, and what happens when that needs to change.

Work runs on Managed Apple Accounts
Not people’s personal Apple Accounts, so company data stays with the company.
Multi-factor is on everywhere it matters
Email, Microsoft 365 or Google, your MDM, banking, and anything with admin rights.
Passwords live in a shared password manager
Not in someone’s head or a notes file. If one person is out, everyone else can still get in.
Someone leaving is a checklist, not a scramble
Their accounts are turned off the same day, and their Mac is wiped and ready for the next person.
4 of 5

Apps & updates

How software gets onto your devices, and whether it keeps working when Apple ships something new.

Apps are installed from one place
Pushed out from your MDM or Apple Business Manager, not downloaded one at a time from the web.
The company owns the app licenses
If someone leaves, the apps they were using don’t leave with them.
Big macOS upgrades get tested first
Someone checks your key apps on the new version before it reaches everyone.
You’d know if something risky got installed
You can see what’s on each Mac, and there’s a short list of what’s okay to use.
5 of 5

Backup & recovery

How bad a bad day would be. Ideally, not very.

Backups run on their own, and you’ve tested one
Honestly, a backup you’ve never restored from is more of a hope than a plan.
Important files aren’t only on a laptop
They live in OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox or iCloud Drive, so one dead Mac isn’t a disaster.
A lost or stolen Mac would be a non-event
You could lock or erase it today, from wherever you are.
You know when coverage runs out
AppleCare and warranty dates are written down somewhere someone actually looks.
Your results

Answer the questions above to see your results.

Once everything has an answer, you’ll see your score here along with the few things I’d look at first. “Not sure” counts as an answer.

A few questions people ask

Is this only for bigger companies?+

Not at all. Most of the teams we look after have somewhere between 5 and 35 people. I’d say smaller teams have the most to gain, because there usually isn’t anyone whose job it is to keep track of this stuff.

What if I don’t know the answer?+

Pick “Not sure.” That’s a perfectly good answer, and it usually points right at the thing worth looking into first.

Does anything I enter get sent to you?+

No. Your answers are saved in your browser so you can come back to them. Nothing reaches us unless you click “Email my results.”

We already have an IT person. Is this still useful?+

I think so. It’s a quick way to start the same conversation with them, and they might be glad you asked.