Apple recently revealed its new service – Apple Business Essentials, which allows employees to install apps for work and request support. It is a new service that combines device management, 24/7 Apple Support, and iCloud storage into flexible subscription plans for small businesses with up to 500 employees.
Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Enterprise and Education Marketing, said, “Small businesses are at the core of our economy, and we’re proud that Apple products play a role in helping these companies grow. Apple Business Essentials is designed to help streamline every step of employee device management within a small business — from setup, onboarding, and upgrading, to accessing fast service and prioritized support, all while keeping data backed up and secure, so companies can focus on running their business.”
Apple Business Essentials saves small businesses valuable time. Currently, the service is in beta, assists small businesses throughout the entire device management life cycle, from setup to employee onboarding and upgrades, while also offering strong security, customized support, and safe data storage and backup. Apple Business Essentials is a comprehensive solution that simplifies employee onboarding by simply allowing businesses to conveniently customize, install, and handle Apple products from any location.
IT staff can configure settings and apps for specific users, groups, or devices in Apple Business Essentials. Collections instantly force settings such as VPN configurations and Wi-Fi passwords to employees’ corporate or personally owned devices when they sign in with their work credentials. Collections will install the Apple Business Essentials app on every employee’s home screen, from which they will be able to download corporate apps assigned to them, such as Cisco Webex or Mic.
It’s simple to operate strong security across the organization with Apple Business Essentials. IT managers have the access to use Apple Business Essentials to make sure that critical security settings such as FileVault for full-disk encryption on Macs and Activation Lock to protect devices that could be lost or stolen are not accidentally turned off. If employees bring their own devices to work, User Enrollment creates cryptographic separation for work data, making sure that employee data remains private while company data remains secure.
