What you need to know
- Apple has added an IT section to its business portal on the web.
- The service makes it easy for IT teams to deploy devices and distribute apps.
- Employees that bring their own device are able to keep their activities private with User Enrollment
Today, Apple has updated its Apple At Work web portal with a new IT section that explains how Apple's Business Manager can help companies get iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs into the hands of their employees without having to go office-to-office to help set them up.
IT teams can automate the setup of new devices, implement certain configurations and manage them remotely, distribute apps across all devices, and ensure that corporate data is secure.
Apple Business Manager is a web-based portal helping IT administrators deploy iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. They can easily provide employees with access to Apple services, set up device enrollment, and distribute apps, books, and custom apps — all from one place.
Apple Business Manager can be customized for different business types. Large corporations can get company-wide help with pricing, carrier contracts, and additional deployment and management services. Small businesses can pick from a more a la carte menu of products, services, apps, and accessories.
Apple has also added a new User Enrollment feature that makes it possible for companies to have the same data protection with employees that use personal devices for work as employees that use work-distributed devices. Employees that bring-your-own-device (BYOD) can still take advantage of Apple Business Manager features while protecting their personal privacy.
Employees bringing their own device to work can also bring their existing Apple ID alongside a Managed Apple ID for corporate data. All data is kept separate and private.
When User Enrollment is in place, an IT team member can't access personal information or collect logs on the person's personal device. They can't remove personal data or take over any personal apps or even wipe the entire device. Instead, User Enrollment allows the IT department to configure a new work account, install and configure work apps, remove work data only, and enforce some restrictions. Both employer and employee are protected.
Following Apple's Apple at Work - The Underdogs short film, it looks like the company is spending some extra marketing money to make sure companies know about its services. Maybe Apple is trying to replace Microsoft as the most ubiquitous company in work environments.
