Apple Business Manager, now Apple Business

What happened to Apple Business Manager

Apple's own support guide now opens with a simple statement: Apple Business Manager is now Apple Business. Apple says Apple Business combines the capabilities previously found in three separate services:

• Apple Business Manager, the web portal for enrolling devices, managing Apple accounts and buying apps in volume
• Apple Business Essentials, Apple's device management and support service for smaller businesses
• Apple Business Connect, which controlled how a business appears in Apple Maps and other Apple apps

If you set up Apple Business Manager in the past, the core of what you used is still there: devices bought for the business appear in your account and are assigned to your device management service, and Managed Apple Accounts are still created and managed there. Apple's deployment documentation now refers to "Apple School Manager or Apple Business" throughout.

People still search for Apple Business Manager, and many MDM products and network order forms still use the old name, so expect to see both for a while. Apple notes that feature and service availability varies by country and region, so check what applies in the UK when you sign up.

What Apple Business does for an iPhone fleet

For a business running iPhones, iPads or Macs, the parts of Apple Business that matter most are:

• Automated Device Enrolment. Devices bought for the business enrol in your management service when they are first switched on, so you can send them straight to staff.
• Built-in device management. Apple describes management built into Apple Business, with Blueprints that assign the right settings and apps automatically, and security settings such as password policies and FileVault on Mac.
• Managed Apple Accounts. Work accounts on your own domain, kept separate from staff members' personal Apple Accounts, created from your identity provider.
• Apps. Buy and distribute apps to devices or users, installed automatically or through the Apple Business app.
• Lost and stolen devices. Remote Lock, Remote Erase and Lost Mode for devices that go missing.
• Personal devices. Staff can enrol their own iPhone for work using their work account, keeping personal data private, without erasing the phone.
• Roles and access. Built-in and custom roles for administrators, and user groups to assign access to whole teams.
• Admin API. Programmatic access to your organisation's device, user, audit and device management service data.

Apple Business also includes services aimed at running and promoting the business, such as email, calendar and directory tools, iCloud storage, AppleCare+ for Business and business listings in Apple Maps. Those are outside the scope of this page; check Apple's site for what is available in the UK.

How iPhones get into your Apple Business account

Automated Device Enrolment only works for devices that are linked to your organisation's Apple Business account. Apple describes two routes:

• Bought for the business through a participating seller. Devices your organisation purchases directly from Apple, or from a participating Apple Authorised Reseller or network provider, can be added to your account automatically. You give the seller your organisation's details, and an Administrator adds the customer and reseller numbers that connect purchases to your account.
• Added by hand with Apple Configurator. Devices bought elsewhere can be added with Apple Configurator for iPhone or Apple Configurator for Mac. Apple says that once such a device is given to a user, there is a 30-day provisional period during which it can be released from Apple Business, supervision and the management service.

The first route is the one to aim for with new phones. It means a phone can go from the seller's warehouse to an employee's desk and set itself up, without anyone in your business unboxing it. Our guide to zero-touch enrolment explains the full process, including for Samsung and other Android phones.

Using Apple Business with your own MDM

You do not have to use Apple's built-in management. Apple Business links to third-party device management services, and Apple's deployment guide makes a few points worth knowing:

• You can connect more than one device management service and assign devices to different services, for example by device type.
• The token that links Apple Business to a device management service expires after one year. Renew it well before it lapses, or new devices will not enrol.
• Choose your MDM before you roll out. Apple warns that changing service part-way through a deployment may mean erasing each device and enrolling it again.
• With Automated Device Enrolment you can stop users removing the management profile on supervised devices, hold a device in Setup Assistant until critical settings arrive, and require a minimum iOS version before set-up continues.

Microsoft Intune, Sophos Mobile and IBM MaaS360 are among the products businesses link to Apple Business; our guide to mobile device management software compares them. A small Apple-only business may find the built-in management enough; a business with Android phones or Windows laptops too will usually want one MDM across everything.

Managed Apple Accounts

Managed Apple Accounts are work Apple accounts that your organisation owns, on a domain your organisation owns. They keep business data separate from employees' personal Apple Accounts and are managed from Apple Business.

According to Apple's deployment guide:

• Accounts can be created manually or by connecting Apple Business to Microsoft Entra ID or another identity provider, so staff sign in with the work credentials they already use
• Each account has a role that sets what it can do in Apple Business; the Administrator role, which has the most privileges, is limited to four users
• The Device Enrolment Manager role links to device management services, releases devices and removes Activation Lock from organisation-owned devices
• Organisations that set up devices with personal Apple Accounts in the past can capture their domain and move users to Managed Apple Accounts

The Activation Lock point is a practical one. A leaver who forgets to sign out of an iPhone can leave it locked to their account; with organisation-owned devices in Apple Business, the right role can remove that lock without chasing them.

Buying iPhones that enrol themselves

Apple lists Apple itself, participating Apple Authorised Resellers and participating network providers among the places a business can buy devices that appear in Apple Business. Buying your iPhones separately from the airtime, outright or through your usual procurement, works well with this: give your chosen seller your organisation's details and new iPhones enrol themselves, whichever network their lines are on.

The networks also describe services around enrolment:

• EE Business describes enrolling devices into your chosen platform, including Apple Business Manager, so that they appear in your MDM. It also describes Facilitated Enrolment, where EE Business creates an Apple Business Manager account on your behalf and gives you its ID.
• Three Business describes onboarding for its Three Device Management service through Apple Business Manager and Samsung Knox Mobile Enrolment.

We can help make sure your Apple Business details reach whoever supplies your iPhones, where the seller supports it. See iPhone for business for choosing iPhones for a fleet.

Setting up Apple Business: step by step

The exact screens change from time to time, so follow Apple's current guide alongside these steps:

1. Check that Apple Business and the features you need are available in the UK, then sign up for an account for your organisation
2. Add your administrators (no more than four people can hold the Administrator role) and verify your company's domain
3. Connect your identity provider, such as Microsoft Entra ID, so Managed Apple Accounts can be created from your directory
4. Decide whether to use Apple's built-in device management or link a third-party MDM, and if linking, upload the token to your MDM
5. Set default device assignments, for example iPhones to one service and Macs to another
6. Give your network or reseller your organisation's details so new purchases appear in your account
7. Configure enrolment and Setup Assistant options in your MDM, then test with one device before rolling out
8. Put the token renewal date in the diary, a few weeks before the year is up

We can help with the parts that touch your phones and contracts: linking orders to your account, choosing and licensing an MDM, and testing enrolment on the first devices. Contact us for help setting up Apple Business.