Apple Business Essentials service includes device management, onsite Apple repairs

AppleInsider

Apple has announced a new service dubbed Apple Business Essentials, which packages device management, Apple Support, and iCloud into a single flexible subscription plan for enterprise users.

Credit: Apple

The service, which is currently in beta, is described as a "complete solution" for small businesses with up to 500 employees. It includes the ability for companies to easily onboard new users, including configuring, deploying, and managing Apple products remotely.

Apple Business Essentials also has strong security mechanisms for IT personnel, including the ability to set settings such as FileVault and Activation Lock. Business employees that use personal devices at work can separate their business data from their personal data with a new cryptographically powered User Enrollment feature.

Additionally, the service provides a dedicated iCloud account for simple backup and collaboration.

Alongside the software and device management features, Apple Business Essentials also includes prioritized Apple Support with the option to add AppleCare+ to a plan.

The AppleCare+ option adds 24/7 phone support, training for IT staffers and employees, and up to two device repairs each month. Once an employee initiates a repair, an Apple-trained technician can arrive onsite to fix a device in as little as four hours, the company says.

Apple is offering three separate and customizable Apple Business Essentials plans. That includes a $2.99-per-month single device plan, a multi-device plan that costs $6.99 per user monthly, and a a multi-device plan with more storage for $12.99 per user, per month.

Apple Business Essentials launches on Wednesday in beta in the U.S.. It will launch publicly in the spring of 2022.



Read on AppleInsider

michaelthompson1991

Makes me want a business again 🤣

opinion

Thank you Apple! Keep more of this coming and add a big campaign world wide about how to integrate Macs in a otherwise Windows dominated IT-environment and a ”Manual of how to show IT how easy it is to let you choose a Mac as your computer at work”.

mattinoz

Does this tie in to email send and receive for your own domain launched early this year. 

Other big questions for BYOD companies can 2 iCloud accounts be configured on iOS maybe not multiple user but tied to say the new focus feature to silence work in downtime. 

Looks promising thou. Will see how it plays out and look to dump teams once it hits our shores. 

doozydozen

Yeah, this is actually big news. Enterprise for Apple represents an area ripe for growth. Every Apple Store has a dedicated business team that offers a wealth of solutions at no cost. It’s great for business customer but Apple only makes money indirectly when companies buy hardware. This new product is subscription based starting at $2.99/mo per device. Great source of renewal revenue for Apple. Check out the 7 minute keynote Apple published on their business portal: https://www.apple.com/business/essentials/

fastasleep

mattinoz said:

Does this tie in to email send and receive for your own domain launched early this year. 

Why would it need to? That comes with any paid iCloud plan.

mattinoz

fastasleep said:

mattinoz said:

Does this tie in to email send and receive for your own domain launched early this year. 

Why would it need to? That comes with any paid iCloud plan.

Currently, custom domains can only be used by yourself or people in your family sharing cohort. 

crowley

fastasleep said:

mattinoz said:

Does this tie in to email send and receive for your own domain launched early this year. 

Why would it need to? That comes with any paid iCloud plan.

It is somewhat surprising that Apple haven't made any moves yet towards an iCloud for Business offering, that would compete on some limited level with Office 365 for business email, identity, storage and application services, with enterprise and SME management options.


EDIT: Sorry, missed the sentence where it said that this new service does includes a dedicated iCloud account.  Though it does seem oddly limited, I imagine that will see expansion at some point.

edited November 2021

georgebmac

repressthis said:

Yeah, this is actually big news. Enterprise for Apple represents an area ripe for growth. Every Apple Store has a dedicated business team that offers a wealth of solutions at no cost. It’s great for business customer but Apple only makes money indirectly when companies buy hardware. This new product is subscription based starting at $2.99/mo per device. Great source of renewal revenue for Apple. Check out the 7 minute keynote Apple published on their business portal: https://www.apple.com/business/essentials/

Rather than a for-profit service, this sounds like an investment in Apple's future.

Otherwise, they are limited to consumer grade products and a toe-hold in education.

Apple has the foundation for meeting the needs of businesses.  It's time they exploited it to benefit both themselves and business.

Hopefully though they go in strong rather than a lot of talk and then just dipping their toe in the waters like they did with education during the roll-out of the Gen 6 iPad.

They have the resources to do it right.  Hopefully they do.

danvm

GeorgeBMac said:

repressthis said:

Yeah, this is actually big news. Enterprise for Apple represents an area ripe for growth. Every Apple Store has a dedicated business team that offers a wealth of solutions at no cost. It’s great for business customer but Apple only makes money indirectly when companies buy hardware. This new product is subscription based starting at $2.99/mo per device. Great source of renewal revenue for Apple. Check out the 7 minute keynote Apple published on their business portal: https://www.apple.com/business/essentials/

Rather than a for-profit service, this sounds like an investment in Apple's future.

Otherwise, they are limited to consumer grade products and a toe-hold in education.

Apple has the foundation for meeting the needs of businesses.  It's time they exploited it to benefit both themselves and business.

Hopefully though they go in strong rather than a lot of talk and then just dipping their toe in the waters like they did with education during the roll-out of the Gen 6 iPad.

They have the resources to do it right.  Hopefully they do.

Do you really think that?  Because from what I have seen, Apple have excellent devices, but their services and software are really bad, specially for busines.  Just compare what Apple have with MS or even Google, and you'll see they are miles behind both companies.  

mattinoz

danvm said:

GeorgeBMac said:

repressthis said:

Yeah, this is actually big news. Enterprise for Apple represents an area ripe for growth. Every Apple Store has a dedicated business team that offers a wealth of solutions at no cost. It’s great for business customer but Apple only makes money indirectly when companies buy hardware. This new product is subscription based starting at $2.99/mo per device. Great source of renewal revenue for Apple. Check out the 7 minute keynote Apple published on their business portal: https://www.apple.com/business/essentials/

Rather than a for-profit service, this sounds like an investment in Apple's future.

Otherwise, they are limited to consumer grade products and a toe-hold in education.

Apple has the foundation for meeting the needs of businesses.  It's time they exploited it to benefit both themselves and business.

Hopefully though they go in strong rather than a lot of talk and then just dipping their toe in the waters like they did with education during the roll-out of the Gen 6 iPad.

They have the resources to do it right.  Hopefully they do.

Do you really think that?  Because from what I have seen, Apple have excellent devices, but their services and software are really bad, specially for busines.  Just compare what Apple have with MS or even Google, and you'll see they are miles behind both companies.  

Can't comment on G for Business but MS offer is geared entirely towards making you pay for specialist integrators on top of the monthly fees if only find which version of the control panel or which product control panel (because each one is a separate login for some reason) 2 settings that are related are buried. 

Apple could offer a more streamlined experience that would be very appealing as it would offer more functional function in the base price.
Yes numbers not as good as Excel or Word if you have need to tap all that development legacy but they are better in many ways for people with more common needs.
Apple can pitch a product at the same point and have a lot of wins. 

If this helps streamline the deployment of 3rd party Apps AppStore and Outside then it could also be a win for Business to Business developers. 

Although it adds yet more reasons why the AppStore should handle Versions, better App trails, and other features Developers have been asking for. 

georgebmac

s

danvm said:

GeorgeBMac said:

repressthis said:

Yeah, this is actually big news. Enterprise for Apple represents an area ripe for growth. Every Apple Store has a dedicated business team that offers a wealth of solutions at no cost. It’s great for business customer but Apple only makes money indirectly when companies buy hardware. This new product is subscription based starting at $2.99/mo per device. Great source of renewal revenue for Apple. Check out the 7 minute keynote Apple published on their business portal: https://www.apple.com/business/essentials/

Rather than a for-profit service, this sounds like an investment in Apple's future.

Otherwise, they are limited to consumer grade products and a toe-hold in education.

Apple has the foundation for meeting the needs of businesses.  It's time they exploited it to benefit both themselves and business.

Hopefully though they go in strong rather than a lot of talk and then just dipping their toe in the waters like they did with education during the roll-out of the Gen 6 iPad.

They have the resources to do it right.  Hopefully they do.

Do you really think that?  Because from what I have seen, Apple have excellent devices, but their services and software are really bad, specially for busines.  Just compare what Apple have with MS or even Google, and you'll see they are miles behind both companies.  

Actually, it sounds like we mostly agree.

While Apple does have great hardware, neither business nor education need great (read Expensive) hardware.  They need the software and services that enable them to conduct their business and do so reliably.  Apple does that well for consumers but, as you point out:  Microsoft, Google (and Amazon) blew past them for business and education (I think Apple still uses them for its own needs).

To a physician, a code red means the patient is in cardiac arrest

To an IT professional code red means the president's laptop died right before an important trip.  Or, the payroll master finds his systems can't manage that new tax or new employee benefit.

... Great hardware won't prevent or resolve those emergencies.  Great software & services will.