Most businesses have gone mobile, meaning it’s important to implement viable MDM solutions for the various mobile endpoints used by teams. Whether you have team members that bring their own Apple devices, or your company furnishes these devices for team members, the Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and Apple Business Manager (ABM) solutions are ideal for managing these products in a business environment.

Apple’s core MDM, the DEP software, allows administrators to easily provision, deploy, and manage these devices across an entire business, whether connected to the company WAN, an employee’s home office, or mobile Internet. Below, we’re going to look at the differences between these two variations of MDM software suites from Apple as well as discuss the advantages of Apple DEP.

Apple DEP Vs Business Manager

Both systems are part of a solution referred to as Apple at Work which enables organizations to administer Apple devices such as iOS, macOS, and tvOS systems, in large environments. DEP and Business Manger solve a once taxing problem that made serious integration and management of Apple devices in an organization a challenge.

Apple DEP considered the primary system for deploying and managing Apple systems – it simplifies setting up new devices with hands-free interaction and offers the option to manually enroll existing devices. During this process, devices are configured to company specification and enrolled in the system, enabling remote administration, regardless of where devices are connected.

The ABM service incorporates DEP, as well as a few other useful tools as part of a larger solution. In addition to DEP, administrators can access the Volume Purchase Program (VPP) within the ABM portal, making it simple to acquire and push out new applications to enrolled devices.

For businesses already using DEP to manage devices, upgrading to ABM is a simple process of signing into the Apple Business Portal and following the steps after signing in. Here, you can also enroll to become an Apple Business, which is the first step for accessing several useful products and services.

Uses of DEP

Once an Apple ID is registered for DEP or ABM, an administrator can begin to create and apply profiles for a variety of systems used around an organization. Existing devices may need to be manually enrolled, but new items can be immediately provisioned after first powering on the device with the proper applications and security configurations once Setup Assistant completes running.

With DEP, you will be able to:

Create Device Profiles – As a stand-alone solution, administrators can create a multitude of different profiles for different device types. This means that different departments can have devices tailored to their specific needs with security and application provisions. Too, products utilized by customers can be locked down with kiosk mode, preventing the possibility of tampering with company data. Once enrolled, devices entered to DEP are locked for continuous management by your organization.

Integrate with Active Directory – As most organizations are Windows-centric, DEP can be integrated into Active Directory for further control. Businesses using hosted Microsoft Azure services (or Azure Stack as part of an on-premise configuration) can pull in Apple enrollment information for managing supervised devices with certain Microsoft tools. This simplifies the process of administrating and troubleshooting Microsoft applications running on your organization’s Apple devices as well as managing instances of Office 365.

Utilize Hands-free Setup or Refined Setup Assistant – Prior to interacting with a device, it can be assigned a profile, or the initial configuration process can be modified by altering Setup Assistant for specific scenarios, whether an iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or Apple TV. This is helpful for scenarios where end users may require extra more control over a device to take advantage of certain functions. Admins can create refined profiles in DEP for these special cases, allowing for more flexibility during deployment.

Delegate Admin Responsibilities – With DEP, it’s possible to fine tune responsibilities for administrators which further streamlines management functions as well as increases security by restricting access to certain portions of the software. For example, certain departments or different offices may require slightly different configurations for their devices. As such, it’s simple to configure admins to delegate based on location, device, or other criteria.

Learn more about Apple DEP

Business that utilize Apple devices throughout an organization will benefit substantially by taking advantage of Apple DEP and ABM. At ConnectUs Corp, we recognize that each business is unique, requiring tailored setups to maximize the performance of different solutions on the market. Touch base by visiting our contact page – send us an email, give us call, or stop in at our Holland, Pennsylvania office.

Businesses are more mobile than ever which has greatly improved the efficiency in completing tasks for almost every industry, but it has also presented several challenges. Companies that whimsically adopt mobile tech without a game plan usually find that solutions are less effective than originally conceived. Yet, for those that implement the correct mobile device management (MDM) solution, mobile devices and applications prove to be among the most valuable tools at a team’s disposal.

In the following, we’re going to briefly define what MDM means for business, look at a few examples of top services on the market, and highlight real scenarios where our custom-tailored solutions have proved highly beneficial to our clients.

What is mobile device management?

Not be confused with master device management (also abbreviated ‘MDM’), mobile device management refers to software that allows IT admins to control mobile endpoints, such as tablets, phones, and other smart devices. For enterprises with several devices in circulation, this allows administrators to easily interact with devices dispersed throughout an organization to apply policies, troubleshoot, and much more.

In general, solutions are designed to interact with mobile endpoints and typically furnish the ability to integrate with other company systems. With the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in use at most businesses, it’s critical that organizations can efficiently transmit data between systems as well as other devices while ensuring these transmissions are as secure as possible.

With most of the systems we support, you’re ensured high-grade encryption between endpoints which meets the standards for data compliance regulations such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and several others. This means that businesses may securely transmit information between a variety of approved applications without fear of information being compromised and the costly fines that come as a result.

Overview of a few market leaders in MDM

Quite simply, different companies have different needs. Even though many of the different solutions parallel each other in terms functionality, each have their own advantages, meaning it’s important to understand your needs and the capabilities of different solutions before making a commitment. Below, we’re going to look at few of the leading solutions on the market and discuss their advantages.

Samsung Knox – As one of the most popular mobile device manufacturers, Samsung has implemented a sophisticated security layer in all their smart devices known as Knox. This system separates personal and business data, protecting information by regularly seeking out threats by assessing various operational metrics in each device. Knox also enables their MDM software, Knox Express and Knox Premium, to interact with devices used for business. The software includes tools that allow admins to manage devices, apply policies, integrate with Active Directory, and much more. This is an ideal solution for businesses that manage BYOD Samsung devices as well as for companies that issue Samsung smart devices to employees.

Cisco Meraki – This system from Cisco is designed to not only provide MDM services, but manage other components attached to a network as well. This solution allows administrators to create profiles for a wide variety of different devices connected to a business network or devices in the field to perform management tasks. Beyond typical MDM features, Meraki is capable of monitoring cloud resources, can be used to build mesh networks with a variety of wireless APs, as well as provide many other useful features.

MaaS360 – This MDM solution from IBM is much like Meraki in the sense that it allows businesses to manage a wide variety of devices used for business as the platform is almost completely agnostic. It plays nicely with legacy devices and minimal installations on devices that fall outside regular smartphones and tables, such as COSU devices. Too, it can work alongside solutions like Azure Sphere for enhanced management of MCUs, which is particularly useful in industries such as specialized manufacturing and healthcare, just to name a couple.

A brief overview of our MDM case studies

As no two businesses are created equal, properly designed MDM solutions will provide varying levels of financial benefits.

For example, with one of our telehealth clients, ConnectUs Corp discovered they require a highly-specialized, yet uniform set of tools for medical professionals to remotely monitor their patients. We were able to provide a vast number of tablets installed with their medical app at a low price point which are configured to securely transmit data to the patient’s doctor for further review. By acting as a full 3PL for the company, we were able to save them $750,000.

We also have an ongoing relationship with a startup in food delivery – we equip them on an ongoing basis with mobile devices (namely, iPads), saving the company between $15,000 and $45,000 a week depending on their volume requirements. By keeping their costs low, they have enjoyed the ability to invest more capital into their service, ultimately allowing them to become a major competitor in their market space.

We have several other examples as well, so feel free to check out our testimonial page for quick rundowns of other industries we’ve served with unique solutions.

Get in touch with us ConnectUs Corp

Implementing a solid MDM solution for dispersed, mobile devices allows business to move faster with the peace of mind knowing that data is secure. We are here to help solve unique problems, regardless of industry or volume – check out our contact page to send us an email, give us call, or stop in at our Holland, Pennsylvania office, if you’re in the area.