Apple has announced a new all-in-one platform for businesses that allows them to manage apps and devices, get expert support, and grow their business.
Apple Business, which launches in April, replaces the company’s current business portfolio (Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect) and rolls them into one simplified platform.
Customers who join the plan will get access to features such as ‘Zero Touch’ deployment, where devices can be sent straight to the user with next to no input from an administrator.
Auto enrolments help to onboard new employees and keep existing staff working when a new machine is needed. Businesses can also customize their Apple email, calendar, and directory with their own branding.
“Apple Business is a significant leap forward in our decades-long commitment to helping companies of all sizes leverage the power of Apple products and services to run and grow,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Enterprise and Education Marketing.
“We’ve unified Apple’s strongest business offerings into one simple, secure platform, delivering key features for organizations in every stage and sector, including built-in device management, collaboration tools, and additional ways to reach new customers.”
Apple Business: Run and Grow explained
The new platform is split into two distinct sections: Run and Grow. The former is largely concerned with the management and maintenance of devices and software. Grow, meanwhile, offers some unique capabilities to aid businesses with marketing and visibility.
A key element of this is Apple Maps, which will soon allow businesses to create their own ads inside the application.
Businesses will be able to use automated tools to create their own ads and also improve how they appear in Maps with a set of brand management tools.
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Many of these will be tools previously found in Business Connect, though there will be analytical functions to see how businesses are discovered through Maps.
Apple Business will be available from 14 April as a free service in the US and largely free in over 200 countries around the world.
For US customers, there is a fee for additional storage (up to 2TB), which starts at $0.99 per user per month. However, there are no additional storage options for customers outside of the US.
The launch of the new service will mean that Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect will all be shut down, with existing Business Connect customers automatically migrated to Apple Business by the launch date.
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