Apple's 'Business Essentials' Service Expands to All Small Businesses

Thursday March 31, 2022 9:51 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple today announced the official launch of its Business Essentials service designed to help out small businesses that use Apple products. The service was previously available in a beta capacity to a limited number of businesses, but now it is available to any small business that wants to participate.

apple business essentials
Business Essentials, available to businesses with up to 500 employees, is a subscription-based service that provides device management features that include setup and onboarding, iCloud storage, and optional 24/7 access to Apple Support through AppleCare+ for Business, another new addition.

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‌AppleCare‌+ for Business can be added to any Apple Business Essentials plan, and it offers 24/7 access to phone support, training for both IT administrators and employees, and up to two device repairs per plan — by individual, group, or device — each year.

Apple Business Essentials is priced at $2.99 per user to $12.99 per user, with the price varying based on the number of devices and the amount of ‌iCloud‌ storage that each employee needs. A two month free trial is available to all customers, including those who used the service in beta.

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Top Rated Comments

cupcakes2000

60 months ago

You should really state that this is US only in the post. So not really all small businesses.

Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Jeaz

60 months ago

Is it just me or would it be nice if this also included more "Microsoft 365" features such as e-mail accounts with custom domains, calendar sharing and so on. Maybe as Business Plus?

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

zachlegomaniac

60 months ago

We've been using Apple Business Essentials since the beta rolled out and will never look back. Mosyle was not a good fit for us. With Apple Business Essentials an ecologist, who knows nothing about MDM, can take care of all the devices in his small business (that sounds like a commercial). It was a pleasure getting everything set up with full support from the Apple technicians. It reminded me of why I buy their products both personally and for my company.

Now if they could rectify the horizontal scrolling software issue I have with Monterey on my MBA with 12.4...

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

TriBruin

59 months ago

It looks pretty great and pretty easy. How does it manage apps that aren't distributed through the Mac or iOS App stores?

For Mac, it does not currently support installing non-Mac App Store apps. According to a stat I heard from Jamf yesterday, 12 of the top 15 installed Apps are non-MAS apps. Supposedly Apple is looking at adding this feature at a later date.

For iOS Apps, there really is no reason for non AppStore apps. A few years ago, Apple introduced a way for companies to post custom apps to the AppStore and designate them for specific customers. Those apps can be added just like regular iOS apps.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

zachlegomaniac

60 months ago

That's interesting. The early feedback I saw indicated that Apple expected you to use ABE in addition to an MDM, not instead of one. So a couple of questions for you:

1. Does this mean that ABE is your only MDM now?
2. How difficult was it to switch to/add ABE for devices that were already enrolled in your MDM?

Huh, that's equally as fascinating to me. We pulled all of our devices off Mosyle, altogether, and are actively managing the devices with ABE (only). The business rep from our local Apple Store put me in touch with a guy out in California that helped me get started and that was that. Enrolling the devices was extremely simple.

One of my employees has taken over the device management through ABE since I went through the process first with an iPad Pro in the early winter. Feel free to DM me any questions you have and I can run them by her. I really struggled with Mosyle and started to think we'd have to outsource the work, but the entire UI of ABE felt much less intimidating (for someone of my skill level, anyways).

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

sorgo †

60 months ago

God those mismatched notches are ugly 🤢

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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Apple's 'Business Essentials' Service Expands to All Small Businesses

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