Apple will offer complete services of Apple Business Essentials from the spring of 2022, currently available in beta version. Apple Essentials is a service designed exclusively for small and medium businesses that employ up to 500 employees. The specialty of the offer is that with a single subscription, users can avail themselves of a complete package of device management, support, and iCloud storage. Subscribers of the service will receive round-the-clock Apple Support, and flexible plans are available for the service, which also offers the Apple Business Essentials app for allowing employees to install the app and request support. Recognizing that small businesses are the backbone of the economy, Apple takes pride in standing by them to help grow fast. The services aim at streamlining every step of employee device management by saving precious time and increasing productivity.
The core of Apple Essentials
Apple small business essentials are currently available in beta that allows users to test the water and get a feel of the things before they subscribe to some plan. The service supports small businesses from the device set up for employees through onboarding and device upgrades, which constitutes the total device management life cycle. Coupled, the service provides strong security, secure data storage, and prioritized support. The comprehensive support means that users need to worry about or spend time on device management which Apple takes care of.
From the design of the Apple Business Essentials, one can make out that the objective of the services is to streamline all aspects of employee device management within the small business environment. Support is available at every step from setup, onboarding, and upgrading that extends up to prioritized support and accessing fast service while keeping data secured and backed up all the while. Companies can forget about managing Apple products for business and devote their time to more productive work in the core areas of business.
Setup and onboarding are simple
Apple Business Essentials fully addresses the employee onboarding needs by providing a simple solution for the onboarding process. It makes it extremely easy for small businesses to configure, deploy and manage Apple products from any place. IT personnel can use the Collections feature within the Apple Business Essentials to configure settings and apps for individual users, devices, or groups. The Collections feature ensures complete security when users sign in to their device, whether their device or a corporate device, by automatically activating Wi-Fi passwords and VPN configurations. Moreover, Collections will automatically install the Apple Small Business Essentials app on the home screen of every employee to facilitate downloading of the corporate apps like Microsoft Word or Cisco Webex assigned to them.
Strong security
Maintaining strong security is easy by subscribing to the Apple small business Essentials. IT managers can enforce critical security settings like full-disk encryption on Mac by using Filevault. The Activation Lock helps protect devices from being stolen or lost while ensuring they are not switched off accidentally. When employees use their devices at work, the feature of User Enrolment creates a cryptographic separation of work data that provides complete privacy of their work.
Backup and storage
Besides streamlining setup and onboarding, Apple Small Business Essentials provides a dedicated Cloud storage account for work that offers simple backup and secure storage and facilitates the collaboration of documents and files. Business data backup and storage in the iCloud is automatic, making it easy to upgrade to a new device or move between devices.
Apple Care+
There is scope for businesses to avail prioritized Apple Support for reliable and fast service for employee devices by adding Apple Care+ to the service package. Adding Apple Care+ to the Business Essentials plan would ensure round-the-clock access to phone support, two separate device repairs per plan in a year, and training for both employees and IT administrators. Employees can place their request for repairs from the Business Essentials app and receive on-site support from an Apple technician deputed for the job within 4 hours.
Businesses can choose from three Apple essentials plans to cover all employees and devices of the organization. Subscription plans start at $2.99 per month, and Apple Care+ is optional. Customized programs are also available.
