Apple launches Apple Business Essentials: Device management, storage, onsite repair and more with a fixed subscription

Apple has unveiled a new business offering called Apple Business Essentials, which combines device management, 24/7 phone support for IT and end users, iCloud business storage and on-site repair capabilities for businesses with up to 500 employees. The free beta period has already started and the full service will be available in Spring 2022.

What's Included

Apple Business Essentials will allow IT departments to configure settings and applications for individual users, groups or individual devices. When employees log in to their work or personal device with their work credentials, Collections automatically transmits key settings such as VPN configuration and Wi-Fi information.

The new Apple Business Essentials app will be installed on every employee's device, from where they can download their assigned corporate App Store apps. Apple Business Essentials provides access to a dedicated iCloud account for work, providing easy and secure storage, backup and collaboration on files and documents.

IT managers can also implement critical security settings such as FileVault to encrypt the entire drive on a Mac and Activation Lock to protect company data if devices are lost or stolen. If employees use personal devices at work, Apple's User Enrollment feature creates a cryptographic separation for their work data so that personal data remains private and company data remains secure.

AppleCare+

The new AppleCare+ for Business Essentials option adds 24/7 access to phone support for both IT teams and end users, as well as up to two device repairs per year per plan. End users can initiate repairs directly from the new Apple Business Essentials app, and a trained Apple technician will arrive on site within four hours to repair devices. AppleCare+ for Business Essentials is not available during the free beta testing period.

How much is

Apple Business Essentials plans allow businesses to cover all employees and devices in their organization. Plans can be configured to provide each user with up to three devices and up to 2TB of secure iCloud storage, starting at $2.99 per month per device, with optional AppleCare+ for Apple Business Essentials. Pricing for AppleCare+ for Business Essentials will be announced at a later date.

Of course, everything described is only available for companies in the US at this time. When to expect distribution to other countries, the list of those countries, and whether to expect launch outside the US at all is unknown.

Source: apple