Apple has announced that Apple Business Essentials is now available to all small businesses in the U.S. The new service brings together device management, 24/7 Apple support, and iCloud storage into flexible subscription plans.
Apple also unveiled new AppleCare+ for Business Essentials options that can be added to any plan. Additionally, a two-month free trial will be available to all customers, including those who have been using Apple Business Essentials in beta.
Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Enterprise and Education Marketing., says Apple Business Essentials supports small businesses throughout the entire device management life cycle — from device setup, to device upgrades — while providing strong security, prioritized support, and data storage and backup.
The complete solution begins with simple employee onboarding, allowing a small business to configure, deploy, and manage Apple products from anywhere. With the Collections feature, groups of apps can be delivered to employees or teams, and settings can be automatically pushed to devices, such as VPN configurations, Wi-Fi passwords, and more.
Employees simply sign in to their work account on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac using a Managed Apple ID. Once they sign in, they will have access to a variety of features and services, including the new Apple Business Essentials app, where they can download work apps available to them.
Managed Apple IDs can be created by federating with Microsoft Azure Active Directory and, coming later this spring, with Google Workspace identity services, allowing employees to log in to their device with a single business username and password. Apple Business Essentials works with company-provided and personally owned devices. Apple says with Apple’s User Enrollment feature, employees’ personal information stays private and cryptographically separated from work data.
In addition to a streamlined setup, Apple Business Essentials provides a dedicated iCloud work account for secure storage, backup, and collaboration on files and documents. Business data is automatically stored and backed up on iPhone or iPad, making it easy to upgrade to a new device. And iCloud Drive keeps information synced across Mac, so users can move between devices at work.
AppleCare+ for Business Essentials
Businesses now have the option to add prioritized support for employee devices with AppleCare+ for Business Essentials. This service includes 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. Employees can initiate repairs directly from the Apple Business Essentials app, and an Apple-trained technician can come onsite in, according to Apple, as little as four hours to get their iPhone back up and running.
Pricing and availability
Apple Business Essentials is now available as a subscription for all small businesses in the US. Flexible plans can be customized to support each user and device in an organization with up to 2TB of secure storage in iCloud, starting at $2.99 (US) per month after a two-month free trial. Plans that include AppleCare+ for Apple Business Essentials start at $9.99 (US) per month. You can sign up today at apple.com/business/essentials.
