What you need to know
- Apple has officially launched its Apple Business Essentials program for small businesses.
- The plans combine hardware, software, and services into one manageable hub for business owners.
- Plans start at $2.99 per month or $9.99 with AppleCare+.
Apple wants to be an easy place to start and grow a small business.
Apple Business Essentials is now available for all small businesses.
In a press release, the company announced that the program is now available to all small businesses in the United States. The service, as explained by Apple, combines "device management, 24/7 Apple support, and iCloud storage into flexible subscription plans." The company also announced AppleCare+ plans that can be added to any plan for additional protection for devices. Apple is offering a two-month free trial for any small business that is interested in the service.
Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Enterprise and Education Marketing, said that the service should lead to "invaluable time savings for customers — including those without dedicated IT staff — that they can invest back into their business."
"Apple has a deep and decades-long commitment to helping small businesses thrive. From dedicated business teams in our stores to the App Store Small Business Program, our goal is to help each company grow, compete, and succeed. We look forward to bringing Apple Business Essentials to even more small businesses to simplify device management, storage, support, and repairs. Using this new service leads to invaluable time savings for customers — including those without dedicated IT staff — that they can invest back into their business."
The service attempts to simplify the deployment and management of hardware, software, and services among workers through one subscription and interface for the business owners. Apple says that the service is already integrated with Azure Active Directory and plans to add Google Workspace later this spring.
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 easily 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 everything they need to be productive, 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, and 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 simple and 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, making it easy to move between devices at work.
The company also announced that businesses can add AppleCare+ to their Business Essentials plan which will provide repair and software assistance 24/7.
Beginning today, businesses 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 as little as four hours to get their iPhone back up and running.1
Apple Business Essentials plans start at $2.99 per month without AppleCare+. With AppleCare+, plans start at $9.99 per month. You can learn more about Apple Business Essentials on the company's website.
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