Apple device deployments for beginners

If you’re responsible for getting Apple devices in the hands of your employees, you’ll definitely want to stop what you’re doing and read this blog. Whether you’ve recently received an influx of Apple devices, had a hardware refresh or started an employee choice program — you need the most efficient way to deploy your Apple devices. This is where Apple’s deployment programs and Jamf can help.

Apple’s deployment programs

You may have heard of Apple’s Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and Volume Purchasing Program (VPP), these programs enabled organizations to seamlessly deploy and procure apps. Now these programs roll up into a sleek new portal based on your organization.

For business: Apple Business Manager | For schools: Apple School Manager

One of the biggest benefits of these programs is that they are free to use. The only requirement is that you procure your Apple technology from a supported vendor.

What are the benefits of zero-touch deployments?

By implementing a zero-touch deployment strategy, you’ll be able to save time and money by automating and empowering users to accomplish some of the set-up steps on their own.

With a zero-touch enrollment workflow, you have three basic steps to follow:

1. Prepare
2. Purchase
3. Deploy

In order to utilize Apple’s deployment programs, you need a compatible and reliable mobile device management (MDM) solution to unlock these features and provide a true out-of-the-box experience for your end users.

Your MDM server will communicate to devices via the Apple Push Notification service (APNs) and tell them how to behave. All commands, apps and profiles are sent to the device over the air.