What is Apple Business Manager? Definition and use case.

Apple Business Manager is a platform launched by Apple a few years ago. Its main purpose is to allow businesses to manage their apps and their fleet of iOS & Mac devices. The team at Appaloosa has created a complete guide for Apple Business Manager.

Apple Business Manager is often referred to as “ABM” and integrates with EMM such as Appaloosa to provide better controls about how devices are enrolled, how apps are distributed and how users are managed.

Over the years, it has merged several management concepts at Apple such as Apple Volume Purchase Program (VPP) and Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP).

Who is it for?

Apple Business Manager tends to become a mandatory portal if your organization is dealing with iOS device deployments. It is also promoted by Apple as a natural replacement of the “Apple Enterprise Developer Program”.

The Apple Enterprise Developer Program previously allowed businesses to sign their apps for private distribution (in-house). However, Apple has restricted access to this program and now promotes Apple Business Manager. If you are in a position to distribute apps on iOS but are denied access to the Apple Enterprise Developer Program, you should apply for Apple Business Manager. If you already have an Apple Enterprise Developer Program subscription that is still active, you can keep it as there is no indication yet that Apple wants to cut access to existing members.

In short, Apple Business Manager is one of the platforms you should use if you are

• managing a fleet of iOS devices within your business
• managing private and public apps for your employees, such as an enterprise app store
• deploying app or device configurations to your employees
• not eligible to the Apple Enterprise Developer Program

Guide Contents

1. 1. Is Apple Business Manager free?
   2. How to get Apple Business Manager?
   3. Apple Business Manager features explained
   4. Limitations and Integrations for Apple Business Manager
   5. How to extend Apple Business Manager with an EMM?
   6. How to deploy Enterprise Apps on iOS?
   7. How to deploy Custom Apps on iOS?
   8. Apple Business Manager & Appaloosa
   9. Webinar Replay: Everything You Need to Know about Apple Business Manager