Glossary
Apple Business Manager
Apple Business Manager (ABM) is Apple's free web portal where a company registers the iPhones, iPads and Macs it owns, links them to an MDM server and buys apps in volume. It's the entry point for every managed Apple fleet: no ABM, no automated enrollment and no volume licensing.
How it works
Apple launched ABM in 2018 to merge two older portals, the Device Enrollment Program and the Volume Purchase Program. Today it covers three jobs. It holds the list of devices your organization owns, it assigns each of them to an MDM server, and it distributes apps and books to that MDM through the Apps and Books section.
Devices land in ABM in one of two ways. Either they were bought from Apple or from an authorized reseller who adds them at purchase time using your organization ID, or you add them yourself with Apple Configurator on an iPhone. That second route has a 30-day provisional window during which the device can still be released.
Once a device sits in ABM and is assigned to your MDM, the next factory reset triggers Automated Device Enrollment. The Setup Assistant contacts Apple, finds the assignment and installs the MDM profile before the user ever reaches the home screen. You can't remove that profile from the device, which is the whole point.
ABM also issues Managed Apple Accounts (Apple renamed Managed Apple IDs in 2024) and can federate them with Microsoft Entra ID or Google Workspace.
Why it matters for a fleet
Without ABM you're back to enrolling each device by hand, and the user can remove the MDM profile whenever they like. For a fleet of 50 devices that's annoying. For 2,000 it's unworkable.
ABM changes the ownership model. A device registered there belongs to your organization in Apple's eyes, so supervision is applied at first boot, Activation Lock can be cleared from the portal, and app licenses stay with the company rather than with an employee's personal Apple Account. When someone leaves, you reassign their licenses in minutes.
One caveat: ABM only knows devices you tell it about. A phone bought at a retail store won't appear unless you add it through Apple Configurator, so buying through a reseller that supports ABM is the cleaner path.
How Appaloosa handles it
Appaloosa connects to your ABM account with a server token you download from the portal. From then on, devices assigned to Appaloosa in ABM enroll automatically at first boot, are supervised, and receive the apps you've bought through Apps and Books plus your internal apps. Wipe a device remotely and it re-enrolls the same way on the next setup. Everything is managed from the same console as your Android fleet, as described on the iOS and iPadOS MDM page.
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