Technology · Device management
The Apple portal for organisations, now called Apple Business: devices bought from Apple or linked resellers are assigned to your MDM and set up at first power-on.
How we use it
We connect Apple Business (formerly Apple Business Manager) and Apple School Manager to your MDM and business systems: device assignment, Automated Device Enrollment, app licences and Managed Apple Accounts.
Official site: support.apple.com/guide/business/welcome/web (opens in new tab)
Apple Business is the free web portal where an organisation manages its Apple devices, app licences and work accounts. On 14 April 2026 it replaced Apple Business Manager, together with Apple Business Essentials and Apple Business Connect. Many people still search for the old name, so we use both. Schools and colleges use Apple School Manager, which continues separately and adds class rosters and education features.
The part that matters most for device management works as before. Devices bought from Apple, or from resellers and carriers that take part, appear in the portal under your organisation. You assign them to a device management service, either the built-in one or an external MDM, and at first switch-on each device enrols itself during Setup Assistant through Automated Device Enrollment. It arrives supervised, with your apps and settings, and staff don't need IT to configure it by hand.
The portal also holds app and book licences bought in volume, Managed Apple Accounts for staff, and a record of which devices the organisation owns. On iOS, iPadOS and macOS 26 or later, devices set up this way can move from one management service to another without being erased.
Use cases
For a custom MDM: the server token exchange, device assignment sync and the enrolment profiles that decide which setup screens appear.
Device lists and assignments pulled through the Apple School Manager and Apple Business APIs into your asset register, ERP or helpdesk, so records match reality.
New orders assigned to the right MDM server by store, school or department automatically, instead of clicking through serial numbers.
Apps and Books licences assigned to devices without anyone signing in with a personal Apple Account, and reclaimed when a device is retired.
Planned migrations between management services, without erasing devices on OS 26 or later, including new app licence tokens for the new service.
Checklists for procurement, reseller linking, Wi-Fi at first boot and hand-over to staff, so every site sets devices up the same way.
Staff switch on a new device, join Wi-Fi and it configures itself, which matters when devices go to many branches or schools.
An erased device that is assigned in the portal enrols again at setup, so a reset does not free it from your organisation.
Apps bought in volume can be reassigned when staff leave or devices are replaced.
The portal shows which devices your organisation owns and which service manages each one, useful for audits and asset records.
Plain-English glossary
Platforms
iPhone and iPad devices and Mac computers owned by your organisation.
Organisation-owned or shared iPhone and iPad devices enrolled in MDM through Apple Business or Apple School Manager, supervised for Single App Mode and stricter restrictions.
Mac computers enrolled in MDM for configuration profiles, app and package installs, disk encryption settings and software update rules, set up at first power-on when the purchase is linked to Apple Business.
Solutions
Zero-touch, QR code, Knox Mobile Enrollment and Apple Automated Device Enrollment set-ups that take devices from the box to ready-to-use.
MDM for company iPhone, iPad and Mac devices: automatic enrolment, supervision, apps, OS updates and remote lock, as a custom build or an integration.
Kiosk mode for iPad with Single App Mode, Autonomous Single App Mode or Guided Access, plus the kiosk app and console, for check-in, ordering and forms.
One console for company Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows devices: enrolment, apps, access and offboarding, on platform APIs or your existing UEM.
Services
Software shaped around how your business runs, from approvals and inventory to billing and reports, replacing spreadsheets and disconnected tools.
Secure, documented REST and GraphQL APIs, plus integrations that connect your apps to payment, logistics, GST, messaging and business systems.
Native iPhone and iPad apps in Swift and SwiftUI, built to Apple's review guidelines and privacy rules and tested on the devices your customers use.
Work
Illustrative projects that show how we plan and build products that use Apple Business (formerly Apple Business Manager). They are samples, not client work.
Device management & kiosk solutions
An illustrative console for school tablets: iPad devices through Apple School Manager and MDM, Android™ tablets through Android Enterprise, with class-based rules teachers can follow.
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FAQ
On 14 April 2026 Apple replaced Apple Business Manager, Apple Business Essentials and Apple Business Connect with a single service called Apple Business. Device assignment, Automated Device Enrollment, Apps and Books and Managed Apple Accounts continue there, and external MDM services can still be connected. Guides and job descriptions still use the old name, so expect to see both for a while.
Your organisation's legal name, website, country and a verification contact such as a director. Apple then asks you to verify the organisation with two of the methods it lists, such as a business ID like a D-U-N-S Number, a DNS record on your domain, or official documents like a business licence. You have 60 days to complete verification, or the account is deleted. The first administrator needs a work email address not already used as an Apple Account. We can help prepare this, but the account should belong to your organisation, not to us.
Only if the reseller or carrier takes part in the programme and links your purchases using your organisation number, so ask for this when ordering. Devices bought elsewhere can still be added with Apple Configurator: they are erased in the process and have a 30-day provisional period in which they can be released from management.
No. Schools and colleges use Apple School Manager, which adds class rosters, student accounts and features for teachers and students. Businesses use Apple Business. Both assign devices to an MDM through Automated Device Enrollment, and our integrations work with either, so a group that runs both schools and offices can use one approach.
For simple needs it can, because it now includes built-in device management. Organisations with kiosks, strict compliance rules, mixed Android™ and Apple fleets or integrations with their own systems usually connect an external MDM or a custom product, and Apple Business then handles purchase records and device assignment.
Next step
Share how you buy devices and which MDM you use, and we will map the setup from purchase order to first switch-on.
