Why should every small business use Apple devices?

After a lot of planning, pitching, long nights, working weekends, and all the work it takes to get a business idea off the ground, you’ve finally gotten to the point where you’re now thinking more about hiring new employees, growth opportunities, and expansion strategies, rather than surviving month after month.

Congratulations! You have already accomplished far more than the vast majority of people trying to start a new business. Now the question is: what is the next step?

The growth and expansion of a small business can bring a whole host of new challenges. But there’s one challenge that’s normally overlooked, and when you notice it, it’s already too complex and expensive to solve: IT, as in the devices you select as standard for your business.

If you can, choose a platform. And make sure it’s Apple.

Macs and PCs are not the same, and iPhones and Androids are also wildly different devices, especially in a work environment. From deployment and management, to installing apps and securing work devices, features and functions can vary wildly from platform to platform. This means that choosing a single platform will allow for great automation, cost savings, better productivity and simplicity in the short term and even more as you grow.

Apple allows you to offer all kinds of devices for your employees and for your general business needs (Mac, iPhone, iPad and even AppleTVs for conference rooms) and ensure that they will all work perfectly together , while any other option would bring some level of friction.

Since Windows Phones are no longer a thing, going PC for laptops will force you to choose another vendor for your phones. Similarly, since there are no Android computers, choosing Android for phones would force you to choose another computer vendor.

Plus, chances are most of your employees already have an iPhone in their pocket and a MacBook in their backpack! This means that most of your employees are already familiar with Apple devices and no additional training will ever be required.

When it comes to usability (which translates directly to productivity), Apple devices and operating systems are the undisputed leaders due to their cleanliness and readability.

Finally, in terms of security and privacy, Apple devices have historically offered far more protection to businesses and end users than any vendor.

The best decision you can make for the future of your IT department is to focus on Apple devices. You will get the best in each category of devices and your computing needs will be much simpler and cheaper.

Now what?

So, let’s say you made the smart decision and decided to go with Apple. You’ve purchased a fleet of fresh-out-of-the-box iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks and you’re ready to start distributing them to your employees. It’s all done, right? Well, let’s step back for a second and go over some of the challenges faced when using devices for your small business.

Deployment: Without the proper tools, you’ll have to set up each device manually, create a unique Apple ID for each device, then go to the App Store and download all the apps each device needs. You’ll want to know which employee or team needs which apps and make sure the right device is getting the right apps. However, many of the most popular apps for business aren’t available on the Mac App Store, which will add even more complexity. Once the devices are configured, you will need to distribute them to the right employees and know who has which device. This will probably involve creating a massive spreadsheet of all your employees, the teams/departments they are in, and painstakingly finding and writing down the serial number of each device.

Ongoing management: Now that you’ve finally got your Apple devices up and running and in the hands of your employees, you need to manage the day-to-day use of these devices. Since each device has its own Apple ID and access to the App Store, your employees will have to respect the honor system when it comes to downloading apps that might distract them from their work. If there’s a new productivity app you want the team to use, you’ll need to send out a memo and hope that every employee knows exactly how to download and set up the new app. Don’t forget to ask your employees to update these apps and the device itself when new versions are available!

Security: As secure as Apple devices are by default, you can never be too careful when it comes to your business security. Without the proper security tools in place, there is always the possibility of your employees accidentally going to a malicious website or clicking on a phishing link in a spam email. Also, what if the device is lost or not returned by a frustrated former employee? Anyone who owns the device can gain or retain access to a lot of sensitive information about your business.

Now, at this point, you’re probably thinking, “what did I get myself into?” That’s a lot to follow! As powerful and secure as Apple devices can be, deploying and manually managing these devices in your business can be difficult, even on a small scale.

Fortunately, there is a simple solution.

What if all of these challenges could be handled by a single Apple platform?

Fortunately, companies that use Apple devices also have access to another great advantage that other platforms don’t offer: specialized software vendors that focus specifically on integrated solutions to manage and protect Apple devices used in the work.

These companies use their deep knowledge of Apple’s operating systems and specialization to integrate all the features and solutions needed to deploy, manage and protect Apple devices used at work – all in one solution.

This approach is known as Apple Unified Platform.

Mosyle, a leader in modern Apple terminal solutions, is the industry benchmark for the Apple Unified Platform approach through its product known as Mosyle Fuse.

Now let’s go back to the pain points we described earlier, this time with your business leveraging the power of a unified Apple platform.

Deployment: A great Apple Unified Platform will allow you and your business to take advantage of a zero-touch deployment workflow for all of your Apple devices. This will allow you to install and configure new devices without having to physically access them. Just ship a brand-new device still in its plastic-wrapped box to a new employee, and all they need to do is open the box, turn the device on, and connect it to the Internet.

Once the device is connected, everything else happens automatically, without any action from you or the employee. The device is ready to go in minutes, all of their business apps are installed, security configurations are applied, and even nice little touches like a welcome wallpaper are applied.

To facilitate automation, the best Apple Unified Platform solutions go above and beyond, offering beautiful and elegant tools that provide essential information and guide the employee through configuration. These solutions let them know what tasks are running, what apps are installed, and how long it will take for all functions to complete. It’s a compelling WOW factor for any first day on the job!

Current management : Once deployed, a unified Apple platform will allow you to remotely make changes to your devices on the fly. Adding or removing apps, implementing new restrictions, and reassigning devices to new employees can be done quickly and easily. You can even automate app and OS updates, so your devices are never at risk. If your employee needs a helping hand with their device, the platform can send direct commands at the touch of a button. It’s literally an autopilot for your work devices.

Security: Finally, an Apple Unified Platform will also include robust security tools designed specifically for Apple devices, saving you the extra cost of using a third-party security suite and giving you much better protection than solutions. cross-platform. It includes automated hardening and compliance features that will allow you to create the security benchmarks you want all your devices to meet, based on the industry’s most popular security certifications. It also includes single sign-on, which allows your employees to use their already created work credentials (say Google Workspace) to sign in to their Apple devices. If a device is lost or stolen, you can remotely place the device in Lost Mode to track its location and, if necessary, remotely wipe the device to keep all sensitive data out of the reach of bad actors. Add to all this a host of automated monitoring and privacy features, and you have an impenetrable fleet of devices ready to go from day one.

Finally, the financial benefits of a unified Apple platform such as Mosyle Fuse are also considerable. Given the average cost of each individual solution that should be part of a small business’ IT software stack, it has been estimated that adopting a unified Apple platform such as Mosyle Fuse can generate savings of more than by 70%. Even for small fleets, this is a relevant amount.

So, if you already use Apple devices at work, you should try unified Apple solutions like Mosyle Fuse, as they can bring you and your business incredible benefits. If not, go to the nearest Apple Store and ask to speak to a member of the sales team. They can help you with all your Apple device needs and help you use Mosyle for your business. That’s right, you can even bundle your Apple devices with a leading Apple Unified Platform and buy both directly from Apple. It couldn’t be easier.

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