After teasing a late spring launch for its new Business Manager platform for enterprise users, Apple announced the U.S. launch this week during a developer session at WWDC.
Apple Business Manager will then launch globally in 34 countries starting June 20, followed by an expansion to another 31 countries this summer alongside Apple School Manager. The Business Manager platform was previously in beta with a select group of partners since earlier this year.
Apple’s new Business Manager platform is essentially its enterprise version of Apple School Manager, giving companies a web-based portal for IT managers to deploy and manage Apple devices deployed in the workplace. According to Apple, the service offers streamlined device enrollment, the ability to purchase apps and books, and controls for assigning privileges and settings from one central location.
The 31 new countries Apple will launch the software in this summer include Bulgaria, Bahrain, Cyprus, Estonia, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Qatar, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru.
In addition, Apple noted that book support is coming to Canada and Germany where previously only apps were supported. Its Volume Purchase Credit feature is also coming to 10 new EU countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Apple has an updated support document on its website that offers instructions for businesses interested in upgrading to Apple Business Manager from its current device deployment programs including the Volume Purchase Program (VPP) and the Device Enrollment Program (DEP).
