Apple unveils Business Essentials for SMBs, with device management, iCloud storage, and more, starting at $2.99/month per user and launching in spring 2022
Apple is introducing a new business offering called Apple Business Essentials that combines device management … Source: Apple .
The product later reached all U.S. SMBs with planned Google Workspace integration in the broader Business Essentials launch, establishing it as a business workflow product rather than a storage add-on.
First-order effects
SMBs gain a single Apple subscription path for device management and iCloud storage, priced from $2.99 per user per month when the service launches.
Apple adds a recurring business offering that ties management and cloud storage to its device base.
Second-order effects
Google Workspace integration makes Business Essentials more relevant to SMBs already using Google’s productivity suite, reducing the need to treat Apple device administration as a separate workflow.
Apple’s business-services packaging puts greater emphasis on subscription attachment around managed devices, rather than selling storage as a standalone upgrade.
Third-order effects
If Apple continues consolidating business tools—as indicated by its planned free Apple Business platform—the company’s business stack may split between a broad access layer and paid management services.
The larger shift is toward device vendors using administration and cloud services to make their hardware ecosystems stickier for small organizations.
The trend: Apple is extending its consumer subscription-and-bundle playbook into SMB device administration and cloud services.
Device management, 24/7 Apple support, & iCloud storage all in flexible plans designed especially for small businesses. We're glad to play a part in helping small companies accelerate their growth! https://www.apple.com/...
@caro_milanesi
Carolina Milanesi on x
1/ Apple today announced Apple Business Essentials https://www.apple.com/..., a subscription-based service for device management setup & onboarding. It includes iCloud storage & optional 24/7 access to Apple Support for small businesses with up to 500 employees.
@asymco
Horace Dediu on x
@NamasteAO Small and medium are not enterprise.
@namasteao
Sunil Varia on x
@asymco I thought Microsoft was providing great dev-ops software for managing thousands of Windows machine. Apple was B2C. Jobs hated enterprise purchase. his words “in enterprise, people who are using computers are not buying. people who are buying are confused”
@caro_milanesi
Carolina Milanesi on x
2/ When the M1 was first rumored I said that Apple's big opportunity with the new line of Macs was going to be enterprise. Over the years we have seen Apple inching closer and closer to become a business provider first with partners and then directly.
@tim_cook
Tim Cook on x
Small businesses are an essential part of our economy, and we're glad to help them manage the life cycle of all their Apple devices in a safe and secure way with Apple Business Essentials. https://twitter.com/...
@asymco
Horace Dediu on x
@NamasteAO I would say he would have done it much sooner.
@caro_milanesi
Carolina Milanesi on x
4/ It's a much friendlier environment where IT is often run in a fashion closer to consumer than enterprise and where there is a higher chance to standardize the business on a platform/ecosystem.
@caro_milanesi
Carolina Milanesi on x
3/ Small business offers a great opportunity for Apple to get its feet wet with both MDM and support.
@greengart
Avi Greengart on x
.@apple combining some key tools/services. In this case, a bundle is not just a way of lowering costs, but exposing SMBs to possibilities they may not have considered before. https://twitter.com/...
@angellamuno
@angellamuno on x
Is Apple beginning to move on a disruptive trajectory? https://twitter.com/...
@benbajarin
Ben Bajarin on x
It should come as no surprise the M1 series of chips is creating even stronger demand for Macs in all sizes of business. Small businesses are particularly low-hanging fruit for Apple which makes this new service quite interesting. https://www.apple.com/...
@thisisnoahevans
Noah Evans on x
@StephenWarwick9 Good. Jamf is the most terrible software I have ever used in its class. Moving to Kandji for our Mac suite this month.
@asymco
Horace Dediu on x
@AngelLamuno It always has but now I think with the new Macs they are aiming at the heart of business computing.
@namasteao
Sunil Varia on x
@asymco This looks like Tim Cooks's Apple. Steve Jobs' Apple might not have done this.
@stephenwarwick9
Stephen Warwick on x
did Apple just Sherlock Jamf?
@anshublog
Anshu Sharma on x
The next $100B ARR business from Apple. It's a no-brainer for so many companies that spend 3x more on managing devices than on buying them. https://twitter.com/...
@asymco
Horace Dediu on x
Regarding Apple's release of a subscription service for small businesses today, the addressable market is 212 million world-wide with about 30 million in the US alone. Apple's attack from below is well underway.
@benedictevans
Benedict Evans on x
Interesting new Apple device management service for SMEs https://www.apple.com/...
@flargh
Peter Cohen on x
This solves a bunch of problems for small businesses that can't afford in-house IT, or who have farmed it out to consultants. Speaking of which, I'm very curious to gauge Apple Consultants Network reaction. https://www.apple.com/...
@wikiwalk
Victor on x
Overall this looks like a great offer. I remember sharing some thoughts and concerns when Apple acquired Fleetsmith. https://micromdm.io/... https://twitter.com/...
@glennf
Glenn Fleishman on x
This seems pretty smart based on the reader mail I get. I think it will fill a missing niche rather than drive existing consultants and firms out of business, because it's not IT support so much as “really good AppleCare.” https://twitter.com/...
@reneritchie
Rene Ritchie on x
Amping up the services integration: “Apple introduces Apple Business Essentials “The new service, available today in beta, brings device management, support, and storage into one complete subscription for small businesses” https://www.youtube.com/... https://www.apple.com/...