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Apple’s App Store offers great benefits to IT teams. First and foremost, it provides a centralized place where a user can find the many apps available for his Apple device, making it easy for IT teams to find and deploy the apps they need.
The App Store makes it easier for IT teams to distribute apps to specific users, especially when IT teams leverage the powerful combination of Apple’s unique mobile device management (MDM) solution and the App Store’s volume purchasing program. also helps.
However, the App Store (especially on the Mac) does not solve all the application and patch management needs of companies with Apple devices.
From the lack of availability of critical applications such as Google Chrome and Zoom in the Mac App Store, to distributing custom applications and other installers, IT teams need a unified approach to detailed and effective management of updates. You want a deterministic, automated application. A solution to manage apps for all his Mac, iPhone, iPad devices and Apple TV used at work.
Let’s start with why
The lack of a unified, definitive and automated solution for managing apps on all Apple devices used in the workplace is causing problems for businesses of various natures, from productivity to security.
1. Onboarding issues
Rather than trying to explain this, consider two scenarios and choose the one you think is best.
In Scenario 1, it is the hire date of the new employee. The energy and excitement levels are always high and employees can’t wait to jump into their new roles. The new employee received a brand new M2 MacBook Air, and the expectations are only rising because working with the new M2 MacBook Air is arguably more exciting than working with his PC.
Your Mac is now powered on and ready to use after a few configuration steps. However, the magic and hype ends there. The employee has only a few minutes in his new role because he doesn’t know what apps he needs to install and he already has his first call with IT.
After some time, the IT team sends a list of common apps that employees should download. But when the employee tries to install the app, he discovers that it requires an Apple ID. The employee doesn’t know which Apple ID to use, so she decides to try her personal Apple ID. Surprisingly, some apps on the general list provided by the IT department do not exist in the Mac App Store. But how? In another call to the IT department, I learned that the employee had to download some apps directly from the provider’s website. Excitement begins to fade and signs of frustration begin to appear. Employees have never heard of some apps, so how should they know the right websites to visit? What if you download the app? Even more frustrating. Those days are nearly over, but the quest to get your Mac up and running isn’t over yet.
In Scenario 2, everything is the same until the employee boots the new M2 MacBook Air for the first time. It saves configuration time and displays a sleek pop-up when the home screen opens, letting employees know all the apps they need are installed and ready to use. No extra steps or his Apple ID required. In minutes, your new employee is ready to go. Wow! The employee is also informed that a curated list of approved but optional apps are available to him on his Mac. The app is ready to install everything you need by just clicking the install button. Less than 20 minutes after he started his new job, the new employee is already working.
You think Scenario 2 is better, right?
2. Compliance issues
Businesses typically process important information and actions for their customers. These customers trust that all recommended procedures are in place to protect their information and access. Undermining this implied agreement without having proper processes in place not only undermines customer trust, but also exposes the company to significant liability in the event of a breach.
Therefore, it is imperative that companies comply with privacy and security laws (such as FERPA and HIPPA), the latest certifications (such as SOC and ISO), and best practices. In any case, you should always have tight control over the applications you use to process customer data and how you keep everything patched.
But if employees are responsible for installing and updating all (and any) applications at any time, how can a company guarantee this? This becomes a literally impossible task.
3. Security issues
A strategy that relies on employees managing their own apps on the Apple devices they use for work creates significant security exposure.
First, employees must be given device administrator privileges to install the app. This means you have full control over your device. So when employees don’t follow security best practices and open phishing emails or click on erroneous website links, they’re in serious trouble (e.g. letting employees use their devices as administrators). If you want to know more about the risks, check out this blog post.)
Unfortunately, security vulnerabilities in applications are very common and (though not as rare as we would like) vulnerabilities are so severe that applications need to be updated and patched immediately. there is. But if the application was manually installed by every employee, the company wouldn’t know which devices needed to be patched or what access rights were needed to expedite patching, and all I can’t guarantee that my company’s devices will be patched. It has serious consequences for your company’s security.
Fortunately, with a unified, decisive and automated strategy for managing and patching apps on all Apple devices used in the workplace, companies can operate more efficiently and adhere to the highest security compliance standards. You can comply and operate your business in a safer way.
So how do you build the right strategy for managing apps on all your Apple devices at work?
A complete application and patch management strategy for Apple devices should cover all different scenarios for installing and patching apps and operating systems. This is a combination of Apple’s Volume Purchasing Program, self-service, temporary apps, a custom app catalog, automated privacy permissions, and tools that fully support PKGs with pre- and post-scripting. We can. Yes, it’s a lot to ponder. That’s why you need a reliable vendor who can manage all aspects. Let’s break it down a bit.
1. Volume Purchase Program
The Apple Volume Purchase Program (VPP) is a service offered by Apple that allows businesses and educational institutions to purchase apps and books in volume and distribute them to their employees and students. VPP allows organizations to buy apps and books in bulk and distribute them to employees and students. Employees and students can download and install the app on their devices.
These apps can be distributed to employees through Apple’s own mobile device management (MDM) solution for zero-touch installation.
2. Self-service portal
A self-service portal is a tool enabled by a quality Apple-specific mobile device management (MDM) system that allows employees to manage their own apps without asking IT to install them. Your IT department loads the apps of your choice into the self-service portal, where users can install each app as needed. Self-service is very helpful when using pre-selected apps that employees typically don’t need to use.
3. Project-specific/temporary apps.
Temporary or project-specific apps are another tool available in highly sophisticated Apple-specific MDM systems intended to allow the temporary installation of apps for specific projects or for limited periods of time. These apps are typically not part of the standard set of deployed apps and are added as needed to support the specific needs of the project. Often these apps can be very expensive, so companies may only keep a limited number of licenses and distribute (and acquire) them as needed.
4. Automatic app catalog for apps not in the App Store
Some popular Mac apps cannot be installed from the Mac App Store. This list includes Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Dropbox, Google Chrome, Google Drive, most antivirus solutions, and more.
So, to install and update these apps, either ask each employee to update the apps, or have your IT personnel download them manually, host an installation script that is applied by your MDM solution, and download the code. must be converted. Release the app. Both options are far from efficient, automated, or secure.
Luckily, leading Apple-specific solutions automate the whole process by providing out-of-the-box solutions for all the apps you need that aren’t available on the App Store. This fully automates the app installation and patching process. Some providers offer much more efficient workflows than the apps currently available on the App Store.
Some of these solutions automate the process of granting necessary permissions to each app, such as allowing Zoom to access your camera and microphone, so your employees don’t have to do anything.
Unfortunately, reaching the ideal application management and patching strategy can be very difficult, even if you try the DIY route or combine several different solutions.
What if they were all part of their own Apple platform?
A software provider focused on solutions for managing and protecting Apple devices used in the workplace, leverages Apple’s deep knowledge of operating systems and subject matter to help IT and security teams deploy applications on Apple devices. Integrate all the features and solutions you need to manage and patch Use it at work – all in one solution.
This approach is known as the Apple Integrated Platform.
A leader in modern Apple endpoint solutions, Mosyle is the industry reference for Apple’s unified platform approach through a product called Mosyle Fuse.
Mosyle Fuse provides complete and automated Apple device management, Mac-specific next-generation antivirus, Mac-specific hardening and compliance, Mac-specific permission management, Mac identity management, and Apple-specific application and patch management with a complete library. integrate. Automated apps and encrypted online privacy and security solutions not available on the App Store.
By consolidating all these solutions into one platform, Mosyle not only makes it easier for IT and security professionals to manage and protect the Apple devices they use in the workplace. Mosyle Fuse also reaches the next level of efficiency and integration unattainable with stand-alone solutions.
Finally, the cost advantages of Apple’s integrated platforms such as Mosyle Fuse also play a role. Considering the average cost of individual solutions that are part of the Mac’s IT software stack, it is estimated that adopting an Apple integrated platform such as Mosyle Fuse can result in savings of over 70%. Even with a small fleet. It is a reasonable amount.
So if your employees at work use Macs, try an integrated Apple solution like Mosyle Fuse. These solutions offer great benefits for you and your company.
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