Apple Devices Help Organizations Deliver On Employee Choice and IT Flexibility

Every organization is on a unique technology journey, each displaying varying levels of maturity across the IT ecosystem. From a device perspective, full maturity means that users have the best tool for the job they’re doing. Increasingly, maturity also includes employee choice. Organizations are moving away from single-platform approaches in favor of diverse, tailored environments that include Apple device solutions.

Employee expectations are influencing device strategies as younger users look for choice and well-managed endpoints that improve their productivity. By contrast, consider an employee who’s worked exclusively on Mac devices for the past decade and then joins a company that allows only Windows. That worker’s productivity will lag for however long it takes them to get up to speed on an unfamiliar OS — rather than starting immediately on a familiar macOS platform.

Integrating Apple devices strategically starts with understanding where an organization is on their adoption journey.

Early-stage Apple organizations have typically adopted a single product line, such as Mac laptops or iPhone devices. They may be unaware of other Apple products and services that complement their existing devices, support business requirements or improve user experience. If organizations are stuck in a single-platform mindset, they may not realize the advantages of diversifying their IT estate or that specific tools and services can make it easy to do so.

Organizations further along in maturity typically use Apple management tools or include Mac management in their engineering workflow. However, they may not have implemented automated device enrollment in single sign-on and other solutions. They’re manually unboxing and configuring, which takes time and can pose security concerns if IT staffers aren’t familiar with Apple’s recommended settings.

The most mature Apple shops have designated experts for Mac, iPhone and iPad, with disparate management systems and distinct back-end engineering for each. They tend to have a broader user experience model, with Mac intentionally offered as a computing choice to enhance talent attraction and retention. Apple deployments are based on user personas, ensuring that employees have the best tools for the job.

In addition to changing worker expectations, memory chip shortages and increases in device costs have made diversification more attractive. Organizations are wary of locking themselves into a single platform, and making room for Apple devices hedges against these risks. Apple’s reputation for cybersecurity is a key differentiator. The underlying security architecture is built into macOS, iOS and iPadOS, and Apple now allows critical security updates to be implemented promptly through a device management system outside of routine OS updates.

While higher perceived cost may have dissuaded organizations from adopting Apple in the past, Apple devices’ long life and lower support needs reduce the total cost of ownership over time — all while increasing employee productivity. The result is a compelling value proposition that make Apple devices a great choice for virtually any role in any organization. Diversification also allows licensing flexibility, giving organizations the option to adjust their strategy as needs change.

When organizations decide to expand their Apple ecosystem, the conversation quickly turns to considerations such as security and application deployment. That’s where expert partners can help. CDW’s health check ensures that Apple devices (new and existing) are properly configured. Employees often overlook key security settings — for instance, they allow too many administrative rights or fail to establish full disk encryption. The health check remediates as needed and recommends best practices.

CDW’s assessments map user personas, identify application issues and determine the best strategy for Apple integration by leveraging Digital Employee Experience solutions. Sometimes, that means re-engineering; in other cases, it’s better to leave applications as they are. CDW also offers complimentary enrollment in Apple Business or Apple School Manager — the foundation for automated, zero-touch deployment — which is often easier than customers navigating enrollment on their own.

Organizations that are well-versed in the Apple ecosystem can benefit from CDW’s professional services. These range from configuring devices to align with specific security benchmarks to implementing mobile device management platforms like Microsoft Intune, Omnissa Workspace ONE, Jamf Pro, and Iru across Apple macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS and visionOS. CDW also offers Apple IT training services with courses including Apple Device Deployment and Management, iOS Support Essentials, Mac Integration Basics and more.

Bringing Apple devices into an existing IT environment is straightforward, and CDW helps ensure a smooth, efficient transition.