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Earlier this Spring, Apple unveiled Apple Business, combining Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect (including Apple Maps Connect) into a single platform. While the free device management was the key aspect of the announcement, the integration of Apple Business Connect into an IT-managed portal solved a problem that I am not sure people were aware of.
About Apple @ Work: Bradley Chambers has been an Apple IT admin since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing firewalls, switches, a mobile device management system, enterprise-grade Wi-Fi, 1000s of Macs, and 1000s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple IT managers deploy Apple devices, build networks to support them, train users, share stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for IT departments.
The Apple Maps Connect era
Retail and marketing folks likely remember the early days of Apple Maps Connect. Before it was rebranded to Apple Business Connect, claiming a business location on Apple Maps was a pretty clunky process. In most businesses, a marketing manager would simply log into the portal using their personal Apple Account (then known as an Apple ID)
Because these profiles were tied to personal accounts, the business did not actually own the keys to its own digital storefront in Apple Maps. I experienced this firsthand. Long after I had moved on to other jobs, I still had full administrative access to update operating hours, upload photos, and alter location data for several previous locations. The IT teams at those organizations had absolutely no idea who controlled their Apple Maps presence. Because they weren’t retail, likely no one ever needed to change anything.
Bringing the digital storefront into IT
By pulling in Apple Business Connect into the core Apple Business platform, Apple has solved the problem. Location data, place cards, organization details, and brand management are now treated with the exact same level of scrutiny as deploying a fleet of Macs.
The secret weapon here is the Managed Apple Account ecosystem. Apple Business allows companies to automate the creation of Managed Apple Accounts by integrating directly with identity providers like Google Workspace.
Instead of hoping your employee uses a shared Apple account, IT administrators can now assign specific roles and permissions to an employee using their official corporate identity platform. When an employee leaves the company, IT simply revokes their Managed Apple Account. The business retains full control over the location data, ensuring that former employees cannot alter the company’s presence in Apple Maps.
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