Apple will discontinue its Fleetsmith Mobile Device Management (MDM) service in October and wants customers to find other MDM providers. Credit: Apple Apple will discontinue the Fleetsmith Mobile Device Management (MDM) service in October and is warning businesses using the service to find another MDM provider. Apple and Fleetsmith, a short history Apple acquired Fleetsmith in June 2020. At the time, it was understood the company wanted to improve what it offered to small business users. “The weakest spot for Apple in business has always been for the small businesses who just want to get started,” Jamf CEO Dean Hager told me soon after Apple Business Essentials was revealed. When I spoke with Fleetsmith co-founder Zack Blum in 2018, he said: “Apple’s biggest accomplishment and contribution to enterprise technology has been bringing mobile to the enterprise. Apple has raised the bar in delivering well-designed product experiences, as well as hardware and OS security.” Replacing Fleetsmith Many small and mid-sized business (SMB) users might be served by Apple Business Essentials, which leverages some of the technologies Apple took from Fleetsmith. However, for more complex deployments, there’s a rich industry of sophisticated MDM systems. Thankfully, following more than a decade of steady growth in Apple deployments in the enterprise, Fleetsmith customers seeking an alternative MDM vendor are increasingly spoiled for choice. Founded in 2002 and used at SAP, IBM and perhaps even at Apple, Jamf was early to identify the emerging Apple in business opportunity and remains the clear market leader with a range of services, including powerful Zero Trust solutions. But Jamf isn’t the only game in town. Reflecting Apple’s growth in the sector, the stable of Apple-focused MDM providers is expanding quite rapidly. That’s great, as many businesses have quite unique needs, so the plethora of choices means even the most unique business has an opportunity to identify a vendor suitable for the business they run. Companies including Jumpcloud, Addigy, Hexnode, Kandji, Citrix, MobileIron and many others are all competing with Jamf to support the enterprise. What is driving Apple in the enterprise? This growing network of players has emerged in response to the consumerization of IT, which continues to transform business technology. A new 451 Research study I’ve seen claims that about 25% of SMBs plan to invest in their digital transformation strategy moving forward, following substantial hardware investments across the last two years. MDM is a critical element to any such strategy. Of course, when it comes to the proliferation of Apple kit in enterprise IT, you can justifiably argue this first began to accelerate following introduction of the iPhone in 2007, which soon spawned the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend. As the Apple smartphone became more widely used in the enterprise, iPad and Mac deployment soon followed. This desire for a consumer-simple experience in enterprise IT has also nurtured the emergence of employee-choice schemes, as discussed here, here, and here. One recent survey (commissioned by Jamf) claimed Apple users had a better experience with their chosen platform, reporting improvements in productivity (87%), self-sufficiency (87%), and creativity (86%). Ways of seeing The way business leaders see Apple kit has changed dramatically in the last decade or so. The days when tech leaders could mock the company’s offerings really came to an end when Microsoft’s then-CEO, Steve Ballmer faced a room full of Mac-using journalists at a press event. Today, while business leaders continue to see Apple hardware as a more expensive initial investment, it has become crystal clear that the cost of ownership over the usable lifecycle more than makes up for that. In other words, this side of the market has grown and will continue to grow, and with almost every Fortune 500 firm now supporting Apple devices, it’s unlikely to decline any time soon. Farewell Fleetsmith, hello new world of enterprise IT Apple knows this, of course, and while the shuttering of Fleetsmith suggests the company will continue to nurture the third-party MDM services market, it still means existing Fleetsmith customers must now prioritize finding an alternative MDM provider. As explained in this Apple tech support note, Fleetsmith will cease on Oct. 21, after which devices will no longer receive configuration profiles. The service no longer accepts new customers. Please follow me on Twitter, or join me in the AppleHolic’s bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Mosyle and Fleet bring new device management options to Apple enterprise Apple's growing enterprise market share is generating tons of opportunity for the company's partners in the device management market. Their approaches reflect the diversity of use. By Jonny Evans May 01, 2024 4 mins Apple Mobile Device Management Mobile Security feature Apple is intensely focused on its global AI efforts When the ship that is Apple moves in any direction, you can always count on careless whispers to expose the destination. From research labs to sophisticated AI models and Apple Silicon for server farms, here's what we've learned in just one By Jonny Evans Apr 30, 2024 6 mins Apple Artificial Intelligence Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe