Apple Business launched on 14 April with built-in device management at no cost. For organisations already running Jamf, Addigy or another DMS (Device Management System), the question is immediate: can we drop it? Here’s an honest breakdown of what Apple’s native management can and can’t do – and how to work out what’s right for your team.
Apple Business is the most significant change to how Apple supports businesses in years. It replaces Apple Business Manager, Apple Business Essentials, and Apple Business Connect with a single unified platform, and for the first time, it includes built-in mobile device management at no monthly cost.
For smaller teams without dedicated IT, that’s genuinely transformative. But for businesses already running a third-party MDM like Jamf or Addigy, the picture is more nuanced than “free beats paid.”
We manage Apple fleets for organisations ranging from 20 to 150+ devices. The question we’ve had most since the announcement is a simple one: do we still need what we’ve got? The honest answer is that it depends entirely on what you’re actually doing with your DMS today.
What Apple Business’s built-in DMS actually covers
Credit where it’s due – Apple has shipped a solid foundation. The built-in management covers the essentials that every Apple fleet needs:
- Blueprints let you preconfigure device settings and app bundles, so a new MacBook or iPhone arrives ready to work straight out of the box. Combined with zero-touch deployment, onboarding becomes genuinely plug-and-play.
- Managed Apple Accounts creates a cryptographic separation between personal and work data – your team can use one device for both without the two worlds bleeding into each other.
- Identity provider integration with Google Workspace and Microsoft Entra ID means you can automate account provisioning rather than setting up each user by hand.
- App deployment through the App Store lets you push approved apps to devices without users having to find and install them individually.
- Admin API access opens the door for larger deployments to manage devices, users and audit data programmatically.
For a team of 15 running MacBooks and iPhones, with no compliance obligations and no custom apps, this could genuinely be all you need. Apple has removed the cost barrier to basic device management, and that matters.
Where the built-in DMS falls short
Here’s where it gets real. Apple’s free DMS (aka MDM) covers the foundations, but it leaves out the capabilities that most organisations with 50 or more devices rely on every day. These aren’t edge cases – they’re the difference between “we manage our devices” and “our devices are properly managed.”
App configuration
Apple Business can push apps to devices, but it can’t configure them once they’re there. With a third-party DMS, you can pre-set login credentials, server URLs and feature flags inside an app before the user ever opens it. With Apple Business, every app has to be configured manually after installation. At 20 devices, that’s a minor inconvenience. At 100, it’s a significant chunk of someone’s week every time you roll out a new tool.
Email and calendar deployment
Despite offering its own email service, Apple Business can’t push Exchange, Gmail or IMAP configurations to devices. If your organisation runs Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, which, statistically, you almost certainly do, email accounts still need to be set up on each device by hand, unless you have a third-party DMS pushing those configurations automatically.
Security restrictions
Apple’s DMS protocol supports well over 100 restriction payloads: disabling cameras, blocking the App Store, preventing screen recording, forcing encrypted backups and dozens more. Apple Business only exposes a subset of these through its interface. If the restriction you need isn’t in their UI, you can’t apply it. For organisations handling sensitive client work, creative agencies, law firms, consultancies – this is a meaningful gap.
OS update management
Apple Business supports automatic macOS updates but offers limited control over iOS and iPadOS update timing. There’s no ability to defer updates for testing, no staged rollouts, and no way to hold back a problematic update across your fleet. Third-party DMS’s let you test on a pilot group first – which is how you avoid 80 people unable to work on a Monday morning because an update broke a business-critical app.
Compliance and reporting
If your organisation is working towards Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001, or SOC 2, Apple Business doesn’t generate the audit-ready reports your assessor will need. Basic audit data is available through the API, but there are no compliance posture dashboards, no automated evidence collection, and no CIS benchmark enforcement.
Kiosk and shared device mode
If you deploy iPads in reception areas, meeting rooms or client-facing environments, Apple Business doesn’t support locking them to a single app or a curated set of apps. Third-party DMSs do.
For a full breakdown of what this looks like in practice, see how Jamf compares against Apple Business DMS and Addigy.
Who Apple’s native management is actually right for
Apple Business’s built-in DMS is a genuine step forward for a specific type of organisation:
- Fewer than 30 – 40 Apple devices
- No dedicated IT team or managed service provider
- No compliance requirements (Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001 and similar)
- No mixed device environment – no Android, no Windows alongside the Macs
- No need for granular security controls beyond basic passcode enforcement and remote wipe
If that describes your organisation, Apple Business may well be sufficient, and free makes it an easy decision.
The challenge is that many businesses think they fit this profile when they don’t. A creative agency with 60 Macs, iPads in meeting rooms, client NDAs requiring demonstrable security controls and a Microsoft 365 subscription will hit the limitations quickly.
Who should keep their third-party MDM
If any of the following apply, a third-party DMS remains the right choice:
- You have more than 50 devices. The manual overhead of app configuration, email setup and update management compounds quickly as your fleet grows.
- You handle sensitive client data. If clients expect you to demonstrate how their data is protected, you need the granular controls and compliance reporting that Apple’s native MDM doesn’t provide. Our Apple services team can map your current setup against what’s actually required.
- You run Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Without a third-party MDM, email and calendar configurations are a manual job on every device.
- You deploy iPads in shared environments. Kiosk mode and single-app mode are third-party MDM territory.
- You have compliance obligations. Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 require evidence that devices meet specific security baselines. Third-party MDMs generate that evidence systematically; Apple Business doesn’t.
- You want to avoid a migration later. Starting with Apple’s free option and outgrowing it means re-enrolling every device. Starting with the right tool from day one avoids that disruption entirely – something worth considering as part of a broader IT support review.
How Apple Business and a third-party DMS work together
This isn’t necessarily an either/or decision. Apple Business includes an “External Management” option that lets you connect a third-party MDM in place of the built-in management. In this setup, Apple Business handles the identity and procurement layer, Managed Apple Accounts, App Store licensing, and device ownership records, while your DMS handles the actual device management.
This is effectively how most organisations already work with Apple Business Manager, and the transition to Apple Business doesn’t change that relationship. If you’re currently running Jamf or Addigy through Apple Business Manager, your enrolment, app licences, and Managed Apple Accounts carry over automatically. The MDM workflow stays the same.
The right question to ask
“Free” isn’t the same as “sufficient.” For organisations with 50 or more devices, compliance requirements, sensitive client data or anything beyond a straightforward Apple-only environment, the capabilities that third-party DMSs provide aren’t optional extras.
The question worth asking isn’t “can we save money by dropping our DMS?” It’s “Does our current setup actually match our risk profile and what our clients expect?” If it does, Apple Business is a welcome simplification. If it doesn’t, now is a good time to make sure it does – before the next security audit or client due diligence questionnaire arrives.
Not sure where you sit? We’ll review your current device management setup, map it against your actual requirements, and give you a straight answer – even if that answer is that Apple’s free option covers everything you need.
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FAQs
Is Apple Business MDM free for all businesses?
Yes. Apple Business’s built-in device management is included at no additional cost for any organisation using the platform. There are no per-device fees. However, the free tier covers only a subset of the capabilities available in third-party MDM solutions, so whether it’s sufficient depends on your fleet size, compliance requirements, and how your team works day to day.
Can I use Jamf or Addigy with the new Apple Business platform?
Yes. Apple Business supports an External Management option that allows you to connect a third-party MDM in place of the built-in management. If you were already running Jamf or Addigy through Apple Business Manager, your existing enrolment, app licences, and Managed Apple Accounts carry over automatically. Nothing changes about your day-to-day MDM workflow.
Do I need an MDM if I'm working towards Cyber Essentials?
Almost certainly yes. Cyber Essentials requires evidence that your devices meet defined security baselines – patch levels, software controls, and access restrictions. Apple Business’s native management doesn’t generate the compliance reporting or policy enforcement needed to satisfy those requirements. A third-party MDM provides the documented evidence your assessor will ask for.
