Apple @ Work: Managed Apple IDs continue to improve with iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that fully integrates 5 different applications on a single Apple-only platform, allowing Businesses to easily and automatically deploy, manage & protect all their Apple devices. Over 38,000 organizations leverage Mosyle solutions to automate the deployment,  management, and security of millions of Apple devices daily. Request a FREE account today and discover how you can put your Apple fleet on auto-pilot at a price point that is hard to believe.

When Managed Apple IDs were first released, I was highly critical of them. They were hard to create. They were hard to manage. To be frank, they were almost pointless as well. It’s a good thing Apple didn’t listen to me, though. Over the year, Apple has continued to add features to the Managed Apple ID ecosystem to make them easier to manage, but also more important.

About Apple @ Work: Bradley Chambers managed an enterprise IT network from 2009 to 2021. Through his experience deploying and managing firewalls, switches, a mobile device management system, enterprise grade Wi-Fi, 100s of Macs, and 100s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple IT managers deploy Apple devices, build networks to support them, train users, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for IT departments.

What is the purpose of Managed Apple IDs?

The reason for a Managed Apple ID is a lot like the reason to have a regular iCloud account. Apple devices are designed to work best when attached to Apple ID, whether a work account or a personal one. For a host of reasons, it’s not advisable to use your personal iCloud account on a work device, so what are you left with options wise? Well, that’s where Managed Apple IDs come in.

On the flip side, if you’re using your personal device to access work data, a Managed Apple ID is especially critical. Managed Apple IDs can be used alongside a personal iCloud account on employee-owned devices when organizations leverage User Enrollment in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS to ensure company data and personal data don’t get mixed up.

Overall, a Managed Apple ID allows employees to access apps and devices and keep them synced across devices without needing to use any personal information. This means that employees can easily use company iPhones, iPads, and Macs without every entering in their personal Apple IDs.

Over the years, Apple has made it even easier for companies to create and manage Managed Apple IDs. What started as a manual process with CSV files can now be done using federated authentication with Google Workspace or Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). Organizations are likely using one of those two services (if not both), so it takes the headache out of creating them.

What’s new with Managed Apple IDs in iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma?

This fall with the release of iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, Managed Apple IDs are getting a nice upgrade. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, Apple has continued to seek continous improvement. One of the new features coming to Managed Apple IDs are iCloud Keychain with Passkey syncing. I truly believe this is a major milestone for Passkey adoption as every device that supports Face ID and Touch ID now can use passwordless login out of the box for free. Managed Apple IDs are also getting support for Wallet for Managed Apple IDs. This will be important for work credit cards, employee badges, etc.

Continutity for Managed Apple ID is also going to bring some major usability enhancements to work devices.

Continuity for Managed Apple IDs will bring:

• Auto Unlock
• iPhone Cellular Calls
• Apple Pay
• Continuity Camera
• AirDrop
• Handoff
• Universal Control
• AirPlay to Mac
• Sidecar
• Continuity Markup
• Instant Hotspot
• Text Message Forwarding
• Continuity Sketch
• Universal Clipboard
• Handoff
• Sidecar
• Instant Hotspot

While many of these features are quite common for regular Apple users, for folks using Managed Apple IDs, they’ve been left out of the fun. Some of the features listed here are daily uses for me, so it’s great to see them coming to folks using Managed Apple IDs across their devices.

Wrap-up

There are some other enhancements coming to Managed Apple IDs this fall that I’ll cover in future articles. The thing that finally clicked for me is that Managed Apple IDs aren’t meant to be a replacement for other services. It’s meant to be a way for employees to keep their personal data:

1. Off work devices
2. Separate from work data on personal devices

As employees use more Apple devices in the workplace, a Managed Apple ID keeps the work data secure while allowing employees to use some of the best multi-device features that Apple has built into macOS, iOS, and iPadOS.

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that fully integrates 5 different applications on a single Apple-only platform, allowing Businesses to easily and automatically deploy, manage & protect all their Apple devices. Over 38,000 organizations leverage Mosyle solutions to automate the deployment,  management, and security of millions of Apple devices daily. Request a FREE account today and discover how you can put your Apple fleet on auto-pilot at a price point that is hard to believe.