Setting up multiple smartphones and tablets takes a lot of time. The solution: Apple’s Device Enrollment Program, a tool that prepares mobile devices for use fully automatically.
More and more companies are going digital and working in the cloud. For IT support staff, however, such a switch poses a problem. Providing an entire organization with computers, smartphones and tablets is a big job, to say the least. But if it’s up to Apple, that doesn’t have to be the case. They devised the Device Enrollment Program (DEP), a tool that fully automates the installation and configuration of new devices. As a result, it can be performed by any employee.
DEP portal
That tool works like this: prior to installation, the IT department defines once how each device should be set up, what software is needed and how all accounts and security settings should be set up. The supplier automatically adds the serial numbers of the delivered devices to the customer’s DEP portal. DEP does the rest. As soon as a new device is turned on, the custom installation starts right after setting up the wifi.
Post-its and bills
“Apple’s DEP reduced our installation time per iPad from one hour to ten minutes,” says Jasper Peters, ICT coordinator, at a Retail Organization in the Netherlands. Earlier this year, that organization decided to change its methods. Done was to exchange information and transfers with post-its and bills.
Small manual
Also, the IT department of this Retail organization now works more efficiently than ever, thanks to DEP. “If you want to roll out 50 devices, it makes quite a difference whether you need an hour per device for installation or just 10 minutes,” Peters said. “In those 10 minutes now, we install the Wi-Fi network in advance and put a case on the device.”
Eventually, the IT department should have nothing to do with installations at all. “We want to start sending the end user the iPhones & iPads with a small manual attached. So that we have time left for strategic projects.”
Want to learn more about Apple DEP’s capabilities for your organization? CloudConnected supplies Apple’s entire product line and automatically adds devices to the DEP Portal. Have a Cloud Specialist get back to you. Click here to make a callback request.
