iPhone for business

Why businesses choose iPhone

iPhone appeals to businesses for reasons that go beyond the handset. Apple designs the hardware and software together, provides free software updates, and builds in security features such as Face ID and Touch ID, Find My for locating, locking or erasing a lost device, and encryption of data on the device.

For IT, the attraction is consistency. Every iPhone runs the same operating system, set-up works the same way for every member of staff, and Apple's management frameworks let you configure devices, deploy apps and enforce or defer software updates remotely. Apple also says those frameworks keep IT in control of company-owned devices while preserving privacy on employee-owned ones, which matters if you allow personal phones for work.

The trade-off is choice: iPhone comes from one manufacturer, so the range of prices and rugged options is narrower than on Android. Many businesses therefore use iPhone for office and management roles and rugged Android phones for frontline teams. Our guide to mobile phones for business covers the wider choice.

Apple Business Manager is now Apple Business

Apple has renamed Apple Business Manager as Apple Business. It brings together what used to be three separate services: Apple Business Manager, Apple Business Essentials and Apple Business Connect. For an iPhone fleet, the important capabilities are:

• Device assignment: iPhones bought for your organisation appear in Apple Business, where you assign each one to a device management service, manually or automatically
• Automated Device Enrolment: assigned iPhones enrol in your device management during set-up, so they arrive configured with apps and settings without IT touching them
• Managed Apple Accounts: accounts your organisation creates and controls for employees, separate from their personal Apple Accounts
• Apps and content: buy apps and books in volume and assign them to devices or users
• Activation Lock control: turn off Activation Lock on company devices, which helps when a phone comes back from a leaver
• Built-in device management: Apple Business now includes its own device management, with Blueprints for common set-ups, or you can link a third-party tool

Apple notes that feature and service availability varies by country and region, so check what applies to your organisation. Our page on Apple Business Manager goes into the set-up in more detail.

Buying iPhones that enrol automatically

When you buy iPhones from Apple, a reseller or another authorised supplier, they can enrol automatically, as long as the purchase is linked to your Apple Business account. The process works like this:

1. Your organisation signs up for Apple Business.
2. You link the supplier you buy from. Apple's guide says devices bought directly from Apple, a participating Apple Authorised Reseller or an authorised mobile network operator can then be deployed through Apple Business.
3. You add your device management service in Apple Business, or turn on the built-in device management.
4. New iPhones are assigned to that service, manually or automatically.
5. When a member of staff switches the iPhone on and connects, it enrols and installs your settings and apps.

iPhones you already own can be added manually with Apple Configurator. When you buy iPhones, tell us you use Apple Business and we can help check how the purchase can be linked to your account. Step-by-step help is on our zero-touch enrolment page.

Managing iPhones: which device management tool?

Every company iPhone should be managed. Apple Business includes built-in device management, which may be enough for a small team with simple needs. Larger or mixed fleets usually choose a dedicated tool that also manages Android phones, Windows laptops and Macs.

Forever Group can supply Sophos Mobile and IBM MaaS360, and Forever Group's main site covers Microsoft Intune. Our guide to mobile device management software compares the approaches. Whichever you choose, set policies for screen lock, software updates and which apps can reach company data before phones go out.

eSIM and two numbers on one iPhone

Current iPhones support eSIM, so a business line can be added without a physical SIM card. Networks deliver business eSIMs in slightly different ways. EE Business, for example, provides a QR code to scan for a new eSIM, and describes converting an existing SIM card to eSIM in the iPhone's settings on iOS 17.4 or later. When an iPhone has two lines, iOS lets the user give each line a name and choose which one to use for data, calls and messages.

Three Business describes eSIM Quick Transfer on iPhone, which moves a number to a new iPhone through the device settings.

Running two lines on one iPhone is a practical way to give staff a work number on their own phone, or a personal number on a company phone. Our guides to business eSIM and getting a business mobile number explain the options and the ownership questions that come with them.

When an iPhone comes back

Plan for leavers and replacements from the start. A company iPhone that is assigned in Apple Business and enrolled in device management can be wiped remotely, released from Activation Lock and reassigned to the next person, or prepared for resale or recycling. An iPhone set up on a personal Apple Account outside Apple Business is much harder to recover, because it can stay locked to that person.

Make the process part of your company mobile phone policy and your joiners and leavers checklist, alongside the advice in our company mobile phones guide.

How Forever Communications helps

We supply business airtime for iPhone fleets on EE Business and Three Business, and can also supply O2 Business and Vodafone Business. Keeping the iPhones separate from the airtime lets you buy them outright or through your usual procurement, which can save a lot of money, and refresh them when it suits you. We help you get the set-up right:

• Choose the right iPhones for each role, with storage and lifecycle in mind
• Link purchases to Apple Business so new iPhones can enrol automatically
• Help you choose device management, from Apple's built-in option to a cross-platform tool
• Plan eSIM and number moves, including keeping existing numbers when you switch network

Airtime pricing depends on the network, the number of lines and the term, so ask us for a quote. Contact us to talk it through.