Enroll your organization in Apple Business Manager (ABM)

Apple’s Volume Purchase Program (VPP) and Device Enrollment Program (DEP) is now integrated with the Apple Business/School Manager services to meet the organization’s device deployment needs from a single web-based portal.

To avail the device deployment, apps, and book services for your devices, and create managed Apple IDs, enroll the organization in the Apple Business Manager (ABM). Check the ABM/ASM service availability in your country or region before registering for the ABM/ASM account.

Before You Start

The devices satisfying the following conditions can only be enrolled using Apple Device Enrollment program.

• Devices ordered from Apple or purchased from an authorized dealer after 1 March 2011 running iOS 7+, iPadOS 13.1+, OS X 10.9+, and tvOS 10.2+ can only be enrolled via the MDM solution.
• If the device was directly purchased from Apple, an enrolled and verified “Apple customer number” should be used for the purchase.
• For a device purchased directly from an authorized reseller or network provider, the device must be linked to the reseller’s “Reseller ID”. Your organization should also add the reseller ID to the list of approved suppliers.
• For DEP enrollment via Apple Configurator 2, any device running iOS 11+, iPadOS 13.1+, or tvOS 11+ can be enrolled in DEP irrespective of where and when it was purchased.

Requirements

Apple Business Manager account requires the following browser and details for its working. So, make sure that you have these details ready before enrolling the organization in ABM.

• Supported Browsers:

  To create an ABM account, use any of the following browsers.

  • Safari on iOS 12 or later, or iPadOS 13.1 or later
  • Safari 9 or later on Mac
  • Microsoft Edge on Windows
  • Google Chrome 35.0 or later
• Initial Account:

  The initial account or the administrator account belongs to the person setting up the account on behalf of the organization. This administrator should agree to the program and software license agreements of ABM. The initial account administrator can give four other managers with the ‘administrative privileges’ on the ABM account after successfully enrolling the organization.
  

  Note

  
  The work mail address of the administrator who is signing up for the ABM account should not be already associated nor should be later used for an iTunes or iCloud account and as an Apple ID for any other Apple service or website.
  

• Verification Contact:

  The verification contact should be the legal representative of the organization. ABM will contact this representative for formal verification of the initial account administrator and the organization’s details. This person should have the authority to sign the terms and agreement of ABM on behalf of the organization. For example, the verification contact can be the CIO and director of IT or procurement.
  

  Note

  
  The initial account user and the verification contact should not be the same person.
  

• Organization Details:

  The organizational details required for signing up for the ABM account include: D-U-N-S number of the organization, phone number, website URL, time zone and language, and Apple customer number or reseller ID with which the devices to be added to ABM is purchased.

D-U-N-S Number

It is a unique 9-digit number assigned to each organization registered under Duns and Bradstreet. Data Universal Numbering System (D-U-N-S) number is not unique for an entire organization but will be unique for each branch of the organization. D-U-N-S numbers look similar for related businesses such as the headquarters and the branches (such as 03-563-9413, 03-563-9603, and 03-563-9645). These are the information needed to be provided to obtain a D-U-N-S number:

• Legal name of the business. If you have an incorporated business, enter the incorporation information too.
• Name of the headquarters as well as its address.
• The name by which the business can be identified.
• Address of the branch (or headquarters) which needs D-U-N-S number.
• Mailing address (if separate from the address of the branch or headquarters).
• Telephone number.
• Contact name and the title of the office or owner.
• Number of employees at the branch (or headquarters) which needs a D-U-N-S number.
• Whether the business is home-based.

D-U-N-S number can be obtained free of cost unless the process is expedited. The section below will give an idea about the D-U-N-S number.

Expedited D-U-N-S number can be obtained within five days after the request. There are two ways by which an expedited D-U-N-S number can be obtained:

• Small Business Starter
• DUNSFile

Small Business Starter is charged at $599. Additional features such as D&B business credit file, online business directory profile, keywords, D&B credibility badge, and social media feeds are packed with this package. The other one, DUNSFile, is charged at $299 and is packed with D&B business credit file and online business directory profile as additional features.

As said earlier, the D-U-N-S number is free of cost unless the process is expedited. However, D-U-N-S numbers are given free of cost to those businesses required to register with the US government for contracts or grants, even if the process is expedited. A free D-U-N-S number is obtained within 30 days after the request.

Enroll Organization in Apple DEP

To register for an Apple Business Manager portal for your organization for availing the Apple VPP and DEP features, follow the after-mentioned procedure.

1. On the Apple Business Manager website, click on Enroll now.
2. Enter the organizational information like the Organization Name, D-U-N-S Number, Phone Number, and Website URL.
   
   Notes

   • The legal name and address of the organization should match with that in the D-U-N-S number.
   • The Website URL provided here will be automatically used to generate managed Apple IDs using the ABM. If your organization’s domain name is different from the website URL, you should manually change it to the organizational domain name before creating Managed Apple IDs.

3. Select the time zone and language.
4. Enter the details of the initial account administrator. This includes the First and Last Name, Work Email Address, and Role/Job Title.
5. Enter the verification contact details, including the ‘First’ and ‘Last Name’ and ‘Work Email Address’. You should also choose the ‘Role/Job Title’ of the individual.
6. Click on Continue. Review the information carefully before clicking Submit.

You will receive a mail from Apple stating that the enrollment is in review. During this review period, the verification contact of the organization will be contacted via phone to confirm the provided information. If the provided details are correct, ABM then sends an email to the verification contact asking to ascertain whether the initial account user should be made the account administrator. If your verification contact doesn’t wish to make that signed up person the account administrator, the user can be changed using the “Choose someone else” link in the email. He/she will need to enter the other person’s information if they want to assign a new user the ABM initial account administrator.

When the verification contact approves you as the ABM administrator, you will get an email.

1. Open the mail and click on Get Started. This will open a new page in Safari or the default browser.
2. Enter the email address to be used as your Managed Apple ID. This email ID should not be linked to any Apple services.
3. Set a password for this Managed Apple ID.
4. Confirm your name and enter your date of birth.
5. Enter your phone number and select the method via which you want to receive the second authentication factor.
6. Click on Submit.

On completing this procedure, you will receive a verification link via both email and SMS. Verify both the email and phone number, then accept the terms and conditions. You should then create at least one administrator account immediately.