Apple may be preparing to venture into a whole new market and maybe even take over.
Apple May Be Preparing To Venture into a Whole New Market
A non-profit that is dedicated to exposing the various misconducts at both private and governmental organizations has raised concerns over the behavior apple is portraying in the enterprise device management market and industry.
Campaign for Accountability (CFA) in a new report claims that apple is now preparing to put pressure on businesses that are operating currently in space with a similar product of its own kind, Apple Business Essentials (ABE).
The main concern here is that apple will take advantage of the control it has over the macOS ecosystem in order to make it impossible for other vendors in providing management services in a general and regular manner thus taking away the competition.
Apple Tackles Device Management
Jamf currently is the leader in apple device management. Jamf provides a wide range of services that help to set up and also manage fleets of business macs. The company services upwards of 60,000 customers, both big and small.
When Apple launched ABE back in November 2021, the company marketed it as a service that is exclusively crafted for small businesses thus supporting only a selection of the features that are available with Jamf.
CFA however claims that apple is preparing to up the operation immediately. The watchdog platform based this very assignment on the reports from IT administrators that suggest that apple is purposely “degrading Jamf’s functionality,” thus making it very difficult for admins to roll out new security patches.
Jamf’s critics however might ask whether it was a good decision to build a business whose success solely depends on the goodwill of another organization. But the report also argues that Apple should not be allowed to stand on the shoulders of Jamf, which could be given the credit for establishing the market in the first place.
What the CfA Thinks About Apples Move
“Apple’s tight control over which companies can play in its sandbox means that it could very easily choose to break or drop Jamf if doing so could open up a new revenue stream,” Executive Director at CfA, Michelle Kuppersmith said. “It was Jamf’s ideas and ingenuity that built the device management market that Apple seems primed to take over, but that may all be for naught if Apple decides to flip the switch.”
CFA argues that the device management play of Apple is just one instance of a broader pattern of behavior where the company incorporates new functionalities into its product suite and then makes use of aggressive tactics in limiting the functionality of its rival offerings.
The report uses the launch of AirTags as an instance. And in this very example, apple was accused of adding friction to the process of enabling similar products from Tile Company in a bid to promote its very own offering.
“Apple’s history of putting external apps out of business by rolling out similar features is well known, but thus far, regulators have done little to stop it,” Michelle added. “If Apple repeats this playbook with Jamf—during a time when Apple is undoubtedly under the antitrust microscope more than ever before—regulators should not flinch at taking appropriate action.”
