Apple (AAPL) Buys Mobile Device Management Startup Fleetsmith

Apple AAPL recently acquired Fleetsmith, a San Francisco-based startup company. Fleetsmith helps with device setup and security patching for Apple devices including Macs and iPhones that are used in enterprise settings and manage fleet-wide issues in a single place.

This new addition is expected to bolster the iPhone maker’s tools and enhance iPhone, iPad, and Mac enterprise features. Neither of the companies have disclosed the amount paid by Apple for the acquisition.

Fleetsmith’s acquisition provides Apple with a remote management option at a time when it’s essential with so many employees working from home worldwide due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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Key Focus of Fleetsmith Device Management Software

With Fleetsmith's acquisition, it seems that Apple is looking to further bolster its own first-party device management options for enterprise and education customers. Thus far, Apple has mostly relied on third-party solutions to offer mobile device management (MDM) platforms to its customers.

Apple has primarily been consumer driven, selling phones and computers to individuals. The Fleetsmith acquisition will help offer a wider range of products and services to enterprise clients. Fleetsmith’s MDM software makes it easier to remotely configure, wipe and deploy these devices, specifically focusing on Apple products.

The startup has built technology that takes advantage of Apple’s Device Enrollment Program that allows IT departments to bring new machines online from the very first time they are powered.

Over time, Fleetsmith has layered on other useful pieces beyond automating device registration, like updating devices automatically with OS and security updates, while letting IT see a dashboard of the status of all devices under management on a slick interface.

Apple’s Push Toward MDM

The acquisition of Fleetsmith is a push by Apple into the mobile device management industry, a category of business software dominated by players such as Microsoft MSFT and VMware.

Per Mordor Intelligence Report, the global Mobile Device Management Market was valued at $3.4 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $10.67 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 21% over the forecast period 2020-2025.

The iPhone-maker has been focusing on the enterprise market, partnering with companies such as International Business Machines IBM, SAP SAP and Cisco and persuading businesses to buy iPhones and Macs as tools for their workforce.

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company partnered with IBM back in 2014 to create enterprise applications for iOS devices. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Additionally, Apple made a similar deal with SAP in 2016 that allowed SAP customers to write native enterprise apps for Apple devices.

Apple has been on an acquisition spree in 2020 so far, acquiring Voysis to improve Siri AI; Next VR for virtual-reality broadcasting technology; Xnor.ai for AI tools, and Dark Sky to improve its weather app.

The latest acquisition comes in the same week that Apple held its developer session at WWDC 2020. During the session, Apple announced new management features for the Mac Pro, changes to Mac Supervision and software updates in macOS Big Sur, among other features.

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