Okta to improve user experience through Apple Business Manager

Last week at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple announced its support for enterprise identity providers to be integrated with Apple Business Manager (ABM). Okta is proud to be one of the first identity providers to implement this new capability when it is available this fall.

Apple Business Manager is a web-based portal for IT administrators to configure both Identity & Access Management (IAM) options for Managed Apple IDs and device management options for Apple devices all from one place. Working seamlessly with your organization’s mobile device management (MDM) solution, Apple Business Manager makes it easy for you to automate device deployment, purchase apps, distribute content, and create managed Apple IDs for your employees. 

Apple is adding support for custom identity providers to Apple Business Manager and built this new feature using open standards (OIDC, SCIM, and OpenID Shared Signals Framework). This will allow organizations to seamlessly integrate their Identity providers to streamline the admin and end-user experiences for creating and signing into Managed Apple IDs. Federated Authentication, powered by OIDC, will allow end-users to sign into their Managed Apple ID by signing into the Okta account. Directory Sync, powered by SCIM, will automate the process of creating Managed Apple IDs anytime a new user is detected in Okta. And account security events (powered by OpenID Shared Signal Framework) will allow Okta to notify Apple Business Manager whenever an important account security event (such as password reset) occurs within Okta so Apple can prompt the end-user to take appropriate action when necessary.

Currently, Okta supports Apple’s Platform Single Sign-On (PSSO). By now also connecting Apple Business Manager with Okta, the device enrollment and login experience will become simpler for admins and end-users, extending the benefits of user management, single sign-on, and continuous authentication to Apple devices.

We’re excited to work with Apple to bring this concept to life. The integration will be available later this year. Watch the WWDC announcement here, and stay tuned for more details. 

Any unreleased products, features or functionality referenced in this [release/blog, etc.] that are not currently available, may not be delivered on time or at all. Product roadmaps do not represent a commitment, obligation or promise to deliver any product, feature or functionality, and customers should not rely on them to make purchase decisions.

Update: As of March 2024, the beta release of this integration is now closed with self-service EA coming shortly. To begin using the integration, you will need the following Okta products: Single Sign-On, Lifecycle Management, and Universal Directory. Learn more here about our partnership with Apple.