DEP: Device Enrollment Program explained simply
DEP stands for Device Enrollment Program. That was the name of Apple’s programme that assigns company devices to an organisation straight from the factory. Today Apple calls it Automated Device Enrollment, or ADE. Most people still know it as DEP.
How it works
When a company buys devices from Apple or an authorised reseller, the serial numbers appear in the company’s Apple Business Manager. When switched on for the first time, the device asks Apple who it belongs to and connects to the company’s device management, the MDM.
What does your customer get?
The device is automatically supervised, which gives the company more control. Management can be set so that employees cannot remove it. If a device is reset, it signs back in to the company the next time it starts and gets its settings back. This is the basis for Zero Touch Deployment.
Example
An iPad in a branch is accidentally reset to factory settings. Instead of calling IT, the employee connects it to Wi-Fi and a few minutes later it is ready to use again.
How we do it
Devices you order through us are already enrolled in your customer’s Apple Business Manager on delivery.
Learn more
→ Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Official Apple documentation: Automated Device Enrollment
