Apple buys Fleetsmith, a company making it easier to deploy iPhones and Macs at workplaces
Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers the keynote address during the 2020 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) at Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, June 22, 2020.Brooks Kraft | Apple Inc. via ReutersApple has bought Fleetsmith, a company that makes tools that enable businesses to more easily deploy iPhones and Macs to their workers. “We’re thrilled to join Apple,” the company said in a blog post. An Apple spokeswoman confirmed the acquisition. Deal terms were not disclosed.Although Apple is primarily a consumer company that sells phones and computers to individuals, in recent years it has started to turn more attention to the enterprise market, partnering with companies such as IBM, SAP and Cisco and persuading businesses to buy iPhones and Macs as tools for their workforce. The Fleetsmith acquisition will help offer a wider range of products and services to enterprise clients. In 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the enterprise market was the “mother of all opportunities.”Fleetsmith’s software makes it easier to remotely configure, wipe and deploy these devices, a kind of product called mobile device management, or MDM, specifically focusing on Apple products. It launched in 2016 and raised over $40 million in venture capital from investors including Menlo Ventures, according to TechCrunch. It has 75 employees, according to LinkedIn.In the blog post, Fleetsmith said that it is looking forward “to continuing to deliver Fleetsmith to existing and new customers.”
Read More
