And while 2026 may be a turning point where progress will slow somewhat, “I expect Apple to maintain its lead in hardware performance throughout the year.”
Enterprise deployment is part device and part device management. Like most such companies in the Apple world, Iru uses the systems that Apple creates; This year’s big upgrade was Platform SSO, which Apple improved at WWDC, Dodd said.
“Platform SSO continues to sing its siren, luring Mac administrators toward a cloud identity integration that still poses some challenges for administrators to fully implement. PSSO has been improved in a few significant ways this year in macOS 26 Tahoe, where the two big features are authentication with automated device enrollment during Setup Assistant to create an initial account with IdP credentials and the ability to use PSSO login on the File Vault unlock screen. This launched with support from a single IdP vendor, but another has joined in. And it would be great to see more support from other vendors in 2026, as well as further improvements from Apple to make this a truly seamless marriage between macOS and cloud identity.”
Dodd also sees a second wave of changes coming for AI. He believes that over the year we have all become more aware of the limitations of genAI, which means that IT administrators will now focus on learning to use Model Context Protocol with agentic AI to bring disparate systems together. “There is real potential for a new kind of integration layer in enterprise IT that can develop real insights by bringing together data from previously disparate tools,” he says.
JumpCloud: reality has to catch up
Joel Rennich, senior vice president for product management at Jump Cloudwelcomes the improvements in DDM and Platform SSO, but cautions: “It will take some time before MDM vendors and Identity Providers (IdPs) actually support this,” he said.
“Apple mainly continued to improve the security and identity lines they’ve been working on over the last few years. There were no major new changes for vendors to focus on, or new flows to support,” he said.
But he warned that few vendors support “the full scope” of the changes Apple has made in recent years. “Since many of Apple’s improvements in recent years are not industry standard by any means, this has become very hit and miss.”
Rennich warned that the biggest challenge for Apple in the business is Apple itself. “The aspects that make Apple great in the consumer world are often at odds with what companies are looking for, and in most cases Apple refuses to compromise on privacy and user experience,” he says. While he doesn’t expect Apple to change its position, he does expect business users to continue asking for more control and management tools.
From the administrators: Armin Briegel
Apple has achieved “steady, continuous improvement this year, building on the foundation laid years ago,” Apple said Armin Briegelwho writes for Scripting OS X/MacAdmins.news, a weekly briefing for Apple IT. He sees further development of the device management technologies that Apple offers, including DDM, Platform SSO, managed device attestation and network relay.
“After a rocky start, these have become powerful business management tools,” he said. “Features often have to iterate over several years before their usefulness becomes apparent. There are some features, such as the new ManagedApp settings, declarative app deployment, or protected services, that are very limited now but seem promising for the few cycles.”
Briegel is more critical of the App Store: “Apple is proving to be a poor steward of the App Store and the broader ecosystem on their platforms. iPad and even more Vision Pro are excellent hardware held back by a lack of great applications.”
He warned that Apple’s App Store rules and regulatory response “discourage third-party enthusiasm and investment in the platforms and undermine confidence in the overall ecosystem.” He also pointed out that even after all these years, it remains impossible for enterprise administrators to manage the implementation of in-app purchases or subscriptions. “At this point I would consider opening up iOS and the other platforms to unlimited side-loading. Apple needs to bring the rules, restrictions and governance of the App Store to a point where consumers, developers and system administrators want to to use them, rather than accept them grudgingly.”
MacPaw: a new wave for enterprise IT
Ukrainian developer MacPaw recently introduced Clean MyMac Going to the Jamf Marketplace for business. Dan Jaenicke, director of B2B product strategy at MacPaw, also sees Apple’s business success as a result of Apple Silicon. “The hardware continues to outperform the competition, and Macs are lasting longer than ever. That longevity is invaluable to IT teams, allowing them to focus on productivity and strategic initiatives rather than having to constantly replace devices,” he says.
However, the AI story must evolve, he said, pointing to MacPaw data showing that nearly 60% of Mac administrators are already using AI at work.
“The spotlight in 2026 will be on Apple’s progress in enterprise AI. IT leaders are looking for tools that make workflows smarter and more secure. With the departure of key developers and executives on the horizon, the entire community will be watching closely to see if Apple can maintain momentum, lead AI adoption, and continue to find the balance between hardware and software innovations,” he said.
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