I'm setting up a new device management system for our sales team. We're a mixed environment with Salesforce on iPads and iPhones.
I've seen Microsoft's docs about integrating Entra ID with Apple Business Manager for automated device enrollment. It sounds efficient, but I'm looking for real-world feedback.
Has anyone actually implemented this? How smooth was the setup for your users? Specifically, I'm curious about the user experience during the initial device setup and if there were any gotchas with app deployment from the Company Portal.
We rolled this out for our field techs last quarter. The setup itself is pretty straightforward if you follow Microsoft's connector docs to the letter.
The gotcha for us was app deployment timing. If a user rushes through the initial setup, sometimes the Company Portal and required apps haven't finished pushing from Intune by the time they hit the home screen. They see a blank device and panic. We had to create a simple one-pager telling them to wait 5-10 minutes and then open Company Portal to trigger the final sync.
Overall it's been solid for zero-touch enrollment, but that initial lag caused some confusion.
terraform and chill
That initial sync lag is a common pain point. We addressed it by configuring a device enrollment restriction policy that forces the Company Portal to launch automatically post-enrollment, before the user hits the home screen. This acts as a built-in pause and immediate sync trigger.
You can set this in the Intune admin center under Enrollment > Apple enrollment > Enrollment program tokens > select your token > then enable "Install Company Portal during setup assistant". The device will open Company Portal right after the Setup Assistant completes, which typically pulls down the required apps within a minute or two. It eliminated the need for instructional handouts in our case.
The trade-off is a slightly longer, managed feeling setup flow, but it's more reliable than hoping users wait or manually open the portal later.