Apple and Google might not always see eye to eye on everything, but customers love using them together. For companies of every size and in all markets, Google Workspace and Apple devices are the base of their technology stack.
While the iPhone and the Mac are the undisputable preference among employees when they’re given the chance to decide which devices to use, Google’s business software solutions revolutionized how companies and their employees work and collaborate.
However, to enjoy the full benefits of Google Workspace on a fleet of Apple devices at work, companies need to bridge the gaps where Google and Apple aren’t tightly integrated. Enter a Google-ready Apple Unified Platform for business.
An Apple Unified Platform is the result of the integration, on a single Apple-specific endpoint product, of all the features and solutions the IT and Security teams will need to manage and protect the Apple devices used at work.
Leading Apple Unified Platforms consolidate in a single solution, a complete and automated Apple Device Management, a Mac-specific Next-Generation Antivirus, Mac-specific Hardening and Compliance, Mac-specific Privilege Management, Mac Identity Management, Apple-specific Application and Patch Managements, and an Encrypted Online Privacy & Security solution.
But covering all the IT and Security needs related to Apple devices used at work won’t be enough when the company is also using Google Workspace and wants to ensure a seamless experience for employees while achieving maximum automation for the IT team.
The good news is that leading Apple Unified Platform products, such as Mosyle Fuse, not only address all the IT and security needs of companies leveraging Apple devices, but also deeply integrate with Google Workspace tools to automatically and transparently fill all the gaps between Apple devices and Google tools, creating a perfect experience for companies using both together.
So let’s explore some interesting opportunities of automated integration between Apple devices and Google Workspace that will materially elevate the work of IT teams and end-users.
Automate Apple device policies and configuration profiles with Google Workspace
Zero-touch deployment is a game-changer for fast-growing organizations. The ability to ship a device from Apple or an authorized reseller directly to a new employee and have it automatically configured with no need for any work from the IT team or the employee is magical and can save countless IT hours (and costs).
What if fully configuring a new Mac for a new employee was as simple as adding their Google account to a Google Group? With a leading Apple Unified Platform with deep integration with Google Workspace, you can easily connect it with Google to automatically sync your Organizational Units and Google Groups. Policies and device configuration profiles can be directly tied to specific Google Organizational Units and Google Groups and the Apple Unified Platform will take care of automatically configuring new devices to your exact specification based on the Google user role.
As an example, a Google Group for the marketing team can be used to scope all the apps, security policies, configurations, network access and even custom wallpapers that are common to all employees on the marketing team. So once a new employee is added to the marketing team Google Group, the Apple Unified Platform will automatically sync it and trigger all the commands to configure the device used by such employee to receive everything assigned to the marketing Google Group, with no need for any manual work from the IT team or the employee.
Enable employees to log in on their Apple devices using Google credentials
The days of needing multiple authentication systems for macOS and your SaaS products are long gone: RIP Active Directory binding.
With a Google-ready Apple Unified Platform, Google Workspace credentials extend to the macOS login window, allowing employees to login on their Macs using the same credentials used for Gmail. It even supports two-factor authentication.
This integration allows for increased security for companies using Macs while creating a seamless login experience for employees using their primary work credentials – Google Workspace.
Automatically install and authorize all Google apps
Apple Unified Platforms, as mentioned above, offer powerful solutions for Application and Patch Management. As part of that, it can turn the installation and configuration of Google Chrome and Google Drive into a fully transparent operation.
Note that Google apps, such as Google Chrome and Google Drive are not available on the Mac App Store, making it difficult and time consuming for companies to install and update them on Macs used by employees by using traditional MDM solutions.
However, this is not an issue when the right Apple Unified Platform is used. It brings automated workflows to install, configure and update Google apps even if they are not available on the App Store, saving IT hours, increasing security and boosting employee productivity.
So, by using an Apple Unified Platform with deep integration with Google Workspace, companies can enjoy a fully automated experience on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS with easy updates and automatically give Google apps the system permissions required so they will just work!
Enjoy powerful Chrome Management capabilities
Another powerful benefit of the Application Management capabilities of a leading Apple Unified Platform with deep integration with Google Workspace is the possibility of not only installing and updating applications automatically, but also managing them.
With an Apple Unified Platform prepared for Google Chrome management, companies can enforce full remote management of Google Chrome on all company devices.
Mosyle Fuse, the leader on Apple Unified Platform for business, brings a very powerful set of remote configurations and management for Google Chrome.
Tens of possibilities are available for a totally automated workflow, ranging from installing and removing Chrome Extensions, pinning websites, enforcing safe browsing, forcing sign-in and many more possibilities.
In practical terms, it’s as if a Chrome Management tool is built inside of an Apple-specific MDM giving companies full remote control not only for the Apple devices used at work, but also for Google Chrome running on them. All in a single and integrated product.
And how do you implement this strategy?
The examples above illustrate just a few of the powerful benefits of leveraging a leading Apple Unified Platform with deep integration with Google Workspace to seamlessly integrate Apple devices used at work with Google Workspace.
Unlocking the true value of Google Workspace extends beyond communication and collaboration. When combined with the right tools, Google Workspace becomes the cloud ecosystem that powers the heart of your Apple experience at work.
Any company leveraging Apple devices can easily achieve this level of integration and automation between Google Workspace and Apple devices.
The best way to start is by selecting a great Apple Unified Platform solution. Mosyle, a leader in this space, provides customers with all the technical tools needed for a fully integrated experience between Google Workspace and Apple devices and delivers the necessary help and support to implement it without any extra cost.
Mosyle is also an excellent example of how inexpensive it can be. Companies with less than 30 devices can do it for FREE, and for larger fleets, it can cost as little as $1 per device per month.
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