What has Apple announced?

At WWDC 2025, Apple promised that starting this fall, companies will be able to migrate iOS and macOS devices from one UEM system to a new one via Apple Business Manager—without factory resets or manual enrollment.

How will the process work?

  • In Apple Business Manager, administrators specify:
    • which devices are to be migrated
    • which is the target UEM system
    • what the deadline for migration is
  • After confirming the settings, users will receive a short push notification prompting them to perform the migration.
  • Users can either perform the migration immediately or select “Not now.”
  • Once users initiate the migration, the device downloads and installs the new UEM profile.
  • If users have not completed the migration by the deadline, the migration is enforced.
  • They receive another migration prompt that cannot be dismissed.
  • Admins can see which devices have already migrated to the new system in the new UEM system.

What are the differences between this and the EBF Onboarder?

There are numerous differences between an Apple Business Manager migration and the EBF Onboarder. The following aspects are particularly relevant for companies:

  • The EBF Onboarder can migrate all operating systems.

    If companies do not only have Apple devices and want to migrate all devices, this can be done easily with EBF Onboarder. Apple Business Manager, on the other hand, only migrates Apple devices—and even then with restrictions regarding the operating system version. Companies would have to take different approaches and proceed in very different ways.

  • The EBF Onboarder creates structure.

    With EBF Onboarder, individual projects can be created—for example, for different locations, teams, or device types. These can be initiated at different times and easily tracked—which is essential, especially when dealing with large numbers of devices.

  • The EBF Onboarder offers extensive communication features.

    From invitations and reminders to those who have not yet migrated to success notifications—via email and/or push notifications, automated and controllable in a timely manner thanks to numerous configuration options. With Apple, all of this has to be done manually—which is time-consuming and significantly less targeted.

  • The EBF Onboarder creates transparency with detailed and automated reports and immediately identifies any potential problems.

    The EBF Onboarder shows whether a device has been notified, whether users have been reminded, whether a device has been unenrolled, and whether it has arrived in the new target system. Apple Business Manager only reveals the last piece of information. Unmanaged devices and other problems remain undetected.

Overview

comparsion apple-business manager vs ebf onboarder

What does our experience with nearly 3 million migrated devices show?

  • Communication surrounding a migration is crucial for high user participation. If the reason for the migration is not explained, users are less likely to initiate it. If they are not regularly reminded of the migration, the process will be delayed.
  • It is important to give users options so that the migration does not disrupt operations. If users only receive a notification and click it away because it is not convenient at that moment or they cannot understand the request, the Apple approach will most likely result in the migration being forced and taking place at a time that is not convenient for the users.
  • Reporting options are important for identifying potential problems early on and tracking project progress. Especially when communication is based on status information and, for example, a reminder is sent for devices that have not yet been migrated, the process is significantly accelerated—without unnecessarily bothering users.

More info about EBF Onboarder

How can the EBF Onboarder benefit from Apple’s update?

When Apple offers migration options, we naturally prick up our ears—and, admittedly, get a little nervous 🙂. But that was unfounded: Not only does EBF Onboarder have numerous advantages over Apple Business Manager migration and extensive migration experience—EBF Onboarder will even benefit from the upcoming update. Why? Even now, only a few steps are necessary on the user side to perform the migration. And in the future, we will be able to shorten these steps even further through integration for DEP Apple devices and reduce them to a single click. A browser will no longer be necessary for this.

What questions remain unanswered?

Some information is not yet known and is not apparent in beta versions. For example, it is not yet clear whether it will be possible to specify that migration should not be initiated if a device only has a Wi-Fi connection. Since this connection is revoked upon unenrollment, enrollment in the new UEM system would then not be possible.

Conclusion

The developments at Apple are definitely exciting! Not because this opens up a real migration alternative, but above all because Apple’s move opens up new options for us to make the migration process even easier.

Apple Business Manager is probably only a real option for UEM migration for a few companies. This is not only because its scope of application is very limited, but above all because it does not address many of the aspects that have proven to be particularly important over the past 10 years with around 3 million migrated devices: strong communication, high user commitment, low support costs, and transparency.

Anyone who wants to successfully migrate UEM systems should therefore rely on a solution that is much more than just a migration tool.

More info about EBF Onboarder

lächelnder Mann mit Headset der etwas vorstellt