And while 2026 may be an inflection point where the advances slow a bit, “I expect Apple to maintain its lead on hardware performance through the year.”
Enterprise deployment is part device and part device management. Like most such firms in the Apple space, Iru makes use of the systems Apple creates; this year’s big upgrade was around Platform SSO, which Apple improved at WWDC, Dodd said.
“Platform SSO continues its siren song luring Mac admins towards an integration with cloud identity that still presents a bit of friction for admins to fully implement. PSSO improved in a few important ways this year in macOS 26 Tahoe, where the two big features are authentication with Automated Device Enrolment during Setup Assistant for initial account creation with IdP credentials and being able to use PSSO sign in at the File Vault unlock screen. This launched with support from a single IdP vendor, but another has joined. And it would be great to see more support from other vendors in 2026, as well as further improvements from Apple to make this into a truly seamless marriage between macOS and cloud identity.”
Dodd also sees a second wave of change coming for AI. He believes we all became more aware of the limitations of genAI during the year, which means IT admins will now focus on learning how to use Model Context Protocol with agentic AI to pull together disparate systems. “There’s real potential for a new kind of integration layer in enterprise IT that will allow for real insights to be developed by bringing data together from what have been separate tools,” he said.
JumpCloud: Reality must catch up
Joel Rennich, senior vice president for product management at JumpCloud, welcomes the improvements in DDM and Platform SSO, but warns: “It will take some time for MDM vendors and Identity Providers (IdPs) to actually support this,” he said.
“Apple mostly kept improving on the security and identity threads that they’ve been pulling at for the last few years. There weren’t any major new changes for vendors to have to pivot to, or new flows to support,” he said.
But he warned that few vendors “support the full scope” of the changes that Apple has instituted in recent years. “Since much of the Apple improvements over the last few years are not in any way industry standard, this has become very hit or miss,.”
Rennich warned that the biggest challenge for Apple in the enterprise is Apple itself. “The aspects that make Apple great in the consumer space are many times inherently at odds with what enterprises are looking for, and in most cases Apple refuses to compromise on aspects like user privacy and experience,” he said. While he doesn’t expect Apple to change its stance, he expects business users to continue to request more controls and management tools.
MacPaw: A new wave for enterprise IT
Ukrainian developer MacPaw recently introduced CleanMyMac Business to the Jamf Marketplace. Dan Jaenicke, MacPaw’s director of B2B product strategy, also sees Apple’s enterprise success as powered by Apple Silicon. “The hardware continues to outperform competitors, and Macs are lasting longer than ever. That longevity is invaluable for IT teams, allowing them to focus on productivity and strategic initiatives instead of constantly replacing devices,” he said.
However, the AI story must evolve, he said, pointing to MacPaw data that shows almost 60% of Mac admins already use 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 key developer and executive departures on the horizon, the entire community will be closely watching to see whether Apple can maintain momentum, lead in AI adoption, and continue to balance hardware and software innovations,” he said.
You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky, LinkedIn, and Mastodon.
