Apple Introduces Volume App Purchasing for Business

[scottparker999]

How come everyone jumps on Arn's case about typos and Article Titles?

GIVE THE MAN A BREAK!!

I wasn't really 'jumping on his back' - Just suggesting that the article may need to be redrafted. If i didn't like the style and content of the site i wouldn't visit, however i do.

 

[polaris20]

I hope they do this for the Mac App Store as well. It'd be great to distribute not only Lion to clients, but also other productivity applications.

 

[Mattie Num Nums]

I hope they do this for the Mac App Store as well. It'd be great to distribute not only Lion to clients, but also other productivity applications.

If you want to do that get JAMF Casper. Casper has had an in house "appstore" aka Self Service Portal for a while now and it works great.

 

[robwormald]

reading through the PDF details here : http://images.apple.com/business/docs/ASVPP_Business_Guide_US.pdf

With the Volume Purchase Program you can search for apps, determine the quantity needed, and easily complete the purchase with a corporate credit card or procurement card. To start buying apps in volume, you’ll need to enroll in the program and create a volume purchasing account with Apple. Once you’re enrolled in the program you can go to the program website to purchase apps. Any business in the US can participate and there’s no limit to the number of apps or the quantity of a particular app you can purchase at any time.
Only paid apps are available for volume purchasing. Free apps can be downloaded directly by users via the App Store on their device or on a Mac or PC.

It seems to indicate that going forward, you'll create a corporate Apple ID, rather than sending codes to individuals to redeem on their personal accounts.

It that's the case, that's an excellent step forward.

 

[Doctor Q]

Solely as an accommodation to you, Apple agrees to permit you to use a single code to sync a Product to multiple devices, up to the number of codes you have purchased (instead of having to redeem a separate code for each license), provided that you meet the following terms:

-You agree to sync no more copies than the number of codes you purchased.
-You agree that you shall be fully responsible for any use of and any loss or harm to Apple or third parties arising from the codes you purchased.
-You agree to keep complete and accurate records of all uses of the codes you purchased[/FONT]

This is the provision that applies to our school purchases. I do the necessary recordkeeping (as a volunteer) because I know that school administrators struggling with budget and staff cuts aren't going to put it high on their own lists. I wish Apple's tools helped more directly with this recordkeeping.

 

[thecobes]

Buying up the charts?

This whole concept is new to me.
Is this change going to allow companies to buy their apps up the charts in bulk?

Or do typical chart movement rules not apply for items purchased in volume?

 

[stagen]

hows this going to work?

I hope they get an international rollout going ASAP myself. We have a very big corporate client outside of the US interested in using the platform for internal applications and this route would save countless hours of frustration trying to get them an enterprise developer account, compiling code with their certificates etc. etc.

The B2B custom applications is what we have been waiting for, and while it's not the perfect distribution model a lot of us who develop for enterprises want - it's a whole hell of a lot better than the previous way of going about things. But, not having international companies supported is a huge PITA out of the gate.

So we develop custom applications for enterprise now. The company we develop for then signs it with their distribution cert and what not and distributes the app. They pay us of the development, they distribute.

In this custom B2B model described they speak of a company procuring a developer to make them the custom app. So the developer then makes this app , but only gets paid out of the amount of apps the company then buys? Apple must know that other development money will change hands before distribution/ transaction will occur.

If the company is paying the development house to make the app , why would they then use this model to distribute, in that they'd have to pay a min of $9.99 for each app. Is it the convenience of distribution?

 

[miografico]

So we develop custom applications for enterprise now. The company we develop for then signs it with their distribution cert and what not and distributes the app. They pay us of the development, they distribute.

In this custom B2B model described they speak of a company procuring a developer to make them the custom app. So the developer then makes this app , but only gets paid out of the amount of apps the company then buys? Apple must know that other development money will change hands before distribution/ transaction will occur.

If the company is paying the development house to make the app , why would they then use this model to distribute, in that they'd have to pay a min of $9.99 for each app. Is it the convenience of distribution?

We do the same for tech based companies or companies that are large enough to have an IT department to go back and forth on what is required to go from development/testing/deployment. This works well when you are dealing with people on a one to one basis that understand the process and get what you are doing and why. They also are adamant about owning the rights to the final product in the first place.

The above is an absolute and utter disaster when you are dealing with companies that have absolutely no clue about the above process. Custom B2B applications eliminates the need for the above process in some cases. What you are inferring about pricing is a moot point. If you aren't already in a contractual relationship and know what your price point/sales price is... then the price is the price is the price. Does it become a hassle if you are dealing with small companies and you have to explain that they are buying units (technically seats), and do not own the rights to the final package, sure, but it also gives you much more control in the end. You aren't waiting for a check to clear to then hand off a final package.

The enterprise to enterprise approach is cut and dry after they pay up they own the code. This approach allows the developer to maintain control of the code and their IP and sell seats.

Both approaches are necessary - one or the other - depending upon the situation. This new approach is far easier for the clueless shops who just want something custom; which do not want to retain rights to the final product and are willing to pay a premium for it.

I hope they improve upon what they are going to now be offering and at a much faster pace in the future, but the new option(s) are welcome.

 

[stagen]

I hope they improve upon what they are going to now be offering and at a much faster pace in the future, but the new option(s) are welcome.

Ok, thank you that helps me a lot. Cheers. Seems like the dev would want to secure a minimum amount of volume purchases that will happen to insure the nut of development will be covered probably too.

 

[firewood]

They already allow you to install an unlimited number of copies on "all of your Macs" with an AppleID, so if you have like 100 Macs, you can install the apps on all of your computers with one app purchase (already this is the rule). So I don't see the point of this. Apple just wants your money (if you fall for this trap)

It's certainly not a trap for schools and companies that get audited for compliance with their software licenses, and don't want to risk getting fined. Talk to your companies legal counsel about this.

 

[ShaunFisherNZ]

Hi everyone,

Hoping someone knows the answer to this seemingly basic question that I haven't been able to answer.

Is the Apple Volume Purchase Program available for Education in New Zealand

Thanks in advance!

~Shaun