Website design By BotEap.comWith the tremendous growth of mobile devices, more and more businesses are adopting a mobile device management solution to manage them. To control and manage iOS-based mobile devices, a business must adopt an iOS-based mobile device management solution. An Apple Push Notification Service (APN) certificate from Apple is a prerequisite for implementing an iOS-based MDM platform. These certificates are valid only for devices based on iOS 3.0 or higher.

Website design By BotEap.comWhat is APN?

Website design By BotEap.comAPNs or Apple Push Notification Service is an Apple-hosted mobile solution that allows businesses to communicate with endpoints in the cloud by sending notifications. Using the iOS-based MDM platform, administrators can push notifications to iOS devices from the cloud anytime, anywhere. It goes without saying that APNs are only relevant for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch devices.

Website design By BotEap.comThe APNs server maintains a persistent Internet connection with the mobile device. The third party server or provider interacts with Apple’s push notification server to send notifications to the iOS mobile device. Once the APN server receives the alert, it sends the message to the iOS mobile device. The user is then notified of the update by an audible alert, an alert message, or by updating the badge on the application icon. Since the mobile device does not poll the APN server every few minutes, the mobile device’s battery is not unnecessarily drained. In addition to improving the battery life of the mobile device, the APN service also offers seamless performance over Wi-Fi or cellular network.

Website design By BotEap.comGet an APNs certificate

Website design By BotEap.comTo obtain the benefits of an APN service, a business must first enroll in the Apple Enterprise Developer Program by paying an annual membership fee of $299. An Apple Enterprise account must be created to access iOS proprietary resources. Once the user has logged into the Apple Developer Portal, a set of tutorials, videos, and reference documents are available for APNs certificates.

Website design By BotEap.comTo create a business account, it is mandatory for an organization to have

1. A valid Dun & Bradstreet DUN number. The DUN number is a unique number and a widely recognized standard to identify companies in the market and regulatory entities.
2. Apple approval for the iOS Developer Enterprise Program. The Enterprise Program allows an organization to develop and distribute iOS applications within the organization.

Website design By BotEap.comApple business membership must be renewed each passing year. With a single Apple business account, multiple APN certificates can be created. Certificates are valid for one year, from the date of issue, and must be recharged each year.

Website design By BotEap.comWhen the user logs into the Apple Developer Portal to create an APNs certificate, it is required that they have an agent developer account role (administrator role access is not sufficient). The certificate can be generated from a Mac server or a Windows server. Regardless of operating system, the key steps to create an APNs certificate are:

1. Create a certificate signing request (CSR)
2. Upload the CSR to the Apple Developer Portal
3. Download Signed Certificate/Complete CSR Application
4. Export the APNs Certificate
5. Upload the APNs certificate to your desired third-party MDM provider portal.

Website design By BotEap.comFinally, after uploading the APNs certificate to the MDM provider portal, administrators can manage and execute various actions on iOS mobile terminals using the iOS MDM platform.

Website design By BotEap.comSo don’t wait. Go ahead and buy your APNs certificate; Get one step closer to managing your iOS devices!