The magical link between Apple devices and Google Workspace

If there’s one thing we can agree that Apple and Google products have in common is that end users love them. If you stop anyone between ages 15 and 35 years on the street and ask them on the spot, what provider would you choose if you had no email address, phone, or computer? We bet a massive majority would say, “That’s easy, Gmail, an iPhone and a Mac.”

While Apple devices are unquestionably the most innovative, powerful, intuitive, elegant, and durable devices available, the Google suite of solutions – led by Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Chrome and Google Docs (to mention a few) – are all the leaders in their markets…

In fact, we bet that you, reading this article now, have at least one of them, if not all three. Correct?

Even though these solutions are the leaders among consumers, many IT teams felt they were not well suited for the corporate world. These teams ignored popular trends and adopted legacy devices and software, enforcing them company-wide. 

The good news is that the medieval times of not allowing Macs at work and having fragmented solutions for productivity are over.

Today, Apple devices, including the Mac, are the fastest growing enterprise devices. Moreover, Google Workspace is used in some capacity by almost every business in the United States. 

So, how does the champion of personal devices work alongside with the absolute leader in business productivity tools?

The answer is PERFECTLY, especially when companies pick a few (or a single) tools to connect both.

While Apple and Google are improving their products to work with each other, there are several areas where a third-party solution highly specialized in integrating both can offer unique features and automation that IT leaders never imagined possible.

To walk you through what’s possible, let’s imagine a hypothetical scenario: 

We set the scene with a young, modern company that employs 200 workers and is growing fast. As expected, after an employee survey, over 90% of employees said they prefer a Mac because that is what they already own for personal use. Google Workspace is used company-wide, and the corporate Gmail address is the SSO method for all the other cloud solutions used by employees.

So, when a new employee is hired, a Gmail corporate account is immediately created and a new Mac, still in a plastic-wrapped box, is shipped to the employee’s home, probably in another state.

The employee receives the initial Gmail credentials, and the mail carrier delivers the Mac the next morning. 

Excited with the always Instagram-friendly experience of unboxing a new Apple device, the employee immediately unwraps the box, takes the Mac out and opens it. 

And there it is the unforgettable sound of turning on a brand new M2 Midnight MacBook Air, followed by a screen asking the employee for a Wi-Fi connection.

While connecting to Wi-Fi, the employee expects this to be the first of several additional configurations she needs to perform on the Mac. She starts to think, “What does the company want my local user account to be? Would anything be ok? First name only? Should her call IT?”

Out of the Wi-Fi step with the Mac now connected, the following screen tells the employee her company is managing the device setup and then prompts her to click “ok.” 

To her surprise, she sees a Google authentication page asking for her corporate Gmail credentials. She thinks, “wait a second, a Google solution is part of a new Mac setup workflow?”

She adds it, and the Mac is already on the beautiful home screen.

Wait, what about ALL the other steps? What about creating the local user account? What about setting a password? 

Nothing was needed. The Mac was automatically configured using her name and Gmail prefix as a local user account. 

All the other configurations were skipped, and in the three minutes since she took the Mac out of the box, she’s ready to fly.

Her next step is to check what apps the company uses for each task. As she’s a new employee in the Marketing Department, she starts to guess if she should install Adobe Creative Suite, maybe Zoom for calls. But first things first, I need to install Google Chrome, right?

Before she can even open Safari to download Google Chrome, a beautiful application pops up and tells her not to worry. Some magic solution wants to configure the Mac for her. Wow!

As a first step, the beautiful and modern-looking app on her Mac reminds her to plug the Mac into the charger because the battery is low. She hasn’t noticed it. Great call!

Immediately after plugging in the device, the app updates itself, and she sees a list of familiar apps, including Google Chrome, Photoshop and Zoom. A progress bar shows her precisely what is being automatically installed for her and the status of each app. 

A few minutes later, the app updates itself again with great news: Your Mac is ready to go. 

The same screen also asks her if it’s ok to reboot the Mac so FileVault configuration can be completed, and the device can be effectively encrypted with all her data protected. Yes, please!

The Mac immediately reboots while she panics about what the Mac password is, considering she never created one. But to her surprise, she again sees a Google authentication screen. After adding her work Gmail and password, she’s back to the Mac. Yes, her work Gmail is also her Mac credentials.

All the apps she needs are installed, the Mac Dock is configured with the main apps and a beautiful custom wallpaper with a nice welcome image created by the company has been applied to her home screen. 

Even Google Drive is installed on the Mac, so all her files can be synced and accessed locally through Finder.

All done right? Actually, no. She also needs some important Chrome extensions that she has been using for quite some time, like Grammarly. 

So, she decides to launch Chrome to install them. And, wait a second! How is Grammarly already there? Yes, Chrome was already enrolled on Chrome Browser Cloud Management and company approved extensions have been installed. This is amazing!

At this time, she also learns that because of the federation between Google and Apple Business Manager, her work email is also her Apple ID. So, the same email and password used for work and unlocking the Mac can also be used for all Apple services on macOS and iOS, like iCloud.

The scenario above is not so hypothetical. Thousands of companies worldwide are experiencing this perfect combination of Apple devices and Google Workspace daily, and achieving a level of automation, security, and convenience that is the dream of every IT administrator. 

For your company to also achieve it, you don’t need much, other than: 

• Apple devices registered under an Apple Business Manager account (free for any business) 
• Your regular Google Workspace subscription
• A leading Apple Unified Platform that is fully integrated with Google solutions

Mosyle, a leader in modern Apple endpoint solutions, is the standard for Apple Unified Platforms through its product Mosyle Fuse.

Mosyle Fuse integrates Apple-specific and automated apple device management, a next-generation antivirus, hardening and compliance, privilege management, identity management, application and patch management (with a complete library of fully automated apps not available on the App Store), and an encrypted online privacy & security solution.

By unifying all solutions on a single platform Mosyle not only simplifies the management and protection of Apple devices used at work but also reaches a level of efficiency and integration that is impossible to be achieved by independent solutions.

Mosyle Fuse also deeply integrates with Google Workspace and other Google tools. From SSO, hierarchy syncing, and automated installation of Google Drive and Google Chrome (including Privacy permissions), Mosyle Fuse makes using Google tools on Apple devices seems like they were designed together. 

Finally, the cost benefits of an Apple Unified Platform such as Mosyle Fuse are also significant. Considering the average cost of each solution that should be part of the IT software stack for Macs, we estimate that by adopting an Apple Unified Platform enterprises can generate savings of more than 70%. Even for small fleets, it’s a relevant amount.

So, if you have Macs used by employees at work and Google Workspace, you should try a unified Apple solution, like Mosyle Fuse, that can bring amazing benefits to you and your company.