MetTel Named Apple Partner, Now Selling Latest iPhones Through Partners And Direct To Businesses

Communications service provider MetTel, one of six Apple carrier partners, is now selling iPhone 8 and 8 Plus for its enterprise customers.

MetTel's business customers can now purchase the latest iOS device through the provider, along with their enterprise mobility management and communications services, Max Silber, vice president of mobility and IoT for MetTel, told CRN.

MetTel, one of only six service providers that Apple is partnered with today, adds a unique twist to the partnership in the form of its "2-minute drill," the company's over-the-air installation of security and business process software. This setup ensures the device is enterprise-ready in under two minutes, rather than days or weeks, Silber said.

[Related: MetTel's New Fleet Management Offering Packages IoT As A Complete Solution For Channel Partners]

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Apple chose MetTel as one of its strategic carrier partners because of its growing B2B footprint in the distributed enterprise, Silber said. Another selling point was MetTel's universal device enrollment program (DEP), a version of Apple's own DEP. This process saves corporate IT departments valuable time and resources. MetTel's flavor of DEP allows IT to enroll an iPhone only once, regardless of which carrier network it subscribes, rather than having to enroll iPhones separately for each carrier network.

MetTel will offer the new devices and its mobility management solutions as a managed service for enterprise customers. Businesses will also have self-service access to their mobility environment if they want to manage the process in-house.

The new partnership means opportunity for MetTel's own partner base to reach more enterprise customers, Silber said.

"This is an additional layer of automation and features we are offering as a part of our services," he said. "It's another opportunity to allow our channel partners to sell into bigger organizations that require this level of automation."

MetTel has been offering wireless plans for business customers and bills the customer directly on behalf of the carrier. Customers can be billed for devices, services, and wireless plans across a variety of providers on a single statement from MetTel.

In addition to the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, the iPhone X will also be available through MetTel for pre-order on Oct. 27, according to the New York City-based company.

Before the partnership, MetTel was selling iOS devices, among other mobile devices, by the provider wasn't procuring Apple's devices through the company. The partnership gives MetTel better access and will help it avoid inventory shortages for large orders, Silber said.

"Since we have the ability to directly source from Apple, it alleviates inventory management concerns when new devices get released," he said.