What is Apple VPP (Volume Purchase Program)?


As the second part of the free Apple Business Manager portal, Apple VPP contains crucial features for IT admins. But what is Apple VPP? And what are its main benefits?

What is Apple VPP? Corporate-Wide Rollout of iOS Apps with Apple’s VPP
What is Apple VPP? Apple’s VPP supports various distribution methods.

What is Apple VPP?

Alongside Apple DEP, Apple VPP is one of two important tools contained in the Apple Business Manager portal, as explained in our complete guide to Apple Business Manager.

Apple VPP (Volume Purchase Program) enables companies and educational institutions to centrally purchase a large number of app licenses for iOS and macOS devices.

What Are the Advantages of Apple’s VPP?

Apple VPP significantly simplifies your company’s central administration of apps. You can buy apps in large quantities and easily assign them to the appropriate users. If large quantities of apps are purchased, there are also discounts available when compared to the individual purchase price.

In addition, a VPP account gives you access to tailor-made B2B apps from private developers. App developers can directly distribute their apps through the VPP to their customers’ VPP account instead of using the public App Store. This is especially useful for third-party app developers as they can control who has access to their app. For example, if an app developer has created an app that is intended for internal use only within the customer’s business, the developer can publish it so that only the customer can access it.

The Apple Volume Purchase Program also has a few advantages for end users. Apps no longer have to be purchased and then billed individually to the company. In addition, if the app is distributed in combination with an MDM solution for example Cortado MDM, no Apple ID is even required when installing the apps.

Requirements for Using the Apple Volume Purchase Program

Once the right apps have been selected for mobile users, they should be rolled out to the iOS devices as quickly and as easily as possible. Apple VPP supports various distribution methods, for example using an MDM solution. We describe the different rollout options in detail here.

  1. Registering with the Apple Deployment Program (ADP)
    Every qualified company or educational institution can register via https://deploy.apple.com/. This is what is needed:
    • A business email address that is not tied to an iTunes account or Apple ID.
    • A confirmation contact that confirms that the person has signing authority.
    • A Dun & Bradstreet Number (D-U-N-S stands for Data Universal Numbering System) The period from application to receipt of a D-U-N-S number is usually within five working days, depending on your location. If you have already registered for the Apple Deployment Program (ADP), you can add the VPP account via the website.
  2. Mobile Device Management (MDM) with DEP/VPP Support
    Not every MDM solution supports DEP/VPP. Before participating in the Apple Deployment Program, make sure that you are fully prepared for this on your software side.
  3. Setting Up an Apple Volume Purchase Program Account
    In order to take advantage of the Volume Purchasing Program (VPP), you must now link your account to your MDM solution. You can find instructions on how to do this for Cortado in our online documentation.