Apple's Device Enrollment Program extended to authorized reseller purchases, more countries

According to Apple's DEP for business webpage, as well as Apple's IT in the Classroom page, the company is allowing DEP access to institutions that purchased their equipment through an Authorized Apple Reseller or carrier. DEP was previously restricted to devices acquired directly from Apple.

Whether you purchase devices directly from Apple or through participating Apple Authorized Resellers and carriers, you can manage all your corporate-owned devices through the Device Enrollment Program. Contact your reseller or carrier to see if they're currently supporting the program or working with their Apple representative to support it in the near future.

As noted above, resellers must support the service on their end as those signing up need to enter a DEP Reseller ID when creating an Apple Deployment Programs account, the company's revamped IT tool released in February.

As part of ADP for business and education, DEP streamlines mass iOS and OS X device deployments for IT staff and end users, readying the hardware for centralized setup and mobile device management (MDM) automatically. For example, DEP can be used to create multiple administration accounts, configure MDM servers for device handling and assign user profiles out of the box. One tentpole feature is "zero-touch configuration," which immediately configures account settings, apps, settings and more when a user first activates their device.

In addition to third-party purchase support, DEP is now available in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, UK, and the U.S.

Additional information can be found in Apple's Device Enrollment Program Guide (PDF download)