ILIV is a UK-based interior textiles manufacturer serving both residential and commercial customers, from interior designers and curtain makers to large hospitality brands. Apple devices play a critical role in the company’s design work, but for years those devices were never centrally managed.
Before Iru, Mac devices weren’t enrolled in any management platform. Passwords lived with end users. Installing or updating software meant relying on designers to handle it themselves or having IT remotely access devices to make changes. Older iMac computers were set up manually, with little consistency or visibility.
That approach became a problem when a new shipment of MacBook Pro devices was on the way. With no device management in place, the IT team needed a better way to prepare new devices quickly and ensure they were configured securely from day one.
For a small IT team, the existing setup simply didn’t scale.
We needed something reliable and easy to use. Something low maintenance that just worked out of the box.
Will Bolton
Senior IT Technician
The timing added pressure. New devices were arriving within days, and whatever solution they chose had to be quick to deploy and easy to maintain.
After reviewing several options for endpoint management, the team chose Iru for its ease of use and straightforward day-to-day workflows. The team moved from first contact to a fully configured environment in a single afternoon. When new Mac devices arrived the following Monday, they were automatically enrolled and ready to use immediately.
ILIV’s Mac computers are primarily used by the design team, along with a set of iPhone and iPad devices used for photography, quality control, and office operations.
With everything centrally managed, IT could deploy required apps in one step. Adobe Creative Cloud and industry-specific design software were installed automatically, including vendor-provided installers that previously required manual setup. Microsoft 365 apps were enforced across mobile devices so every employee had the same baseline tools from day one.
Before, each setup was manual. Now, it was consistent and repeatable.
Security was already a priority for ILIV. The business had experienced a ransomware incident in the past, and leadership was determined not to repeat it or risk losing data again.
That experience pushed the company to strengthen its security posture, including MFA for every user, immutable backups, and encrypted devices. With Iru, the IT team could consistently enforce device-level policies such as encryption, password requirements, and update settings across Mac devices as well as iPhone and iPad.
When a device was recently lost at an airport, the team was able to lock it down immediately through Iru, preventing any potential data exposure. App installs were approved and controlled, reducing risk without slowing teams down.
We might log in once a month, sometimes less. Being able to set something and forget about it was essential for us.
Will Bolton
Senior IT Technician.
With device management in place, ILIV replaced manual setup with a predictable, repeatable workflow. New Mac devices could be enrolled through Apple Business Manager and arrive ready to use, with design apps, Microsoft 365, and security settings applied automatically.
Designers no longer needed to install their own tools or wait for IT to remote into devices. When changes were required, such as updating security settings, deploying new software, or adjusting printer configurations, the IT team could make updates centrally in minutes instead of relying on back-and-forth troubleshooting.
For a two-person IT team, that shift freed up time to focus on strengthening the broader IT environment, consolidating core systems, and improving security without increasing day-to-day workload.
ILIV’s IT strategy focuses on building a secure, resilient environment that can scale without constant rework. With Iru, the team has standardized its device management, creating a consistent approach to enrollment, app deployment, and security that aligns with its broader effort to consolidate systems.
As the business grows, new Mac devices can be issued and enrolled the same way every time, with required apps and security settings applied automatically. That consistency allows the IT team to support more devices without reworking processes or taking on additional operational burden.