Apple @ Work: If you think Apple ‘Sherlocked’ 1Password, you aren’t paying attention

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Ever since Apple wrapped up its WWDC keynote, I’ve seen a continuous stream of posts on X, blogs, etc, about how ‘1Password has been Sherlocked’ by Apple’s dedicated password manager app in iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and iPadOS 18. I am here to set the record straight: if you think 1Password is competing with Apple as a password manager app for consumers, you haven’t been paying attention to what the company offers today.

About Apple @ Work: Bradley Chambers managed an enterprise IT network from 2009 to 2021. Through his experience deploying and managing firewalls, switches, a mobile device management system, enterprise grade Wi-Fi, 1000s of Macs, and 1000s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple IT managers deploy Apple devices, build networks to support them, train users, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for IT departments.

1Password is one of those apps I’ve been using since the early days of the iPhone, as well as its initial release on macOS. While I don’t know for sure, I think I purchased it originally in 2007 or 2008. I signed up for the family plan when it was released, and I’ve been happily paying for it ever since. I love sharing vaults across our family and the easy integration into multiple web browsers.

With that being said, consumers are no longer 1Password’s key target audience. Do they still offer an amazing personal and family account service? Absolutely, but this isn’t where their growth is coming from. 1Password is an enterprise company now.

Here’s a prime example of something you learn about when you go to 1Password’s website. Extended Access Management.

While I won’t go into depth on this feature for the sake of time, you can see that it is not a consumer-level feature. It is aimed at enterprise IT departments. Over the past few years, 1Password has been building out tools aimed directly at security and IT teams. In fact, if you’re an enterprise customer, they’ll give you free family accounts to use as well.

For enterprise customers, you can allow unlocking 1Password with your SSO provider, send
events to your SIEM tool for custom dashboards, log storage, and visualization, and automatically provision employees with Azure, Okta, and more. Enterprise customers are not going to rely on password managers built for consumers. They need control, visibility, and integration. This is what 1Password brings over Apple’s dedicated password app. It’s more than just having a dedicated app.

Kolide acquisition

A few months back, 1Password acquired Kolide. When explaining why the acquisition made sense, this is is what they had to say:

This is where Kolide fits into the 1Password story. Kolide is a leader in device health and contextual access management, and companies need a way to ensure that both the device used and every access request are secure. What also makes Kolide particularly compelling is how the company has taken a similar approach to 1Password and works to enlist employees to deliver better security. This is only possible by providing employees with tools that make security easy to use and adopt, enable them to secure their own activities, and provide them with the context to make the right decisions at the right time.

If you aren’t familiar with Kolide, I’ll give you the TL;DR: It’s a way to ensure that devices logging into your Okta instance are approved and secure devices with up-to-date software and patched versions of the OS. For example, if your macOS version is out of date with company policy, Kolide won’t allow you to log into your Okta instance. If your mobile device doesn’t have a password, Kolide won’t let you add Okta-based apps (including Slack, Google Workspace, etc) to it. I use it daily, and it’s one of the simplest but effective tools I’ve used. It’s not intrusive but gives IT teams the assurance they need for various compliance reasons.

Wrap up

I am thrilled Apple is adding a dedicated password manager. It’ll be great for users but is not a business tool. 1Password saw the writing on the wall years ago and has been building its enterprise tech stack. They have plenty of developer tools as well. The next time you think Apple has “Sherlocked” a company, it would be worth actually seeing how the company is growing its business, and 1Password is becoming one of the best ways for IT and security teams to roll out robust password and pass key management in a way that is auditable and scalable.

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