We have all noticed the big changes Apple has brought with the implementation of the 4.2.6 and 4.3 rules of ASRGs While I believe there is still a lot of stuff to be discussed, I would like to start a discussion regaarding the Enrolling process to Apple's Programs, the complexity of it and the problems it brings to non-technical, small businesses.
Apple has decided more or less that it would benefit from having most apps from small businesses to have their own Developer Account and be enrolled to it's Apple programs. This is ok, it's a business decision, they believe that the cost for quality apps and reviews is too high and they found this way to overcome the issue.
The real problem though, in my opinion is the difficulty of enrolling to their developer programs, the time it needs to, and the maintainance thereafter.
Like many other businesses, we run a software house which built an advanced online ordering system for restaurants. We spent about 4 years in developing our platform and we strongly believe that we have created something that is really advanced, useful and needed by the market. We also give smaller busineses the opportunity to be competitive and have advanced tools in their hands that in other cases would be really out of reach for them.
After the so-called "Applegate" last summer and the results of it last December, Apple has decided to stop the ability of updating apps that are under the developer's account (enforcing mostly the 4.3 and 4.2.6 rules) and force all apps to be transferred under their owner's developer account. In order for a business to have their own developer account they need to:
- Sign up for an icloud account
- enter their business data
- in case they are a legal entity they have to obtain a D-U-N-S number, a process unknown to many of them and for many, quite difficult
- in case their business is not based in an english-speaking country they need to officially translate all their documents sometimes with high cost
- they have to pay online with a somwhow "offline" procedure which is not very clear immediately if their payment went through
- Create a team and then invite their developer to join it
I understand that Apple needs to have some more certified info about the businesses that join their program and this is ok. Until now, they were actually asking developers to do that process so everyone was ok. Now, they ask churches, grocery stores, fast food businesses and gyms, to follow this awkward steps in order to become developers(?!) and be allowed to publish their apps.
Our business has suffered a lot the last 6 months from all these erratic moves and decisions and in many cases we were ridiculed from the announcements we had to make to our public which one time said something and one something else.
Now we finalized our process and we require our clients to go and register for an account in Apple's website. We were relieved when one of our first clients after this change was a little accustomed to the process because he was a developer some years ago. Guess what? Even for him the process was hard, frustrating, and he told us he feels sorry we have to go through this with each client. He finalized the DUNS procedure and now waits for 14 days before Apple gets the info and continue with the process. Meanwhile, earth spins, important customers are lost and we are waiting for the DUNS result.
In enforcing ASRGs 4.3 and 4.2.6 Apple has made a big mistake. I am not here to debate on that with other developers as if they made the right move or not in order to fight spam. There IS a spam problem in app store as well as in google play and there are lots of methods to fight it. The reason I am writing all this is because I believe that Apple is making it so difficult for legitimate and serious companies to do business, making all of us to consider if we are doing the right thing offering our services to others. After talking with Apple on the phone numerous times, I suggested (like they care), that they could at least let us create our clients' accounts from our developer account, charge these accounts with the $99 fee and let us work with our clients as integrators no matter if they are physical or legal entities (really, do you know in how many countries small businesses are owned by one person and they have this person's name as their legal name?) We need to maintain the apps, update certificates update settings etc and this has made our work so hard without reason.
Thank you for bearing with me through this long post. It's not written to start a new flame, but to bring some attention to a serious issue and see if there is any way to make our life easier while we have so many other stuff to fight, like competition, business complexity, new developments and new inventions.
Theodore.