Trouble managing iWork/iLife apps iOS

[Tolandese]

We are attempting to launch 200 iPads in the coming weeks and I was under the impression that the app suite that comes pre installed (keynote, pages, garageband, etc.) could be managed without having to delete them first to remove the apple ID prompt. I was wondering how others are managing these apps during large deployments.

[cdenesha]

You need to request VPP licenses from apple so you can deploy from Casper.

[Chris_Hafner]

...UPDATE - I'm an idiot... I didn't read the iOS tag and gave an OS X answer

[belldesean]

I don't know of a work around for this. In my district we are exclusively device assignable with no users. So for all of our newest iPads that came with iWork/iLife apps we had to sign in with an Apple ID, open up each of the apps, and then log out. It was kind of a pain to do it for each iPad but we wanted to be able to utilize these free apps. For staff iPads, we gave them how-to-instructions and allowed them to do it on their own. If there is another way to do it I'd like that answer too.

[nwantz]

In reply to belldesean:
I was nearly faced with the same task of entering an Apple ID on all devices in our district but, I wasn't willing to accept that because it didn't feel like the "right" answer.
Instead, I've gone with the option of requesting a Managed Distribution app license for our each of the iPads (138 of them in just this first order). The form I filled out can be found here. The form gives the option to provide either the Order Number or Proof of Purchase information (uploaded as a spreadsheet or text format document). I'm expecting an update on the request within the next 24 hours, per the confirmation email.
I'll follow-up with more details on my experience as they unfold.

[bentoms]

We have a number of folks utilising VPP fulfillment (as @nwantz linked), with managed app distribution.

Works very well.

[belldesean]

Thanks for the information @nwantz In my school district, we are getting ready to swap out 4300 iPad 2's with 4300 iPad Air 2's and we want to be able to utilize the free iWork/iLife apps. We don't want to have to log in to each app with an Apple ID in order for the apps to work. I look forward to your follow-up with your experience as they unfold.

[natesimons]

It was a pretty easy process when we went through this. Just contacted Apple. They requested serial numbers and proof of purchase and then they assigned those apps to us through VPP.

[nwantz]

@belldesean Sorry for the delay. Things have been busy around here. I was able to redeem my first request for 138 licenses using the Proof or Purchase method. This was a bit tricky because I needed to have our Director of Technology pull together the various details that are requested (purchase date, invoice or receipt number, model number or product description, purchase price). We don't normally catalogue this information and instead rely on our Business Office to track and record these details. The information should also be available through the Apple Store for Education Institution site, likely in a purchase history section. For my organization, I don't personally use this resource so I'm unable to offer more details on that approach.

If you have access to your organization's DEP/School Manager account, you can also use the Order numbers that are listed on the Assignment History section, under Devices. The information listed in this section reflects the past 18 months of purchases. If you're relying on this method to figure out how many devices were in a particular order, please be aware that Orders can sometimes be broken in to separate lines/rows, depending on when your organization or Apple (during the purchase process) assigned them to an MDM server.
I put the Apple School Manager (ASM) Order numbers into a spreadsheet and added the columns Total Devices and Department (for my own reference), then attached these to the VPP Fulfillment form.
After submitting the request, you should expect a total of 3 emails from Apple.
1. Auto-confirmation of your case entry.
2. A request that you confirm the Apple ID for your VPP account and the distribution type (Redemption Codes or Managed).
3. A closure email stating that the apps have been added to your account and are reflected in VPP Purchase History.

Using the ASM Order number method, I have been able to redeem an additional 15 licenses each so far and have a case pending for another 60. I'd been redeeming them in smaller batches because I wasn't sure that the Order number listed in ASM would be enough info but, so far it seems that it is.

[Tolandese]

I should have updated my original question to reflect that we already have received the codes we needed from Apple and can push out the apps just fine. The goal here was to avoid having to delete those apps after the initial setup just so we could reinstall them. Does everyone else handle them this way? I feel deleting larger apps just to reinstall them is a waste of time and more physical interaction we could avoid.

[Tolandese]

I should have updated my original question to reflect that we already have received the codes we needed from Apple and can push out the apps just fine. The goal here was to avoid having to delete those apps after the initial setup just so we could reinstall them. Does everyone else handle them this way? I feel deleting larger apps just to reinstall them is a waste of time and more physical interaction we could avoid.