An app management platform is a solution that helps organizations deploy, secure, monitor, and update applications across desktop, mobile, and cloud environments.
By centralizing management, these platforms support the full lifecycle of applications from provisioning to end-of-life.
In this article, we’ll explore key capabilities of app management platforms at each phase:
- Provisioning: Streamline installation and initial setup
- Configuration: Customize apps and apply policies
- Monitoring: Track performance and usage
- Updating: Keep apps up-to-date and bug-free
- Retirement: Cleanly remove unused apps
Provisioning: Simplified Deployment
Getting applications in the hands of users quickly is essential. App management platforms automate deployment through:
- Packaging and hosting: Apps are packaged for silent installs and hosted in a centralized catalog.
- Targeted rollouts: Admins target deployment to users, groups, or devices.
- Granular delivery options: Choose between immediate, scheduled, or on-demand installs.
This removes the friction users often face downloading, locating installers, and manually configuring apps themselves.
Key Provisioning Capabilities:
- Silent, scalable installation
- Flexible targeting options
- Granular delivery controls
Provisioning through app management translates to:
- Better user experience: Users access apps effortlessly.
- Improved productivity: Less downtime from manual installs.
- Enhanced security: Apps come from a trusted source.
Configuration: Tailor Apps to Specific Needs
App management also shines when it comes to configuring apps to align with business needs.
- Group policies: Define configurations for users or devices.
- Contextual settings: Tailor preferences based on factors like location or network.
- Restriction rules: Limit access and features.
This removes the reliance on rigid vendor-defined configurations.
Examples of common customization options:
- UI preferences: Dark mode, default language
- Feature toggles: Enable/disable functionality
- Access controls: Limit editing permissions
- Behavior policies: Browser homepage, external device access
Benefits of centralized configuration management include:
- Improved focus: Apps come “ready to use” for each user’s context.
- Enhanced security: Apps only expose necessary features and data integrations.
- Simplified administration: Configurations are handled globally rather than per-machine.
Monitoring: Actionable Insights
Understanding how apps perform allows improving the user experience. App management solutions provide rich performance monitoring and analytics covering:
- Utilization: Track opens, time in app, and which features employees use.
- Adoption: See number of installs across groups.
- Issues: Detect crash rates, unresponsiveness, or buggy experiences.
Monitoring through an app management platform enables:
- Identifying underutilized apps: Eliminate wasted licenses or reallocate budgets.
- Pinpointing problematic apps: Isolate crash patterns and troubleshoot issues.
- Enhancing workflows: Optimize configurations to align around how employees actually use apps.
Updating: Continuous Improvement
One key advantage of app management solutions is automating updates across an app portfolio.
- One-click upgrades to latest versions
- Scheduled checks and installations
- Rapid deployment of hotfixes
This ensures users have the most up-to-date apps with all the latest features, security patches, and fixes.
Ongoing updates drive:
- Increased productivity: Employees access new integrated features.
- Enhanced security: Zero-day vulnerabilities get patched quickly.
- Budget optimization: Forcing upgrades prevents overbuying licenses.
Retirement: Smooth Offboarding
Finally, app management platforms prevent shelfware accumulation by streamlining app retirement.
- Uninstall on devices
- Revoke access to back-end data integrations
- Adjust configurations and policies
- Migrate users to replacement platforms
Properly retiring outdated, risky, or wasteful applications enables:
- Security: Reduce attack surface by removing unneeded apps.
- Cost savings: Eliminate subscriptions for unused apps.
- Simplicity: Avoid clutter from outdated platforms.
Key Takeaways
An app management platform consolidates provisioning, configuration, monitoring, updating, and offboarding apps through:
- Streamlined deployment with targeted rollouts
- Contextual policy configuration
- Usage analytics for performance insights
- Automated upgrades for latest features
- Automated uninstalls for outdated apps
This powers simplicity, security, and savings across the entire application lifecycle.
