Apperian hosts app stores for Cisco, Procter & Gamble, Estee Lauder and other corporations that take advantage of this Apple spin-off's ultra-secure cloud-based provisioning service for employer-written private-label apps like those shown here.
Since Apple announced its over-the-air protocol last year, enterprises from Cisco to Procter & Gamble have quietly opened their own private-label app stores, with the help of behind-the-scenes Apple spin-off Apperian.
Apple's over-the-air protocol enables any enterprise to bypass iTunes and create its own private-label application store, with complete IT control of provisioning, with Apple spin-off Apperian Inc. providing the necessary cloud-based hosting services.
Apperian was spun off with Apple's blessing by its former head of enterprise services, Chuck Goldman, in 2009. With the release of Apple's over-the-air protocol in 2010, Apperian began hosting private-label application stores on its own cloud computers for any enterprise.
Unlike Antenna's HTML5 applications managed by its Volt-client and Antenna's Mobility Platform, the Apperian Client is the first native application to enable enterprises to create their own iTunes-like application store experience for their employees.
"Apperian's business model is to support pure native iOS apps--and soon Android too--which are developed not by us, but by our enterprise customers, and which we house is a cloud-based app store that employees can browse just like they do the iTunes app store," said Apperian CEO David Patrick.
Apperian's cloud platform, called EASE (Enterprise App Services Environment), runs as SaaS (software as a service) to deploy applications created by enterprises for employees on their smartphones and tablets. All the applications are under the control of the enterprise. IT managers use a dashboard to provision and track usage based on specific employee needs. Employees sign onto and authenticate at the company application store, located in Apperian's Ease cloud, then choose from among the applications that IT has authorized them to access. IT managers use Ease analytics to produce reports on usage and trends. An Apperian supplied software development kit and application templates simplify application development efforts for enterprise IT departments.
Apperian recently got the attention of Wall Street when its business model was endorsed by North Bridge Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and Kleiner Perkins' Caufield & Byers' iFund, which together put up $9.5 million to supplement Apperian's prior seed funding from CommonAngels and LaunchCapital. The endorsement of the venture capital leaders virtually ensures Apperian's deeper penetration into Fortune 500 companies wanting to open their own private-label application stores. Apperian customers already include Procter & Gamble, Dupont, AAA, Intuit, Estee Lauder, NetApp, the Mitre Corporation, and the world's largest enterprise application store, Cisco's App Fridge (for cool enterprise applications).
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