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Monday, May 21, 2012

#WIRELESS: "Enterprizes Open Private Label App Stores"

The App Store today means either the Apple App Store of Android Marketplace--for the most part--but with the widespread trend to bring-your-own-device (BYOD) to the enterprise the pressure is rising to have private apps stores. Parnerpedia is banking on that trend, unveiling today its Enterprise AppZone solution that allows any corporate IT department to open its own app store. The "curated" solution allows any enterprise to provision its employees with apps that they download to their own smartphone or tablet to access corporate databases and other resources used in their job: R. Colin Johnson



Here is what Partnerpedia says about its new private-label app store solution: Partnerpedia, a leading provider of enterprise application store and marketplace solutions, today announced the general availability of its Enterprise AppZone solution for corporate IT. Enterprise AppZone is a cloud-based service that offers a curated app marketplace consisting of topselling business apps, as well as a private enterprise app store for corporate IT to distribute and manage apps on BYOD and company owned devices.

The Enterprise AppZone marketplace consists of top selling business apps for Android that are available for direct purchase and download. According to StrategyAnalytics, Android represented over 50% of the US smartphone market in 2011. The value of purchasing apps via Enterprise AppZone over conventional app stores is that corporate IT retains ownership and control over the app licenses for distribution and reallocation to end-users. In addition, the apps are vetted for viruses and the marketplace supports corporate procurement models such as volume and PO based purchasing.

When it comes to iOS apps, all commercially available iOS apps must be purchased via iTunes/App Store due to Apple’s licensing restrictions. However, companies purchasing apps using Apple Volume Purchase Program (VPP) can manage and distribute VPP redemption codes (licenses) using Enterprise AppZone.

For Mobile App Management (MAM), Enterprise AppZone allows corporate IT to create a private Enterprise App Store (EAS) that gives IT control over app policies and procedures while providing users a secure, self-service model for accessingcorporate apps directly on the device.

Corporate IT is able to centrally control the publishing, distribution and management of iOS or Android apps across multiple device types. Apps published into the private company store are automatically scanned for viruses. User access to specific apps is controlled via individual and group permissions with support for LDAP and AD. Other policy controls include mandatory install, versioning and remote deactivation.

End-users can then securely access the private company app store on their device, through an easy-to-use model that’s similar to consumer style app stores. Unlike traditional Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions, Enterprise AppZone is well suited for BYOD through user self-service, and employs application policies that avoid privacy and liability concerns.

Summary of Enterprise AppZone Advantages:
· Corporate Procurement, License Management and Auditing
· App Curation, Vetting, Version and Policy Control
· Mobile App Management and Provisioning Across iOS and Android
· Consolidated Publishing of Third-Party and In-house Apps

Enterprise AppZone was designed with feedback from participants in its early access program, which include organizations from industries such as energy, technology, academia and consumer media. The program spanned two months and encompassed real world scenarios such as the distribution of apps to field operators, private distribution of apps to customers, and enforcement of app policies based on roles and permissions.

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