In the contemporary world, businesses are transforming continuously owing to the constant technological upgradation. One such aspect that is constantly evolving is the development of newer and latest mobile applications to cater to a variety of business and personal needs. People today depend heavily on mobile applications as it offers an on-the-go service with just a few clicks!
Mobile apps are dominating not only the consumer world but also the business environment where users are leveraging already existing business-friendly apps for instant emails, calendars, task managers and new-age private enterprise apps developed by and customized for the companies, to stay operational, agile and productive all day long, from anywhere and anytime.
Today, the smartphone is a necessity and is always present in people’s pockets, wherever they go. While every industrial sector advances toward enterprise mobility, managing corporate mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. and especially the content and applications on those devices become vital. This brings us to the importance of Mobile Application Management. So, let’s talk about what exactly is Mobile Application Management (MAM).
What is Mobile Application Management?
Mobile Application Management (MAM) is the secure deployment of applications on devices. It is a vital aspect of Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), MAM can be defined as the process of managing, securing and monitoring the installation, uninstallation and access of the public or in-house business apps within the company environment, on both corporate-owned and employee-owned (BYOD) devices. Today, there are several efficient cloud-based MAM tools that streamline the management and updates of apps for businesses.
Basic Stats About Mobile Application Management
According to a report, the global cloud applications market had a value of 133.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 and is expected to reach 168.6 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. According to another report by Syntonic, 87% of businesses allow their employees to use their personal devices to access business apps. With the constant surge in the use of public and private apps for maximizing productivity and making the most of the dynamic work environment, it is imperative for businesses to consider implementing efficient tools to streamline their Mobile Application Management. This is where modern-day Mobile Application Management solutions play a vital role.
Importance of Mobile Application Management Solutions
With several organizations adopting the mobile-only or mobile-first business models, enterprises are creating their customized app catalogs and relying heavily on mobile applications for communication, data sharing, corporate emails, remote support and much more. In such a scenario, IT admins are responsible for provisioning all corporate devices of enterprises with the right set of applications. including those developed through React Development services.
Mobile Application Management solutions provide application-level granular control to the company IT admins to monitor and secure enterprise app data by separating them from personal app and data and by restricting actions like copying or transferring app data from a work profile to a personal profile in a BYOD environment. In short, MAM solutions enable the IT admin to enforce security and corporate policies on enterprise mobile apps to limit any kind of data flow/sharing from one app to another and restrict unauthorized access leading to data breaches and security threats.
Benefits of Mobile Application Management Solutions
In an organization driven by enterprise mobility and remote workforce, enterprise apps play the most crucial role in allowing the employees to stay productive and agile. Mobile Application Management ensures secure access to these enterprise apps while assuring the employees that their personal apps are not compromised by the company IT admin, proving beneficial for both the enterprise and employees. Following are the vital benefits of MAM.
1. Create a customized app catalog
Mobile Application Management enables enterprises to create app catalogs that are customized for their business requirements. IT admins of organizations can then seamlessly deploy various sets of public or in-house enterprise applications to their end-users, or push user-specific apps to different users.
2. Department-specific app deployment
Businesses operate with a diverse set of teams with even more diverse application requirements. It is not imperative for all teams in an enterprise to utilize all applications available on the enterprise’s app catalog. With Mobile Application Management, IT admins of organizations can selectively push department-specific applications to various user groups.
3. Silent app installation
Mobile Application Management solutions extend policies that let IT admins of organizations automatically deploy applications that are mandatory for the business over the air with minimal end-user intervention. Since this process can be automated and pre-configured, it reduces the operational load on the IT teams and prevents employees from engaging in complex installation procedures.
4. Managed app configurations
Selective Android, iOS and Windows applications enable enterprise IT teams to toggle their configurations and condition the apps to suit their business requirements. With Mobile Application Management solutions, configurations of these selective apps can be pre-set and pushed on the organization’s corporate device fleets without requiring end-user involvement in post-installation protocols.
5. Schedule App Updates
Efficient app management is not just about distributing and installing apps on an organization-wide level. IT admins of organizations also have to ensure that the apps installed on their employees’ devices are always up to date, to ensure maximum performance and minimize cyber risks. Mobile Application Management solutions help IT admins keep track of the versatile app versions and schedule timely updates.
6. Distribute Enterprise Apps
All major OS like Android, iOS, macOS and Windows 10 have their app stores that provide users access to numerous apps. However, on an organizational level, several businesses build their in-house apps meant to be used specifically for business purposes by their employees. With MAM software, IT admins can not only distribute public apps on their entire device inventory but also private enterprise apps.
7. Improved security
MAM ensures that enterprise apps are kept separated and secured from personal apps and unwanted access in a BYOD environment. It prevents any sort of data flow or sharing of information from one to another. In short, it protects the enterprise apps and the sensitive company data stored inside them from any security threats, risks and misuse.
8. Increased operational efficiency
MAM enables the IT admin to seamlessly and effortlessly manage, monitor, secure, distribute, update and revoke enterprise apps and automate several routine tasks from a single console. Additionally, employees obtain increased efficiency with the availability of enterprise apps on their corporate or personal devices, regardless of their locations.
MDM vs. MAM
Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM) are popularly misunderstood to be one and the same. The former i.e, MDM, addresses the security and monitoring on a device level. IT admins can set security and compliance policies on devices for easy enrollment, monitor usage, track locations, secure networks, etc. while being used, at rest or in transit.
Mobile Application Management, does not interfere with the device functionalities, but specifically offers security and ease of deployment for software applications on mobile devices. With MAM, IT admins can pre-configure business applications, push them on device fleets, carry out routine maintenance and updates, install and delete apps from devices and much more. Specifically, without hampering the user’s private data.
However, today as most businesses are exploring mobility options, enterprises prefer deploying a combination of management strategies. Hence, most modern-day MDM solutions come bundled with MAM capabilities to offer a consolidated solution to organizations. This new management method of enterprise mobility is termed Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM).
Top Trends Governing Enterprise Apps
1. Progressive & Hybrid Web Apps
Progressive Web Apps (PWA) are extensions to websites that can be added to home screens and provides the user the feeling of a native app. PWAs can be used even in an offline mode. Hybrid Apps on the other hand are a combination of native apps available on Android, iOS and Windows devices and PWAs.
2. Mobile Apps and Wearables
Wearables are being rapidly adopted by companies. According to an annual survey report from Enterprise Mobility Exchange, most companies are allowing their employees to access enterprise apps and data through wearables. Keeping this new development in mind, enterprise app developers are acquiring the expertise to meet enterprise requirements.
3. AR/VR technology
Augmented and virtual reality is making inroads in companies due to its immersive and interactive. Companies are exploring ways to integrate AR/VR technology with enterprise mobile apps to enhance the impact of customer engagement, employee training and data visualization. The demand for ‘beyond the screen’ technology will only rise with time.
4. Mobile Apps and AI and ML
Mobile apps are on the way to leveraging the technology of artificial intelligence and machine learning and embedded together they will aim to give the user a more personalized experience along with instant data analysis. Chatbots integrated mobile apps will take real-time user-device communications interaction to the next level.
5. Blockchain technology
Futuristic companies are exploring ways to integrate blockchain technology with mobile apps to drive purposes like smart contracts, supply chain tracking, and payment processing. The future will witness blockchain being utilized by app developers to improve the real-time functionality of apps and app authentication.
6. IoT for Mobile Apps
Internet of things is penetrating every inch and corner of the enterprise technology framework and mobile apps are not spared! New age app developers are creating IoT-enabled work apps that are well-connected with sensors for businesses to detect and predict any failure or defects of industrial parts, saving time and cost for companies.
7. Micro Apps
As the name suggests, micro-apps are smaller apps that can be a part of a larger application. Micro-apps are single-purpose stacked blocks of codes that perform individual tasks in a user’s workflow. They act as plug-ins and help employees obtain all the information that they require.
Closing Lines
The use of enterprise mobile apps is predominant in almost every industrial sector and companies are gearing up fast to ensure that their employees are enabled enough to leverage these company-approved apps in their smart devices within a secure and controlled environment to get their jobs done in the easiest and most effective possible way. Mobile Application Management is invariably a great functionality to look out for whenever you search for a reliable EMM solution provider. Scalefusion is a device and end-point management solution that offers capabilities of both MDM and MAM, to enable an efficient EMM.
