iosipaenterprise

Apple enterprise program


I have an iOS application and I want to share this using apple enterprise account I have some questions.

I have developed an iOS application for our company members and I have enrolled apple enterprise program. now I'm looking for other information about the Apple enterprise program which I can't find in Google.

  1. how exactly can I share my app with company's employees? Is it done by sending a link or there are other ways?
  2. I read that this account only allowed me to share this app with company members. How should I validate devices in the company? I mean how Apple find out someone is in my company?
  3. I want to share this app to more than 500 devices within the company. Is it possible? I mean is there any limitation for release numbers?
  4. Can I publish 2 or more apps with one Apple enterprise account withtin the company?

If you can provide me links for more info I would be appreciated. Thanks for your help!


Solution

  • For distributing(or sharing) iOS application inside your organisation you have two options In-House distribution and Custom Apps distribution.

    Because you enrolled in Apple Developer Enterprise Program you will have to use In-House distribution because it is the only way to do it as stated in WWDC 2019 talk App Distribution – From Ad-hoc to Enterprise

    1. How exactly can I share my app with company's employees? You will have to utilise In-House distribution in order to share your app with company's employees.

    Reading through Apple Deployment Documentation there are two ways you can distribute proprietary in-house apps:

    Which answers the second part of your first question. I won't describe website option, because of the needs you define in your next questions MDM would be the right approach. But if you want to take a look on how to do it with website you can relate to iOS In-house app distribution on own server article.

    Moving to the second question, as stated in WWDC 2019 talk App Distribution – From Ad-hoc to Enterprise:

    The apps that you deploy using in-house distribution must only go to your employees and cannot be made available to others.

    So yes, you're allowed to share apps with company members only.

    For solving the problem on how to validate devices in your company you should read more about MDM, which basically allows you to add and manage devices of your company in one place. There are plenty of MDM solutions on the market and one example of it would be SimpleMDM. But MDM is out of the scope of this question, feel free to explore it on your own and write a new question if you have problem understanding it.

    1. How Apple find out someone is in my company? Apple can't find out if someone is part of your company. It's your job to follow Apple guidelines of Apple Developer Enterprise Program and make sure that app is distributed only internally. This is also why The Verge is calling it Wild West of mobile apps.

    2. I want to share this app to more than 500 devices within the company. Is it possible? I mean is there any limitation for release numbers? This question is perfect example of why MDM is convenient tool to use. When you have so many devices and you need to manage them, e.g. distribute apps to those, you would go with MDM solution that helps you select a group of devices to which you can then distribute the app. Of course you will first have to add devices and app to MDM. There shouldn't be any limitations in terms of app deployment but it's best for you to consult with MDM provider.

    3. Can I publish 2 or more apps with one Apple enterprise account withtin the company? You handle publishing and distribution of the apps on your own independently from the App Store so apple can't really check how many apps you published. But if you want to make this statement official we can take a look at marketing text on Apple Developer Enterprise Program site:

    The Apple Developer Enterprise Program allows large organizations to develop and deploy proprietary, internal-use apps to their employees.

    Here Apple is writing in plural so this would mean that you can develop and deploy as many as you want.