Application Guide Part VI: Add Android Enterprise Application

Information

Adding Applications into the Android Enterprise section is intended for the Android device Management with the Android Management API. If you don't manage your Android devices with the newer Android Management API that is available for Cloud Customers, ensure sure to use Add Android/Samsung Knox Application for adding applications to the App Portal, as these sections are intended to add applications with the Android Enterprise Management with the Companion application as the Device Policy Controller. Applications added to the Android Enterprise section are distributed with Policies and Android or Samsung Knox applications are distributed with Tags due to the different underlying technology.

Add Managed Play Application

With the Android Management API, you can add and configure multiple Managed Play applications with different subtypes, as highlighted in the following chapters.

Add Public Applications

Open your Silverback Management Console (e.g https://silverback.imagoverum.com/admin)
Login as an Administrator
Navigate to App Portal
Select Android Enterprise
Press New Application
Press the magnifier icon
Search for your application
Select the application and and press in the overview select
Now the required App Identity information will be imported automatically and will be used for the application name, too
We recommend to adjust the Name to the application name displayed in Google Play
Add a Description (optional)
Configure your App Management options (optional)
Press Save

Add Web Apps

When you add an app into the App Portal and use the search icon, the Managed Google Play is displayed in the iFrame in each case. Here you have in the left side of the iFrame more functions like Web Apps, Private Apps, and Organize Apps. Web apps are Android apps that you create using a website address (URL), icon image, and title. Web apps open in Google Chrome, so be sure to add Google Chrome as a Managed Play application in the App Portal if you plan to distribute Web apps. For more information, see the official Create Web Apps documentation provided by Google.

Add Enterprise Apps

If you want to distribute enterprise applications (*.apk), Android Enterprise provides the ability to upload and distribute via the Managed Google Play iFrame as a Google Hosted Private App. To do this, click New Application in the App Portal and use the search icon to open the Managed Play iFrame. In the left tab, select Private Applications and upload your *.apk file. You can then add it to the policy as a Managed Play application for distribution. For more information, see the official Publish private apps from managed Play in your EMM console documentation.

Another option is for the app developer to share the private app with your Enterprise ID through their Google Play Developer Console, as outlined in Add Enterprise Apps to Managed Google Play.

Organize apps into collections

When you have opened the Managed Play iFrame, you will find in the left tab the Organize Apps section. The Managed Google Play's Organize apps feature lets you group work apps into collections. Collections are displayed on the front page of the managed Play Store app, giving your users quick and easy access to the apps they need for work. You can use collections to organize apps into different categories. For example, you can create an Prodcutivity collection for frequently used apps, and an Collaboration collection for apps related to Microsoft Teams, Viva Engage, etc. In the managed Play Store app, each collection is displayed as a row of apps on the homepage. Users can identify collections by their title (Essentials or Expenses, for example), and can scroll horizontally to view all the apps in a collection. For more information, see the official Organize apps into collections documentation.

Configure App Management

To configure your application in general and the associated App Deployment options, the following options are available.

App Management	Options	Description
Edit managed configuration		With Android Enterprise and Managed Configurations, Google offers application developers a framework to provide in an easy and streamlined way application configuration options. With that, you can easily query, display, and configure available configurations for Managed Play apps. This is the go-to approach for all application configuration on managed devices with Android Enterprise.
Installation Type	Available Preinstalled Force Installed Blocked Required for Setup Kiosk	Available: The app will be available in Google Play to install. Preinstalled: The app will be automatically installed and can be removed by the user. Force Installed: The app will be automatically installed and can't be removed by the user. Blocked: The app will be blocked and can't be installed. If the app was installed under a previous policy, it will be uninstalled. This also blocks its instant app functionality. Required for Setup: The app will be automatically installed during the Enrollment process and can't be removed by the user and will prevent setup from completion until installation is complete. Kiosk: The app will be automatically installed in kiosk mode and the status bar will be automatically disabled. Device setup won't complete until the app is installed. After installation, users won't be able to remove the app. You can only set this Installation Type for one app per policy.
Auto update mode	Default Postpone High Priority	Default: The app will be automatically updated with low priority to minimize the impact on the user. The device is notified about a new update within 24 hours after it is published by the developer, after which the app is updated the next time the constraints below are met. The app is updated when all of the following constraints are met: The device is not actively used. The device is connected to an unmetered network. The device is charging Postpone: The app will not be automatically updated for a maximum of 90 days after the app becomes out of date. 90 days after the app becomes out of date, the latest available version will be installed automatically with low priority. After the app is updated it is not automatically updated again until 90 days after it becomes out of date again. The user can still manually update the app from the Play Store at any time. High Priority: The app will be updated as soon as possible and no constraints are applied. The device will be notified immediately about a new update after it becomes available.
Permission policy	Prompt Grant Deny	Prompt: Prompts the user to grant all required permission. Grant: Automatically grants the requested permissions from the App. Deny: Automatically denies requested permissions from the App.
Work profile widgets	Allowed Disallowed	Allowed: Work profile widgets are allowed. This means the application will be able to add widgets to the home screen. Disallowed: Work profile widgets are disallowed. This means the application will not be able to add widgets to the home screen.
Minimum Version Code	e.g. 2000001096	The app must already be published to Google Play with a version code greater than or equal to this value and if set, the device attempts to update the app to at least this version code. If the app is not up-to-date, the device information will contain a Non-Compliance with the reason App Not Updated. Using this option might affect apps in active use. To get the version codes for your applications, please contact the app developer. Please note that you should not specify more than 20 applications with a minimum version code per policy.

Next Steps

Deploy your application via a Policy