Adding a public app for Windows

Add a public Windows app to the MaaS360 App Catalog to distribute it to managed devices. You can search the Windows Store App, review the app details, configure deployment settings, and assign the app to user groups. After you publish the app, users can install it from the MaaS360 Windows Store App on their Windows devices.

Procedure

  1. From the IBM® MaaS360® Portal home page, select Apps > Catalog.
  2. Click Add, expand the Windows section, and then select Windows Store App.
  3. On the Windows Store App window, provide the following details in the App Details tab:
    Option Description
    Windows Store Product Id It is a unique identifier for the application by the Microsoft Store. For more information on finding the Windows Store Product ID, see Finding the Windows Store Product ID.
    App Name Specify the name of the app as mentioned in the Microsoft Store website. For example, Evernote, LinkedIn, Slack
    App Icon Browse and upload the app icon.
    Description The description of the app. You can copy the description from the Windows Store website or you can copy from the Winget command output while fetching the Windows Store Product ID for the app.
    Category The category of the app.
    Screenshot Screenshots of the app.
  4. Select the Policies and Distribution tab and provide the following details:
    Note: MDM Extender Agent (MES) version 4.38 and later supports the following options.
    • Install Automatically
    • MDM Control Removal
    • Selective Wipe
    • Deletion from portal or stopping distribution
    Option Description
    Remove App on The app is automatically removed from the device in the following scenarios:
    • MDM Control Removal

      The app is automatically removed from the device when the administrator ends MDM control or a user removes MDM control from the device.

    • Selective Wipe

      The app is automatically removed from the device during selective wipe operations. It deletes corporate apps and data but keeps personal information intact.

    • Deletion from portal or stopping distribution

      The app is automatically removed from the device when you delete the app from the MaaS360 portal or stop distribution or delete from distribution list.
    Install Settings

    When you enable Install Automatically option, IBM MaaS360 automatically installs the app on selected devices that receive the distribution. The app deploys silently in the background without user interaction.

    Note:
    • Any changes to the Install Settings or Security Policies of a distributed app require redistribution for the updated settings and policies to take effect on the device.
    • If an app in the Microsoft Store does not support silent installation, automatic installation might fail. In this case, you must manually start the installation from the IBM MaaS360 App Catalog and respond to the on-screen prompts to complete the process.
    Distribute to Distribute to

    The devices that receive the app. Use the plus icon to add multiple distributions. You can distribute an app to devices in the following ways.

    None
    The app is loaded in the App Catalog, but the app is not distributed to devices immediately.
    Specific Device
    The app is loaded in the App Catalog and deployed to a specific device.
    Group
    The app is deployed to a group of devices.
    All Devices
    All devices receive the app.
  5. Select the Advanced tab and provide the following details:
    Option Description
    App Discovery Portal Enter the custom app attribute values that are supplied for the app and specify whether to display the app in the App Discovery Portal. For more information about the values for custom app attribute, see Adding an app to the App Catalog. Users can use the App Discovery Portal to request apps that are distributed to other users in the organization.
    • Not Available
      The app is not visible in the App Discovery Portal.
    • Viewing Only
      The app is visible in the App Discovery Portal.
    • Viewing & Request
      The app is visible in the App Discovery Portal for requests.
      Note: The Viewing & Request option is not available for Windows apps.
  6. Click Add.
    Note: MaaS360 is unable to detect the installation status of a few Microsoft native apps on endpoints such as Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Edge Browser.
    The Windows public app is successfully added to the App Catalog.