Scheduling the installation of Windows apps distributed to the App Catalog

MaaS360 enhances the App distribution workflow by allowing administrators to schedule the installation of apps on end user devices from the App Catalog. After apps are distributed to the App Catalog, administrators can choose which apps to install on end user devices, and specify whether to install those apps instantly on the device or schedule the app installation to start on a specific date and time of day over a staggered period of time to reduce the load on the network.

Note: Administrators can only schedule the installation of distributed Windows EXE, MSI, BAT, and downloadable (DOCX, PPTX, JPEG, PNG, XML, or INIT) files to Windows 10+ MDM devices. Windows Universal App Packages (APPX and APPXBUNDLE) and Windows devices that are managed by DTM are not supported.

Scheduling the installation of Windows apps distributed to the App Catalog

Follow these steps:

From the MaaS360® Portal Home page, select Apps > Catalog.
Click on the app that you want to distribute.
In the Detail view of the app, click View. The App Summary page is displayed.
Go to the Install Settings section, and enable the Install Automatically check box.
Click Distribute. The Distribute App window is displayed.

Provide the following details:

Option	Description
Target	Specific Device: The app is deployed to the selected device. Group: The app is deployed to all devices in the group. All Devices: Applicable devices are targeted based on app type. Use the (+) plus icon to add multiple distribution targets.
Schedule distribution	Schedules the installation of distributed apps from the App Catalog to a Windows device or a group of devices over a staggered period of time. When the scheduled date and time approaches, the app is installed on the device. Note: The Schedule distribution option only supports Windows EXE, MSI, BAT, and downloadable (DOCX, PPTX, JPEG, PNG, XML, or INIT) files. Windows Universal App Packages (APPX and APPXBUNDLE) and Windows devices that are managed by DTM are not supported. App installation scheduling options: Start date: Select the date to schedule the installation of the distributed app on a Windows device or group of devices. Start time (0-23 Hrs): Select the local time on the device to schedule the installation of the distributed app to the Windows device or a group of devices. The values include: Immediately 00 (midnight or 12:00 AM) to 23 (11:00 PM) Distribute over (0-24 Hrs): Forces MaaS360 to space out the installation of distributed app binaries to Windows devices over the selected hours to reduce the load on the network. The values include: Immediately 1 to 24 hours Note: If a device belongs to multiple groups that use different scheduling options, the option with the earliest scheduled start date is used. If the scheduled start date for app installation (for example, 11 November 2020 at 2:00 PM) has passed, then app installation is scheduled for the next day at the same time (for example, 12 November 2020 at 2:00 PM). MaaS360 tries to reschedule app installation three times. After the reschedule limit of three times is met, the app is installed immediately on devices.
Send Email	Sends an email to users to inform users that a new app is added to the App Catalog.

Option

Description

Target

Specific Device: The app is deployed to the selected device.
Group: The app is deployed to all devices in the group.
All Devices: Applicable devices are targeted based on app type. Use the (+) plus icon to add multiple distribution targets.

Schedule distribution

Schedules the installation of distributed apps from the App Catalog to a Windows device or a group of devices over a staggered period of time. When the scheduled date and time approaches, the app is installed on the device.

Note: The Schedule distribution option only supports Windows EXE, MSI, BAT, and downloadable (DOCX, PPTX, JPEG, PNG, XML, or INIT) files. Windows Universal App Packages (APPX and APPXBUNDLE) and Windows devices that are managed by DTM are not supported.

App installation scheduling options:

Start date: Select the date to schedule the installation of the distributed app on a Windows device or group of devices.
Start time (0-23 Hrs): Select the local time on the device to schedule the installation of the distributed app to the Windows device or a group of devices. The values include:
- Immediately
- 00 (midnight or 12:00 AM) to 23 (11:00 PM)
Distribute over (0-24 Hrs): Forces MaaS360 to space out the installation of distributed app binaries to Windows devices over the selected hours to reduce the load on the network. The values include:
- Immediately
- 1 to 24 hours

Note:

If a device belongs to multiple groups that use different scheduling options, the option with the earliest scheduled start date is used.
If the scheduled start date for app installation (for example, 11 November 2020 at 2:00 PM) has passed, then app installation is scheduled for the next day at the same time (for example, 12 November 2020 at 2:00 PM). MaaS360 tries to reschedule app installation three times. After the reschedule limit of three times is met, the app is installed immediately on devices.

Send Email

Sends an email to users to inform users that a new app is added to the App Catalog.

Click Distribute. The app is successfully distributed to devices. If distribution fails, see Tracking the status of an app for more information.

Viewing the installation schedule for a distributed Windows app

Follow these steps:

In the MaaS360 Portal, locate the app in the App Catalog at Apps > Catalog. The App Catalog page is displayed.
Click More under the app, and then select Manage Distributions.
The scheduling details are displayed for the app.

Viewing the installation status of a distributed Windows app on a Windows device

Follow these steps:

In the MaaS360 Portal, locate the device under Devices.
Select Summary > App Distributions. A list of apps that are distributed and installed on the device is displayed.