Managing iOS Applications – Esper Help

This feature is available for: ✓ Blueprints 2.0

With Esper, you have two options to manage your iOS fleet’s applications. You can use your Apple Business Manager(ABM) account to approve applications, or Esper’s iOS Apps section to upload your enterprise applications.

After approval or upload, you’ll be able to install applications via a blueprint, individually, or through a group.

In this article:

What are VPP and Enterprise Apps?

Esper allows you to add two types of apps to iOS devices: Volume Purchase Program (VPP) and Enterprise. VPP apps include apps purchased through the App Store and Custom Apps. The following table breaks down what these apps are and their intended uses. The difference between VPP apps and Enterprise apps lies primarily in their intended use, distribution method, and management features.

Topic	VPP	Enterprise
About	Volume Purchase Program (VPP) by Apple® lets businesses and educational institutions purchase applications in bulk and distribute the apps via users, MDMs, etc. VPP apps are more about purchasing and managing commercial App Store® apps in bulk. Custom apps are also available via VPP.	Enterprise apps are custom apps for internal use within an organization. An organization develops and manages these apps for various purposes. They do not need to be published in the App Store.
Purpose and Target Audience	These apps are available in the App Store and are meant for a broad audience. VPP allows purchase or redemption for these types of apps. Examples may include productivity tools or educational software.	These are custom-developed applications not available in the App Store. They're meant to be used by internal users for specific business needs.
Distribution	Once purchased through ABM, these apps can be distributed to different MDMs or users. Updates are managed through the App Store.	Your organization controls the app, including updates, security features, and usage policies. Updates are deployed without the App Store approval process.
Development and Approval Process	These apps must go through the Apple App Store's approval process.	These apps do not need to be approved by the App Store but still must comply with Apple's guidelines for enterprise apps.
Management and Control	Your organization has control over license management through ABM and apps can be assigned to different users, MDMs, etc, through ABM.	Your organization fully controls the app, including security features and usage policies. Updates can be pushed internally without the App Store.
Security and Privacy	The app's security and privacy must adhere to the Apple App Store guidelines.	Your organization manages the app's security and privacy.

I want to use in-house applications. Which app deployment method should I choose?

If your organization uses in-house apps, these apps will need to be signed. Keep in mind that Esper does not handle IPA file signing.

Developers can maintain signing using the following methods:

Use ABM Custom App Deployment via Apple’s Volume Purchasing Program (VPP)
Use Apple Developer Enterprise Program (ADEP)
- Deploy in-house apps hosted by Esper. Developers will need to apply and adhere to Apple’s eligibility requirements. Review Apple’s documentation, specifically the “Use MDM to distribute the app” section, for the latest requirements for deploying in-house apps.

Ensure your organization is regularly updating and signing these types of applications. If an application suddenly stops working, one reason could be its certificates are expired or invalid.

Using Apple Business Manager to Add Applications

If you use ABM to manage your devices, you can do the same for your applications. Applications added this way are VPP apps. See Apple’s official documentation for adding applications to ABM.

When purchasing an application, or using a custom app, ensure you select the same organization as your tenant.

Make sure you select enough licenses for all of your devices. You'll need to add more licenses if you add more devices.

buy-licenses

After adding applications to ABM, they appear in the Esper console under Apps > VPP Apps.

vpp-apps-in-esper

After adding applications, you can choose how to assign them to devices. See the Installing Applications section in this article for more information.

Using Esper’s iOS Apps to Add Applications

To add iOS IPA files to Esper, go to Esper’s Apps section and click on Esper iOS Apps. Applications added this way are enterprise apps.

upload-apps-button

Then click on Upload Apps and upload an IPA file.

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Maximum file size: 2 GB.

After adding applications, you can choose how to assign them to devices. See the Installing Applications section for more information.

Installing iOS Applications

There are a variety of ways to install applications on an iOS device. A blueprint provides one of the most efficient ways to install, push updates, and remove applications from a device.

Another way to install applications is to push an application to a device or group of devices.

In this section:

Installing via a Blueprint

To install an application in a blueprint, go to the Blueprints Manager section in Esper and create or modify a blueprint. Then navigate to the Apps & Configuration section and click on Add Application. Search for or upload the application.

sample-blueprint-with-app

After you save and publish the blueprint, ensure you converge devices so that they match the latest blueprint. You can do so in Devices & Groups. Click on the ellipsis (...) next to the device and press Converge.

converge-selected

Allow a few moments for the device to converge.

Installing via a Device

Scheduled installs aren't supported for iOS devices.

To install an application on a device, go to Devices & Groups, click on the device, and navigate to the Apps section.

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Click on Install New App and choose from Enterprise or VPP Apps. Select the app and its version and select Install.

install-new-app-details

Installing via a Group

To install an application to a group, locate the group in Devices & Groups. Click on the Actions button next to the group and select App Management.

Then select the following:

App Platform: Select the OS
App Type: Enterprise or VPP
App Action: Install or Uninstall
Select App: Select the application
Select Version: Select the application version (also known as the build)
Queue requests for offline devices: Choose whether or not to queue an app install for devices that are not communicating with Esper.

Then press Install. The application will be installed.

Updating iOS Apps

Updating VPP Apps

VPP apps (including Custom Apps) are updated by their developers and made available through the Apple App Store. Whenever a VPP app updates, you can converge devices with their blueprint to update the device’s apps.

VPP apps apply the latest version of the app, so it’s not necessary to update the blueprint.

Updating Esper iOS Apps

Once a new Esper iOS app is available, upload the new version to the console by going to Apps > Esper iOS apps. Then click on View Details in the app tile.

Then click on Upload Apps.

Upload the new version (max file size: 2 GB).

Once the app uploads it will show up in the app list.

Then, navigate to the Blueprint Manager and select the blueprint with the previous app version. Edit the blueprint and select the new version from the Enterprise Apps list. Then press Add.

There’s no need to remove the previous app version. After pressing Add the app will update to the selected version.

Then save, publish, and converge the blueprint.

Removing iOS Apps

Any app added via a blueprint can also be removed. To remove an app, click on the ellipsis (...) and select Remove App.

To remove all apps at once, select Clear App List. Then save, publish, and converge the blueprint. Devices will uninstall the app once they converge to the new blueprint version.

Apps that can’t be uninstalled from a device will be hidden.