There are a handful of ways to update applications through Esper, but what is the best way for your use case? In this article, we break down the advantages of each method and also highlight factors admins should keep in mind when deploying app updates.
In this article:
- Choosing the Best Update Method for Your Fleet
- Adding a New Version of Your App
- Fleetwide Methods
- Individual & Group Methods
- Developer Methods
Choosing the Best Update Method for Your Fleet
As you set up your Esper tenant, you’ll probably be aware that there are quite a few ways to update your applications. From individual device updates to fleetwide deployments, you have the option to update just about any number of devices.
But which is the best option for your use case?
In this table, we highlight the two methods you should consider for app deployments.
Blueprints | Other Methods |
Pros
Cons
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Pros
Cons
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Application Types
How does your organization manage app updates? Are app updates available through an app store? If that’s the case, apps will automatically update on your devices without these methods.
However, if you want more control of your update deployments, you can deploy your app updates through the Esper console. These are called enterprise apps.
The methods in this article cover how to update enterprise apps.
Test and Deployment
Before deploying an update to a large fleet, you’ll want to update the app on a few test devices. Use a one-off method, such as updating the app from the device’s apps page, to accomplish this.
Deleting Versions
It’s not necessary to delete previous versions after an update. However, if you’d rather delete previous versions, you can do so from the Enterprise Apps page.
If the app is associated with a blueprint (even if it’s an older version of a blueprint), you’ll be asked to remove the app from the blueprint before deleting the app.
Adding a New Version of Your App
You can add a new version of the application the same way you added the first version of the app. Go to Apps and click on Upload Apps.
Then, select the newest version of the APK.
Verify the upload by clicking on the app.
After uploading the newest app version, apply the app to a blueprint, pipeline, device, and more.
See how to update iOS apps.
Fleetwide Methods
Blueprints
With a blueprint, you can update apps and other device settings simultaneously. Once devices converge to the new blueprint, they’ll update their settings and apps accordingly.
Blueprints control many settings. Learn how to update apps through a blueprint.
Pipelines
With pipelines, you can stage updates. Target small groups of devices before deploying updates to larger groups. Pipelines are separate from Blueprints, so choose one method when updating apps.
Learn how to update devices through a pipeline.
Individual & Group Methods
Use individual methods when testing on a small group of devices or when troubleshooting an issue that impacts specific devices.
Device Level
Update the app from the device’s page by clicking on the device in Devices & Groups and going to the Apps section.
Click on Install New App and then select the application (it can be an application already installed on the device.
Then press Install.
Group Level
In the Devices & Groups group view, click on the group. Then, click on the Actions button and choose App Management.
Choose the application to update and select its version.
Then press Install.
Developer Methods
Esper offers an API and SDK to update apps for developers. If you plan to update apps this way, see our developer documentation.