Why and How to Build an Enterprise App Store
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Why Create an Enterprise App Store?
Every company will have its own reason for why it wants to create an app store, but in general, the enterprise store will improve overall governance, risk management and compliance. Otherwise, says Trina Gizel, CIO & VP IT at Flexera Software, employees will – and do – download their apps from all over. But apps from public app stores can contain malware, software vulnerabilities and other exploits that cyber criminals look for as a way into a network. They also pose compliance risks if not managed intelligently and can result in unexpected audit fines and true ups. Enterprise app stores provide a safe and controlled environment for downloading apps.
A growing number of companies are creating their own enterprise app stores. According to Kia Behnia, CEO of PowWow Mobile, enterprise app stores provide a single "shopping experience" for their employees to download business apps and content. Also, they support both a BYOD model and a "self-service" IT model where the employees are presented with a set of business applications and content based on the role of the user. The applications offered are usually a combination of internal and commercial applications, which may be vetted and linked from a public app store. Some companies have dedicated teams to develop, organize and manage the stores, while others leave it to the IT department.
Behnia believes there are two major steps in the app-store development process: The first is to create a list of applications that are appropriate for the store, establish entitlement and licensing, and categorize the apps and descriptions. The second is to establish the front-end catalog of items and a list of who has access to it. Here are some tips on how to get your enterprise app store up and running and the benefits of having one.
Sue Marquette Poremba has been writing about network security since 2008. In addition to her coverage of security issues for IT Business Edge, her security articles have been published at various sites such as Forbes, Midsize Insider and Tom's Guide. You can reach Sue via Twitter: @sueporemba
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