Hi again, it’s Jeff Buller. This is the final post in my series on Mobile Application Delivery. Part 5 will discuss how to deliver Android applications to users, utilizing Configuration Manager 2012 R2 and Windows Intune. A table of contents of the full series is listed below.
Table of Contents
· Part 2: iOS application delivery
· Part 3: Windows 8/RT application delivery
A. Windows Store application (deep-link)
B. Internal application (side-loaded)
· Part 4: Windows Phone 8 application delivery
· Part 5: Android application delivery
Android Application Delivery
So far in this series on Mobile Application Delivery, I discussed how to deliver iOS, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 applications to a user using Configuration Manager 2012 R2 with Windows Intune. In this post, I will walk through a similar process to deliver an Android application to a user. A high level summary of the administrator and user process is listed below.
Administrator Process to Deliver an Android (deep-link) Application
1. Create a Configuration Manager Application and Android Deployment Type
2. Deploy the application to a Configuration Manager User Collection
User Process to Access an Android (deep-link) Application
1. Access the Company Portal
2. Install the application
In the rest of this post, I will walk through the administrator and user steps required to complete this process.
Prerequisites
Before I begin, there are some prerequisites that need to be in place in order to perform Android Application delivery with Configuration Manager and Windows Intune. The prerequisites include:
· Configuration Manager 2012 R2 is setup and running.
· Windows Intune Subscription (Trial Subscription is ok).
· Configuration Manager and Windows Intune properly setup and configured to work together.
· Android enrollment enabled.
Windows Intune Subscription Properties window showing Android enrollment enabled
If your environment doesn’t meet these prerequisites, please refer to the links below for guidance on implementing Configuration Manager 2012 R2 with Windows Intune.
· Getting Started with Configuration Manager
· Sign up for a Windows Intune Trial
· Integrating Configuration Manager and Windows Intune
· Prerequisites for Android Enrollment
Administrator process to deliver an Android (deep-link) Application
The following administrator steps outline the process to deliver an Android (deep-link) application using the Configuration Manager Management Console. The administrator steps are broken into two areas, creating the Configuration Manager Application and then deploying the application to a User Collection.
1. Creating a Configuration Manager Application and App Package for Android on Google Play Deployment Type
| 1. Open the Configuration Manager Management Console, Click on the Software Library Workspace and Expand the Application Management folder. |  |
| 2. Right Click on Applications and Select Create Application from the drop down menu. |  |
| 3. In the “Create Application Wizard/Specify settings for this application” window, Click on the Type field drop down menu and Select App Package for Android on Google Play. |  |
| 4. For the Location field, Click on the Browse button. |  |
| 5. In the “App Package for Android Browser” window, search for your Android application. In this example, I searched forSkype for Android and then Clicked OK. |  |
| 6. The Location field is now populated with the path to Skype for Android in Google Play. Click Next. |  |
| 7. In the “View imported information” window, Click Next. |  |
| 8. In the “Specify information about this application” window, you can edit and populate fields as appropriate. Click Next. |  |
| 9. On the “Confirm the settings for this application” window, Click Next. |  |
| 10. On the “Create Application Wizard completed successfully” window, Click Close. |  |
| 11. The Skype for Android application is now listed in Applications. |  |
2. Deploying the Android (deep-link) application
| 1. Open the Configuration Manager Management Console, Click on the Software Library Workspace and Expand the Application Managementfolder. |  |
| 2. Right Click on the Skype for Android application and Select Deploy from the dropdown menu. |  |
3. On the “Specify general information for this deployment” window, Click the Collection Browse button and select the User Collection to deploy this application to. In this example, I have selected the All Users and User Groups Collection and then Clicked on Summary. Note: The users must be a member of the collection defined in the Windows Intune Subscription Properties in the Configuration Management Console. |  |
| 4. On the “Confirm the settings for this new deployment” window, Click Next. |  |
| 5. On the “Deploy Software Wizard completed successfully” window, Click Close. |  |
| 6.The Skype for Android application is now listed under Applications as deployed. |  |
User process to access an Android (deep-link) application
The following user steps outline the process to access the Windows Intune Company Portal and install the Skype for Android application.
1. Access the Company Portal on Android
1. Open the Windows Intune Company Portal application. Note: The Windows Intune Company Portal is a free application available in the Google Play Store. 2. Sign in with your organizational account and password. Note: The user must be a member of the collection defined in the Windows Intune Subscription Properties in the Configuration Management Console. |  |
| 3. The Company Portal is now displayed. |  |
2. Install the application on Android
| 1. While in the Company Portal, Click on the Skype for Android application. |  |
| 2. Click on View in Google Play. |  |
| 3. Click on Install. |  |
| 4.The Skype for Android application is now installed. |  |
Summary
I hope you have found this series on Mobile Application Delivery useful and informative. Look for additional posts from me on other aspects of Mobile Device Management using System Center Configuration Manager 2012 R2 and Windows Intune.
Jeff