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Kony Management User Guide: App Management > Creating a New Enterprise App

Enterprise Apps

Enterprise apps are typically designed to be used within the organization while meeting strict requirements for security and administration management. Enterprise apps are used to manage several tasks. For example, Business-to-employee (B2E) productivity mobile applications automate employee-related corporate processes, such as, Expense Management and Online Supply Request.

From the App Management section, click Enterprise App List from the left panel. The Enterprise Apps List page appears. This page displays a list of apps along with their versions and other information such as Wrap Condition, Workflow, State, Current Owner and Publish Status. You can search the apps based on each column and also sort on each column.

The Apps view displays the following columns:

 Columns Description   
App Name

The name of app as specified by you while creating and uploading the app to the enterprise store. It is unique. The table is grouped based on the App Name.

Important: Windows Phone 8.x application binary file name must be less than 32 characters. If the name exceeds 31 characters, wrapping process will fail.

Platform Each app may be created for one or more among the four platforms supported. This column shows the platforms for which this specific app is created and uploaded.
Version By default, the latest version of the app is shown. For each platform, typically only one version is shown. The Admin may choose to have older versions of the app to be shown in this table as well. Only the versions displayed here shall be editable when the Admin goes to App Details.
Licenses By default, Unlimited distribution of app license is set. You can restrict license numbers. Available options are Unlimited, 10, 50, 100, and Custom.
Wrap Condition Can be Defunct, Not Initiated, Not Applicable, Aborted, Failed, In Progress and, Success. Appropriate messages are shown for each case.
Work Flow State Displays which state of creation the app is in. Workflow states can only be one of: Draft and Active.
Current Owner Displays the name of the Administrator who owns the app and is therefore able to make changes to its state/status
Publish Status Indicates whether the App is ready for usage or not. If the App is published, it is ready for distribution, else it is not. Can only have 2 statuses - Published and Unpublished

You can scroll the list view through Previous and  the Next buttons.

Important: For app icons, images only in .png format are supported.

Important: Binaries or any file that is uploaded to portal should not have spaces in a file name.

You can perform the following activities from the Enterprise Apps List page:

Creating a New Enterprise App

You can add a new enterprise application to the system from the Enterprise App List page.

Important: Web Browser apps are not supported as Enterprise apps.

The above flow-chart is a simplified depiction of adding a new app to the system.

The Submit New App window includes five steps to submit a new app to MAM:

Step 1: App Basics

To add a new app, follow these steps:

  1. To open the Submit New App window, click the + New App button next to the Enterprise Apps List label at the top of the page.

    Important: When you create an app using the graphics intensive User Interface (UI), then you may find that the certain UI elements are missing. To overcome this issue, you need to add the value as android:hardwareAccelerated="true" in the application tag of the AndroidManifest file. The other option is Phone Settings > Developer Options > enable Force GPU rendering. For more information, refer to
    developer.android.com> dev-options
    developer.android.com > graphics

  2. The Submit New App window appears. Enter the following details in the App Basics, under Step 1.

    1. Platform Supported: Select the platform(s) for which the app is created. The following are the platforms supported: iOS phones, iPads, Android phones, Android Tablets, and Windows Phone 8.1. Native apps and web apps are supported.
      Based on this choice, the necessary binaries and other details must be provided for each platform supported.
    2. App Name: Enter a valid name for the app.

      When you create an enterprise application, ensure that you give it a unique name that clearly describes its purpose, for example, Kony Financial Advisor.

    3. App Description: Enter a brief description of the app. The description should accurately describe the features and functionality of your app.
    4. Category: Select the category that best describes your app. For example, select Financial category for the app, Kony Financial Advisor.
      Category list is pre-populated from the list of categories added to the system. You can update the list of categories from the App Management > Categories section.
    5. Created By: This field populates automatically with the name of the administrator who added a new app.
    6. App icon on Console: Click the +Add button to add an app icon.
      The icon size should be 78x78 pixels and file format should be .png. This icon is shown on the management console and self service console only. This is not shown on the device.
  3. Click the Next Step button to open Step 2 window.

    Note: This action checks that all the mandatory fields are entered and are in compliance with expectations, else it provides appropriate errors. Admin is required to clear out all errors and only then can proceed to the next step.

Step 2: App Details

The App Details pane allows you to either upload the binary for the application being listed or provide a binary URL for the same.

Important: You can upload your own mobile provision files for child apps to use. If you use a provisioning profile with a bundle ID com.xxx.containerapp, wrapping will fail. Ensure that your child app bundle ID does not contain the text containerapp.

You can provide APP Details for in two ways (for iOS, Android and Windows) in the Select Mode:

The App Details page is different for a Web app. Click here to see the Web app App Details page.

Important: Wrapping and signing will fail for windows phone applications which contain xap or app in the apps file name. For example, if the windows phone application is named as hrapp.xap or hrxap.xap Wrapping and signing for the application fails. If you rename the file and ensure that app and xap are not part of the new name, app submission will be successful.

Important: BLOB (data type) is not supported to create a database (column) in the app if the app is intended to be wrapped over EMM for Wrap/Sign mode. Kony recommends you to use the TEXT data type which can be used by converting BLOB data to Base64 string.

Note: Wrapping/Signing is not supported for Android applications that are built using the Kotlin programming language.

  1. App Version: Enter the version of the app.
    App versions can be described in the x.x.x format. For example, 9.2.1060. An app version cannot be x.x.x.x, such as 1.2.5.2.
  2. Upload Binary: This can be done in 2 ways:
    • Dragging and dropping files into the Drag and Drop area.
    • Clicking on the +Add button and choosing the appropriate files.

    Upload Binary property is used to upload the binary from a file path. This allows Admin to Wrap and Sign and therefore assign policies and more control over the app. Policy can be injected dynamically and custom applied to targets.

    1. Click the + Add button to browse the location of Binary File.
    2. Select the file, and open it.

      A binary file contains any type of data, encoded in binary form for computer storage and processing purposes.

      The Binary file is added with name and size details in Drag and Drop Files Here field. Once the file is added, the Upload button is activated.

      Important: A .plist file must accompany the .ipa for iOS applications. We recommend that you provide the .plist file and .png files. If you do not provide these files, while uploading binaries for iOS only, the system generates .plist files automatically and then displays the Bundle Identifier in the Step 3 > Signing & Targeting. For more details, refer to Auto-generating .plist Files while Submitting an App

    3. Click the Upload button.

      Only a link is provided in this process. When the device attempts to install the app, the device is sent to the link specified here to source the binary.

      Important: In EMM 2.5, enhanced security enables app binaries for iOS and Android platforms. Modified binaries (of enterprise store or other enterprise apps) are detected and not run. This enhanced security will protect devices from programmed threats and information leaks.

      Note: If you upload any Android .apk file with .jar files in it, when you upload that .apk file in Kony Management Suite, it will result in a runtime crash of the Android application.

      Before you submit any .apk file to Kony Management suite, delete any .jar files in the .apk file.

      To check if you have any .jar files in your .apk, open the .apk with an archive opening app (for example, Winzip or 7-zip) and then delete any .jar files from the .apk file.

  3. Add Binary URL
    1. Click Add Binary URL. The Binary URL, Size (in KB), and Submitted links fields appear.
    2. Enter the following details:
      • Binary URL: Enter the URL.
      • Size in KB: Enter the binary file size.

    1. Note: When a Binary URL is added, it is important to remember that the application cannot be wrapped and policies cannot be added to the binary URL as apps can only be signed. Only app distribution can be managed for apps uploaded through this method.

  4. Click the Next Step button to navigate to Step 3

    Click the Back button to navigate to Step 1

Web App App Details

When you choose a platform as a web app, then you see the following screen in the App Details page.

Auto-generating .plist Files for iOS While Submitting an App

For iOS, if you do not upload a .plist file and  .png files, the system generates .plist files automatically while submitting an app.

The .plist file includes an.ipa file and  icons submitted by a user. While uploading binaries for iOS, the system displays the Bundle Identifier in the Step 3 > Signing & Targeting based on the different scenarios.

The following table details bundle IDs for different scenarios:

No. If you upload The system displays
1 A .plist file and a  Mobileprovision adhoc certificate <.mobileprovision>,

Bundle Identifier as <com.kone.test.myapp> The priority for bundle id is given from  <.mobileprovision> file.

For example, if a .plist file has tag as <com.kone.myGoogle> and mobileprovision file has tag as <com.kone.test.myapp>, then the bundle id is <com.kone.test.myapp>
2 A .plist file, a MobileProvision adhoc certificate, and a wildcard certificate,
Bundle Identifier as <com.kone.test.myGoogle> For example, if .plist file has tag as <com.kone.myGoogle> and mobileprovision file has tag as <com.kone.test.*>, then the bundle id is <com.kone.test.myGoogle>. The "<myGoogle> is taken from .plist file.
3 Only an .ipa file,
Bundle Identifier as: Global wildcard mobile provision <com.kone.> + Text box appearsUser needs to fill in the value in the text box. The text fields supports alphanumeric characters, but no special characters.For example, <com.kone.Test>; <com.kone.x.Test>

4 Only a .ipa file, and a wildcard mobileprovision file,
Bundle Identifier as user provided wildcard mobileprovision <com.kone.xyz.> and a Text box. User needs to enter the value in the text box after the dot(.).
5 Only a .ipa file, and an adhoc mobileprovision file,
Bundle Identifier as per adhoc mobileprovision.

For example, <com.kone.xyz.Test>

Important: If you upload a mobile-provision profile that is different from the profile uploaded earlier, the system throws a bundle ID mismatch error.

Error messages while uploading an expired profile

If an expired profile is uploaded, the system displays mobile-provision expired error message as shown below:

Generating .ipa and .plist Files

To generate .ipa and .plist files through Xcode, follow these steps:

  1. Once you extract the  kar file, open the Xcode project.
  2. Select the option Product > Archive.
  3. Select the option Window > Organizer, and select the application, and select the option Distribute.
  4. Select the Save for enterprise or Adoc deployment option, and export the file.
  5. While saving the .ipa, select the option Save for Enterprise Distribution, and then click Save.

Once the file is saved, the system creates .ipa and .plist files. You can upload both the files in EMM console while creating the new application.

Step 3: Signing and Targeting

The App Signing window includes three sections:

Each of these actions must be done across all the platforms supported.

Only those apps whose binaries are uploaded can be wrapped. Apps for which Binary URLs are provided cannot be wrapped. If an app cannot be wrapped or is already wrapped, Administrator can choose to only sign.

Important: For iOS Different team identifiers (app id prefix): In case where you upload an app generated by a third party, wrap and sign may fail. This is because the team identifier of the third party (in the ipa) is different than your team identifier (in the certificates that you procured from Apple). The information about your team identifier is part of the certificates that you have uploaded in the certificates tab of the Application settings page of Kony management admin console.

Signing and Wrapping

Windows Phone 8.x app wrapping

For Windows Phone 8.x devices, the following are the limitations for App wrapping.

WebView Policy Windows phone 8.x (XAP) Windows phone 8.x (APPX)
Copy paste No No
Document sharing No No
Network Yes Yes
Phone Features Yes No

 

iOS Properties

Assigned VPN

Only VPNs enabled to be Per App VPN are displayed in the Assigned VPN drop-down list. For more details, refer to Assigning Per App VPN for iOS. Per App VPNs can be assigned to Enterprise apps while creating apps, updating apps, upgrading apps, or adding new platforms. Per App VPNs can be assigned only to Required Apps. Only one Per App VPN can be assigned for each app. To assign a Per App VPN to an enterprise app, select one of the Per App VPNs from the Assigned VPN drop-down list.

Managed App Configuration

If an app is built according to standards for iOS 7+ and later, the Managed App Configuration feature allows an administrator to view some of the properties that can be configured. For example, background color of the app or font of the app could be changed. An app developer must define the required keys and values, and these details must be shared with the EMM administrator.

To configure the Managed App Configuration, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Configure button. The AppName Configuration dialog appears.
  2. In the AppName Configuration dialog, provide the details for Keys and Values.


  3. Click Add. The system creates a new row. You can also delete a row by clicking Remove.
  4. Click Save to save the configuration.

Custom Attributes

You can assign any of your custom attributes (configured in the Settings section) to your app. Select the custom attribute set from the Custom Attribute Configuration list.

Targeting

Targeting makes apps accessible to users and applies policies to the apps. Targeting also determines whether access to the app is mandatory for any user or group. On devices, only targeted users are shown the app in their enterprise store in the Store tab of the Kony EMM enterprise store . Therefore, only targeted users can download the app and install it on their devices.

Note: Super administrators can target enterprise apps to any user, group, or domain. Administrators with limited access can only target users, groups, and domains they have access to.

Apps can be targeted to individual users or groups associated with domains. Take the following steps:

  1. Click Manage Users, and select the targeted users for the app.
  2. Click Manage Groups, and select the targeted groups. The domain of the users or groups is always shown here.
  3. A list of users associated with domains appear. You can search for the required user by entering a partial or complete user name in the Search field. To assign a user, click the right single arrow icon. To assign the complete user list, click the right double arrow icon.
  4. Click Target Users. The selected user detail appears in the Group/User column. You assign a policy to the selected user from the drop-down list available under Policy column.
  5. To make the assigned policy mandatory, select the check box available under Mandatory column.
  6. Click the Next Step button to navigate to Step 4: Apps Specifics.


    Click the Back button to navigate to Step 2: App Details.

Step 4: App Specifics

In the App Specifics window, you can upload application-specific files like icons, screenshots, user guides. Select the required files for the fields.

  1. Application Icon on Device: Click the +Add button to find the image in your system to add.

    Select the image and click Open.The image appears in the Application Icon on Device section. Provide an appropriate and original PNG image of high quality with a size of 84X84 pixels.

  2. App Screenshot(s): Select the screenshots of your app. These screenshots are displayed for your app. Click the +Add button to find the image in your system to add. Select the image and click Open. The image appears in the App Screenshots section.

    The first screenshot that you upload appears on your app page. You can upload four supplementary screenshots. All subsequent screenshots appear in the order in which they were uploaded. Provide an appropriate and original PNG image of high quality with a size of 320x48 pixels.

  3. App Guidebook(s): Click the +Add button to find the guidebook in your system to add. Select it and click the Upload button. The guidebook and its size appear in the Drag and Drop Files Here box.

    Guidebooks are documents to help a user to understand how to use the application being uploaded. They appear along with the app in the Enterprise Store.The guidebook can be a plain text file, in rich text format or a PDF.

  4. Click the Next button to navigate to Step 5: Approve and Confirm


    Click the Back button to navigate to Step 3: Signing & Targeting.

Step 5: Approve and Confirm

The Confirm and Approve window is the final step. A summary of all choices made are displayed to the administrator. The administrator can either Submit or Cancel the app.

  1. Once you confirm the details, click the Submit App button to register the new app. The system displays the confirmation message: App created. Click OK to continue.

    The newly created app appears in the list view. The current Workflow State is Draft, and the Publish Status is Unpublished. The current Wrap Condition is In-Progress, which changes to Success.

    Click the Cancel button to close the window.

Licenses

You can restrict distribution of an app through the Enterprise App licenses feature.

The Licenses page displays the following.

Publishing an App

Only after publication an app becomes available at an App Store and a User can view and download it from a device or Self Service Console. Unpublished apps are visible to Admin only. Once an app is created, it is displayed in the list view. As a prerequisite, to make changes in the State and the Status of an app, you should own that app.

App State

By default, an app appears as a draft in the list view. This draft is submitted for review to the administrator. After review, you can convert the submitted state into Active. The following charts describe about the App State Workflow:

See the table below for a description of the app states.

State Name                                                               Description     
DraftAppears as the first state for your app.
ActiveAppears when the binary has passed review and approved by an administrator and is active.


App Status

By default an app has Unpublished status in list view. You can change the status from Unpublished to Published. You cannot delete a published app. To delete a published app, first you need to revert the status as unpublished.

To publish an app, follow these steps:

  1. A newly created app appears in Draft state and the default Status is Unpublished. Click the State drop-down list to change the State from Draft to Submitted.

    The State Change window appears.

  2. Enter an appropriate comment in the Comments text box.
  3. Click the Change State button. In the confirmation message that appears, click OK to proceed.

    The Workflow State changes to Active in the list view.

  4. To publish the app, select the Publish option from the drop-down list under Publish Status column. The State Change window appears.
  5. Enter an appropriate comment in the Comments text box. Click the Publish button to proceed. The system displays the confirmation message stating that published App is now available in Store. Click OK to proceed.

Searching for Enterprise Apps

You can search a desired app through search filters available. You can apply a single or a combination of search filters to define the search criteria and get the refined outcome.

Important: When you search for an app, all apps and categories which contain your search terms (including numbers) in their name, or version number will appear in the search results.

To search an app, follow these steps:

  1. Enter or select the following search criteria:

    1. App Name: Enter partial or complete name of the app in the Search Apps field.
    2. Platform: Select the required platform from the drop-down list. By default, it is set to All Platforms. You can modify it to iPhone, iPad, Android and Android Tablet.
    3. Wrap/Sign Condition: Select the required Wrap condition from the drop down menu. By default, it is set to Success. You can modify to All or Failed.
    4. State: Select the required State from the drop-down menu. By default, it is set to All States. You can modify to Draft or Active.
    5. Current Owner: Enter the name of the current owner.
    6. Status: Select the current status of the app from the drop-down list. By default, it is set to All Statuses. You can modify to Published or Unpublished.
  2. According to your search filters criteria, the list view is updated with respective app details. By default, the list view displays ten apps according to Display settings, which you can modify through Display dropdown list. You can also scroll the list view through Previous and the Next buttons.

Updating Enterprise App Details

Updating an Enterprise app pertains to modifying  the details of the added app. You may need to update app details for specific reasons, for example, you may need to update app name, app category, or app icon on console.

The Status remains Published but the State reverts back to Draft state. After submission, the app moves to Active. You need to publish this app again to reflect the updates. A stale state icon next to the corresponding app version is used to indicate that changes have been made to the definition of the application.

Click the app name in the list view which you need to update. The App Settings page appears.

After your app has gone through the initial review procedure, you can make changes to your app by editing app-level information.You can update details through following tabs. By default App Settings tab is set to active.

To update an app, follow these steps:

  1. App Name: In the app name field, your previously chosen name has been repopulated and displays it. If required, update the app name.
  2. App category: In the app name field, your previously chosen category has been repopulated and displays it. If required, update the app category.
  3. App icon on Device: In the app icon on console your previously chosen icon has been repopulated and displays it. If required, update the app icon via +Add button.
  4. App Icon on Console: In the app description field your previously written description has been repopulated and displays it. If required, update the app description.
  5. Update other tabs if required. For more details, refer to the following:

  6. Click the Save and Exit button to save the updated details. In the confirmation message that appears, click OK to continue.

Changing iOS Provision Profiles

While editing app details, an administrator can also add or edit iOS mobile-provision profiles.

To change mobile-provision profiles, follow these steps:

  1. Click the app name in the list view that you need to update. The App Settings page appears.


  1. Click the Change iOS Provisioning Profiles button next to the Upgrade Application.

    The Change iOS Provisioning Profiles button is active only for iOS.

    The Edit mobile provision dialog appears.

  2. Click the + Add button to add or modify a profile.
  3. Click Save to save the changes.

The following tables lists error messages:

No.If you upload If not found, the system displays the follow error message
1 An adhoc mobile-provision profile, the system validates for a valid bundle ID that is present within the mobile-provision profile.For example, if an app bundle ID is <com.kone.xyz>, the adhoc mobile-provision profile must be <com.kone.xyz>, otherwisethe system displays an error message.Bundle ID mismatch
2A wild mobile-provision profile, the system looks for a new wild mobile-provision profile that has an app bundle ID matching with the provision file.For example, if the app bundle ID is <com.kone.x.Test>, then the user upload wildcard mobile-provision profile must be <com.kone.x.*>For example, if the app bundle ID is <com.kone.Test>, then the user upload wildcard mobile-provision profile must be <com.kone.*>Bundle ID mismatch

 

Error Message While Editing an Expired Profile:

If an expired profile is edited, the system displays mobile-provision expire error message as shown below:

Upgrading Enterprise App Details

You may wish to upgrade the added application details if new functionality have been added in your app, and binary file is modified etc. This process upgrades the app version.

Important: To upgrade an enterprise app, you must own the latest version of the app and have permissions to upgrade the app.

The Upgrade App window includes five steps to upgrade an app details:

To upgrade an app, follow these steps:

  1. To open the Upgrade App window, click the ^ Upgrade Application button next to the App label on the top of the page.

    Upgrade App Window appears.

  2. Select the platform to be upgraded and click the Next button.

    The mechanism of providing the app should not be altered in the Upgrade process.

    • If an app is provided with a binary URL, it should be provided with a URL.
    • If an app is provided with a binary file, it should be provided with a binary file.

    If this is changed, the app becomes unstable.

    When you upgrade an app, the Step no. 2: App Details window displays the initial selection next to Select Mode label.

    • If the initial selection was Add Binary Files, then the button appears.
    • If it was to provide a Binary URL, the Admin must provide a URL.
  3. Upload the binary file or add the binary URL. For procedure details, refer Creating a New Enterprise App > App Details
  4. Sign the application and assign the target user/group. For procedure details, refer Creating a New Enterprise App > Signing and Targeting
  5. Add Specifics by adding a new icon or application image, if required. For procedure details, refer Creating a New Enterprise App > App Specifics
  6. The Confirm and Approve window is the final step. A summary of all the choices made are displayed to the Admin. The admin can then choose to submit the upgraded app or Cancel the same.

Important: For iOS, when an existing enterprise app upgraded and is submitted for signing and wrapping, Kony Management Enterprise Store (previously Launchpad) will be re-wrapped. The device users will be prompted to update their present enterprise store to the new version.

While upgrading apps that are signed only must continue as signed only. Similarly, while upgrading apps that are wrapped and signed must continue as wrapped and signed-only. Add binary apps should be upgraded as add binary only. Other than the above combinations Enterprise apps should not be allowed.

Note: On iOS 7.0, whenever a mandatory app is upgraded, the app is installed on device silently.

Note: On SAFE enabled devices, whenever a mandatory app is upgraded, the app is installed on device silently.

Adding a New Platform

You may wish to add new platforms for your app. This process adds only unsupported platforms. You cannot add an existing platform.

This whole process involves five steps:

To add a new platform, follow these steps:

  1. To open Add Platform window, click the +Add Platform button next to the App Basics tab.

    Add Platform window appears.

  2. Select the platform to be upgraded and click the Next button.
  3. Upload the binary file or add the binary URL. For procedure details, refer Creating a New Enterprise App > App Details
  4. Sign the application and assign the target user/group. For procedure details, refer Creating a New Enterprise App > Signing and Targeting
  5. Add Specifics by adding a new icon or application image, if required.For procedure details, refer Creating a New Enterprise App > App Specifics
  6. The Confirm and Approve window is the final step. A summary of all the choices made are displayed to the Admin. The admin can then choose to submit the updated app or Cancel the same.

Updating Published Apps

If there are changes to the App definition, you may require updating the published Apps. After updating a published App, the status remains Published but it undergoes a change of state to Draft state. To validate the carried out updates, you need to republish the App.

A stale state icon next to the corresponding App Version is used to indicate that changes have been made to the definition of the App.

The state must be changed to Approved and published again for the changes to take effect.

To publish the App again, follow these steps:

The current State is Draft and the current Status is Published.

  1. Select the State as Submitted from the drop down menu.

    State Change window appears.

  2. Enter a valid reason for state change in the Comments text box.

  3. Click the Change State button to submit the state change details. The System displays the confirmation message: Successfully changed state. Click OK to proceed. The State changes to Active.

    The current State is Approved and the current Status is Published.

  4. Select the Status as Republish from the drop-down menu.
  5. The System displays the Success message: Successfully published. Previous published information about App successfully rewritten. Click OK to proceed.

    The Stale icon next to app version is removed. The current State is Active and the current Status is Published.

Unpublishing an App

To deactivate an Application, the Administrator should unpublish the same. Unpublishing an application signifies that:

To unpublish the App, follow these steps:

  1. Select the status as Unpublish from the drop-down menu.

    Unpublish window appears.

  2. Enter a valid comment.
  3. Click the Unpublish button to proceed. In the confirmation message that appears, click OK to return to the main page.

  4. The App Status changes to Unpublished.

    The Unpublished status can be reverted to Published.

Deleting an App

If an app is no longer required, you can delete it.

To delete an app, follow these steps:

  1. Select the app through check box next to it in the grid view.
  2. Click Delete button. The selected app is deleted from the list view.You can delete only unpublished apps. If you try to delete a published app, system displays an error message stating that only unpublished apps can be deleted. Once you delete an app, it is removed from the list view.
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