Successful Mobile App Deployment
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Successful
Mobile App Deployment

The mobile development lifecycle doesn't stop once you create a mobile application and the mobile app development is complete. Mobile app deployment is a crucial phase during which critical tasks must be completed before a mobile app can be made available to end users. Getting mobile applications to end users is a critical part of any successful mobile deployment.

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Daily
App Downloads

Every day, millions of people download thousands of mobile applications. A recent report shows an estimated 250 million daily mobile application downloads occurred between 2019 and 2020. Most people don't think much about how they get their mobile applications or what it takes to deploy the application. We are just familiar with the easy process of downloading a mobile application from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
Daily App Downloads

What is Mobile App Deployment?

The activities performed on a mobile application after mobile app development is complete is the mobile app deployment process. The process is complicated and involves many steps starting with the completion of mobile app development followed by rigorous testing that often involves manual testing and publication in a mobile application store such as Google Play or the Apple App Store. In fact, the deployment of mobile applications, as part of any mobile deployment effort, is often a massive undertaking, taking place on a global scale. 

The mobile development lifecycle doesn't stop when mobile app development is complete. The process for deployment of mobile applications is a crucial phase during which critical tasks are completed before the mobile application is made available to end-users via app distribution.

Challenges of Mobile App Deployment

Deploying mobile applications is not as straightforward as deploying non-mobile applications, which are installed on web servers or any other compute devices that are fully controllable. Scanning for vulnerabilities, adding security controls, performing user acceptance testing, code signing, and adapting the mobile application for its unique app distribution channels are examples of activities that could be required to deploy a mobile application. The exact sequence of deployment activities that must be performed for a successful mobile app deployment depends on the use case. As a result of the non-uniform sequence of mobile deployment activities, the process to deploy a mobile application can be convoluted. Additionally, there is no one-size-fits-all process to deploy mobile applications. As a result, most organizations find this part of a mobile deployment incredibly challenging.

One of the challenges with mobile application deployments is that the responsibility for the various deployment activities is spread across disparate teams and there are multiple deployment options. Any successful mobile deployment requires much more than just rolling out mobile devices to end users after mobile app development is complete.

Deploying mobile applications is a critical component. Workflows to deploy mobile applications can be done by manually coordinating the required activities, but this is not scalable when you are deploying many mobile applications to multiple app stores, perhaps across geographies. 

Secure App Delivery Platform For Mobile

Secure App Delivery
For Mobile

However, there are solutions available to streamline the activities to deploy mobile applications. One such solution is the Blue Cedar Platform, a secure app delivery platform for mobile applications, that offers a unique set of services and workflow orchestration capabilities to improve the velocity of mobile application deployment. The Blue Cedar Platform also integrates with existing mobile security and deployment tools to extend the reach of mobile application deployment workflows, and provide visibility into the constraints limiting the development and release of mobile apps, and data-driven recommendations to optimize deployment.
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App
Activities

There are multiple types of mobile app deployment activities. A workflow to deploy a mobile application is composed of the mobile deployment activities required to make an app ready for distribution to end users.
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App Activities

Learn More About Deployment Activities

The common types of activities that may be performed to deploy the application after mobile app development is complete can be broadly classified into the following categories.

icon_platform_import Import. This is when the mobile application is pulled into a deployment workflow after mobile app development is complete. It could happen manually (that is, the app is uploaded through a console) or automatically via integrations with build systems (CI/CD) or other app repositories.

icon_platform_no-code_integrationMobile App Enhancement. A requirement in many mobile app deployments is the addition of new functionality and configuration options to mobile apps. App-level mobile security is a common requirement for companies in the Financial Services, Healthcare, and Insurance verticals as mobile applications that use sensitive corporate data can be used on iOS and Android devices that may not have mobile device management (MDM). Without these device-level mobile management controls, companies cannot set device policies. No-code integration activities provide a convenient way to add functionality to a mobile application without having to send the app back to the developer to write new code. This convenience of adding new functionality after mobile app development is complete becomes especially valuable when deploying a mobile application sourced from third party independent software vendors (ISV). It is extremely unlikely that the ISV will create a mobile application version for each of their customers, as that creates an unwanted ongoing support burden for the ISV. Obtaining the mobile application’s source code can be prohibitively expensive for companies and requires a developer who must then become familiar with the mobile application’s code in order to add in security functionality.

icon_platform_app_hardeningMobile Application Hardening. A mobile application can represent a significant intellectual property (IP) investment that a company will want to protect. Reverse engineering of an app is a way for others to steal this investment. App protection techniques, such as code obfuscation and anti-tampering, provide companies with a way to protect the IP investment in their mobile apps on any mobile device. Mobile application hardening is especially important for mobile applications deployed to mobile devices without mobile device management. That’s because companies cannot set device policies to secure these devices as they don’t have mobile management capabilities. Mobile application hardening is typically applied after mobile app development is complete.

icon_platform_signingCode Signing. Digitally signing mobile applications is a requirement for apps that go to app store(s). (e.g., the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.) and for installation on a mobile device. Anytime an app is modified it must be re-signed.

icon_platform_testingTesting. Collect user feedback, and automated functional testing and accessibility testing results from mobile applications testing services for mobile apps.

icon_platform_distributionApp Distribution. Pushing apps to app catalogs, public app stores (e.g., Google Play), or other app distribution mechanisms makes them available to end users. In the case of global distribution requirements, this may mean pushing different versions to different application containers in app stores and mobile deployments must be able to accommodate these differences.

As you see, the mobile application deployment options for iOS devices and Android devices can be quite involved.

Custom Workflows

Custom
Workflows

While mobile application deployment may conjure up the concept of a single, one-size-fits-all deployment workflow, the reality is different. The sequence of workflow activities undertaken to deploy a mobile application varies based on the type of deployment use case.

Deployment
Every Workflow is Unique

Each use case for mobile deployment requires a very different, customized sequence of activities. Bespoke workflows can get very problematic and tricky, given the many types of integrations, services, human tasks, testing and other operational environments used in today's mobile devices and mobile applications.
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    Dealing with UEM Controls

    An unmodified mobile application needs to be signed and distributed to the application container in an enterprise app catalog to end users whose mobile devices are under UEM (Unified Endpoint Management) controls.

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    Accessing Corporate Data

    Mobile applications that access corporate data and are used on unmanaged devices need app-level security controls. However, integrating controls into those mobile applications is very difficult without source code access, often an obstacle when dealing with third-party apps.

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    Protecting Investments and Proprietary Knowledge

    A custom mobile application into which proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) models have been integrated is distributed to employees, partners and consultants across geographies through public app stores. Significant investments were made in creating the AI models, and it behooves the organization to prevent reverse engineering of the mobile app.

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    Gathering Feedback and Iterating Faster

    Mobile applications ideally go through user acceptance testing before production rollout. When a mobile app is rolled out to employees through an enterprise app catalog there is often not a process to enforce the collection of user feedback or app review(s), so this crucial step is often skipped. As a result, apps in production will not reflect the improvements that could have been made from a pilot rollout that captures user feedback and app reviews programmatically.

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Simplify
The Complex

Aside from simple versus complex mobile deployment use cases, what if you need to create multiple versions of an app for dozens of different languages and then publish these mobile apps to various app stores worldwide to support local users? In fact, there are over 300 mobile stores today. Obviously, the number of permutations is enormous and handling it all manually does not scale. This is precisely where (and how) an orchestration platform can help simplify tasks, reduce deployment time, errors and potentially save money.
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Streamlined
Mobile App Deployment

Platforms that do secure app delivery for mobile deployment enable organizations to rapidly and cost-effectively drive end-user adoption of enterprise mobile applications by orchestrating and automating the complex workflows after mobile app development is complete to when the mobile app can be downloaded by end users. These platforms coordinate deployment activities across teams and services, ensuring efficient and error-free workflows that eliminate mobile application deployment delays while enabling compliance with security device policies and regulations. Specifically, a secure app delivery platform for mobile will:
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Track all deployment activities
Track

Track all deployment activities to align teams and facilitate compliance reporting

Use existing workflows or build workflows
Orchestrate

Use existing workflows or build workflows that fits your organization

Add new functionality and use technologies integrations
Enhance

Add new functionality and use technologies integrations to extend the reach of workflows

Create a single source of truth
Visualize

Create a single source of truth by capturing all mobile a deployment data and providing visualizations

Analyze data and provide optimization insights
Optimize

Analyze data and provide optimization insights to meet business objectives

Transform
Mobile App Deployments

A secure app delivery platform for mobile will also provide complete visibility about mobile application deployments across a company’s enterprise mobile application portfolio. It also facilitates optimizations of mobile application deployments by enabling deployment teams with insights gleaned from analysis of data from prior deployments. This becomes possible because these platforms are participating in all mobile deployment activities, which makes it easy to collect data about mobile applications deployed, data which can be used for analysis. This makes it possible to present release metrics that reveal mobile app release constraints, and take actions to increase the flow of mobile app value, based on data-driven recommendations. A secure app delivery platform for mobile helps to optimize deployment time, efficient release of software updates, and more. 
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Gain Visibility & Control

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Visibility

Mobile application deployment platforms capture all mobile deployment data, starting with every step in a workflow down to the app version generated by workflow runs, and provides real-time visibility through the global dashboard and retroactive visibility through a digital audit trail. This serves as evidence for compliance and provides the ability to revert to the last good version of a successful deployment should the need arise.

value_stream_management

Control

Platforms guarantee that mobile applications deployed have the controls and configuration options that organizations need without relying on developers or writing code, regardless of the source of the mobile app. These controls are added in after mobile app development is complete. Platforms ensure that a consistent set of activities are applied to mobile apps going through a deployment flow. Using a platform to orchestrate mobile deployment activities enforces rigor over app deployments, reduces the risk of missing critical tasks and increases successful mobile deployment costs by eliminating wasted efforts.

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See Blue Cedar
In Action

A secure app delivery platform for mobile, such as the Blue Cedar Platform, can play a critical role in the mobile development lifecycle by enabling optimizations in the crucial mobile app deployment phase. To see the Blue Cedar Platform in action, request a demo. Better still, sign up to try the Blue Cedar Platform yourself.
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