App Lifecycle
Management with Jamf:
Determining the best pathfor your organization“There’s an app for that”
Try counting the different apps and software you or your users need during
any given day of work. The sheer number of applications now used acrossan organization can be daunting for any IT admin, especially when it comesto onboarding, managing, maintaining, and sunsetting each one as needed.
Managing each of these apps throughout the course of their lifespan is
known as App Lifecycle Management.
App Lifecycle Management (ALM) is the cyclical workflow for applications in
an enterprise that looks at all the different points in time of an application.
Each stage plays an important part of every organization’s app strategy.

This guide will provide an in-depth view ofthe lifecycle to show different paths an IT
admin can go down as they seek to:•  Source apps
•  Host apps
•  Deploy and update apps
•  Consider the user experience with apps
•  Report on apps

Apps are the fabric of the end user experience; they intersect every stepof the user’s journey. By considering each of these junctures and ensuring
there is a full plan developed for the entire lifecycle, an organization’secosystem will stay organized, efficient, and secure.

Why App Lifecycle Management Matters
Every company, school, and organization – large or small – should have some kind of app strategy. These app
strategies are unique to the needs and workflows of every organization and aim to improve three major areas –security posture, compliance, and end user productivity.
By viewing your app strategy through the lens of the entire lifecycle of apps, and how it influences an organization,
IT admins can provide end users with the best experience, while building the application infrastructure needed tohelp their organization succeed. Incomplete lifecycle management risks negatively impacting an organization ina multitude of ways, from issues at the individual app level to problems compounded across the entire organization.
An inability to pull insights from app usage frequently
leads to unnecessary app clutter, while unused apps
are a waste of company dollars. Additionally, pulling
app usage reports provides insights into apps thatneed updates. Having outdated applications onusers’ devices creates potential vulnerabilities, risking
exposure on a far greater level.
In addition to security risks on the devices itself,
these outdated apps are unreliable when it comesto functioning as intended. When users can’t reliably
depend on their apps and software it produces a strain
on their experience and inhibits their motivation toinvest themselves in the workflows that a well-run
device can offer.
When a situation like this arises, it’s more likely thatmany people within your organization are facing theseobstacles to productivity, versus it being a one-off
situation. This means you have people across yourorganization suffering through a bad experience andproducing inefficient workdays or filing IT tickets to get
updated features or fix broken apps. Depending on
your organization’s size this could be hundreds or eventhousands of users. Even for smaller organizations,this means a large percentage of your users could beslowing down your lean, fast teams which is just as
detrimental, if not more.
Let’s take a look at each part of the lifecycle a little
closer and the options admins have for managingapplications.

Sourcing Apps
Put simply, “where do your apps come from”? Often the answer is a mixture of locations including the AppleMac App Store, vendor-sourced installer packages (pkg files) and manually created package files. There areconsiderations to using each of these that are important to be aware of as you plan, or re-plan, your strategy.

Apple Mac App StoreA source that every Apple user will be very familiar with, the Mac App Store is Apple’s app marketplace that
not only offers millions of applications, the entire ecosystem is paired seamlessly with Apple Business Manager(ABM), Apple School Manager (ASM), and your mobile device management (MDM) provider like Jamf. Because theApp Store is Apple through and through and is so ingrained with ABM/ASM and your MDM, it allows you to find,purchase and distribute apps en masse that are screened for malware and approved by Apple.

Advantages

Considerations

Convenient, secure, easily accessible andThe Mac App Store might not contain all apps

updated.

that an organization wants to use.

Vendor-sourced apps

Automatic App Updates
The ability to automatically update apps has long been sought after. To date, there have been ways
to utilize helper tools for auto updates but those have required the need to manage via configuration
profiles with custom settings.
App Installers – part of the Jamf App Catalog – offers a streamlined way to automatically source, host,package, validate and deploy apps, mirroring the simplicity of the Mac App Store workflow for titles
outside of the App Store, directly from the Jamf Pro console.

Advantages

Considerations

Removes the manual, time consuming

While the list of apps supported in the Jamf

process for IT admins having to source,

App Catalog is robust, it’s possible not every

package and deploy apps.

vendor-sourced app will be available.

Manually created packages
Application installers outside of the App Store utilize packages. Vendor-sourced installer packages canbe downloaded from the developer and then uploaded for delivery through a policy within Jamf Pro.
It should be noted that not all vendors make their installers the same, or use .pkg files. Some vendors
will place an application file within a disk image (.dmg) which then requires additional work for an ITadministrator to process it and convert to a .pkg file. Jamf Composer is one such method to accomplisha package manually.

Advantages

Considerations

Source for a variety of app titles, many of

Manual, time consuming process for IT

the most used non-App store titles.

admins.

Whether your app strategy contains applications from just the Mac App Store or a mixture from multiple
app sources, every type can be sourced, hosted, updated and deployed with Jamf for complete lifecycle
management.

Hosting Apps
When it comes to app hosting, it’s about knowing and managing where an app is stored. Many modern setups lookto leverage cloud infrastructure and its ability to be accessed from any network location, but there are scenarios inwhich other hosting options are used, and even preferred, that admins should be aware of.

App Store
Applications that are sources from the App Store are hosted by Apple, and devices can be instructed to install thelatest available version via native Apple MDM commands.
Applications that are sourced from the App Store are stored and hosted within the App Store. This isn’t often
something that most admins are concerned about as App Store apps are often considered low maintenance.

Advantages

Considerations

App store is built natively into every Apple

Apps delivered through Volume Purchasing

device and compatible with native MDM

can be set to automatically update whenframework for delivery methods while also

new versions are available through global

providing the benefit of Apple verifying andMDM settings, or per each individual app’s

hosting apps. In addition, Volume Purchasing

settings if additional testing is requiredof apps does not require the use of an Apple

before updates are queued to devices.

ID or for the organization to have an AppleID strategy.

Software developers can also make custom applications for organizations that are verified and hosted by Apple,
yet are unavailable to others in the App Store. For more information, see https://developer.apple.com/custom-apps/

Jamf Cloud Distribution Service (JCDS)
Jamf Cloud offers Jamf customers and admins easy cloud-based app hosting that is included with Jamf for all theirapp package needs. With the seamless integration with Jamf, it’s simple to package and deploy to scoped devices
wherever they are.

Advantages

Considerations

Included with Jamf allowing admins an easy

Most organizations will already be using

workflow to host their app packages anda Cloud DP, and do not see a need to

deploy to scoped devices.

include another in their ecosystem.

Cloud Distribution Point
A common and critical component to most modern setups, cloud hosting offers access to app packages almost
anywhere – remote or on-premises.

Considerations

Advantages
An organization might have their own cloud infrastructure

For some, the cost

set up to host app packages, such as Amazon S3, Akamai

associated may not be wort

NetStorage or more. They can use this instead of JCDS

it when they could be using

if they choose to for deploying app packages to remote/

JCDS within Jamf Pro.

hybrid workers wherever they are.

On-Prem/File Share Distribution Point
Some organizations may have strict requirements that disallow the use of external, cloud-hosted services, or there may
be other network bandwidth limitations for particular locations. For those reasons, self-hosted file share distribution
points may be used as an alternative or additional method to deliver installer packages.

Advantages

Considerations

Organizations can save

Remote users may not be able to access privatemoney on time and network

distribution points without using a VPN. Maintaining

bandwidth when packages

self-hosted distribution points requires additional effort

are installed from a local

and maintenance to synchronize contents between files

file share.

shares.

Where you host and deploy apps is a vitalconsideration in having a more agile ALM strategy.
Strategically thinking about the hosting location
creates a system to keep an eye on your entire
application ecosystem, making sure the end user
experience remains flawless.

Updating and Deploying Apps
While sourcing and managing where apps are hosted matters, probably the most significant chunk of an
application’s lifecycle is updating, patching and deploying. Therefore, having a well-mapped out plan for these
aspects will be critical to your app strategy.
Using Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager, integrated with an MDM provider like Jamf is the ideal
foundation for anyone looking to purchase and deploy apps to their fleet of devices and easily keep those apps
up-to-date. However, not every app an organization wants to use for their Mac fleet is available in the Mac App Store.
For updating and deploying applications, we consider these methods:

Volume Purchasing
Volume Purchasing distribution and updates comes from apps purchased through the App
Store. These are distributed using ABM or ASM and attached to a configuration profile
within Jamf Pro or a Blueprint in Jamf Now. Apps deployed via Volume Purchasing can beautomatically updated when Jamf Pro becomes aware of newer versions available in the AppStore. These apps are updated depending on update and install commands set by the admin
within Jamf Pro, which includes an organization’s preferred update cadence. Selecting fromthese is about finding the right fit that consistently meets your needs and goals surroundinguser experience and the rest of your app strategy.

Automatic app updates
Similar to automatic updates for Mac App Store apps, App Installers in Jamf Pro offers a simple way
to deploy third-party Mac apps and automatically keep them up to date, eliminating the need tomonitor for updates, repackage apps or manage hosted files. In addition, App Installers will validate
the integrity of each new version before it is deployed to machines designated by the IT admin.

Packages and policies
Packages allow IT to package up an app, scope it to a device or profile and deploy it througha policy. Using a policy, you can run scripts, manage accounts, and distribute software. When you
create a policy, you specify the tasks you want to automate: execution frequency (how often it shouldrun), triggers (when the policy should run), scope (the users and computers for which it should run)and the user experience. All of these attributes can be set on a per policy basis.

Patch Policies
Admins can select which applications they wish to target for patch policies from the Jamf
App Catalog, as well as external patch definition feeds. The Jamf App Catalog is a robust
list of software titles, for unmatched capabilities to organize and maintain versions for patch
management and reporting needs.
In addition to the expanding list of titles available, Jamf Title Editor provides admins with theability to create and maintain their own custom titles within the Jamf App Catalog, or customize
information provided by Jamf app title definitions. Admins can also customize the closing ofapps and user notification for a particular patch.

App Lifecycle Management is a strategy framework, meaning no one size fits all. Depending on an appenvironment, individual apps will have differing needs when it comes to updating and deploying. Customers will
have the flexibility to update and deploy some apps with App Installers and other apps with Policies and PatchPolicies. One factor that does apply to all app strategies however is that unpatched software is unsecured software,
making your patch management plans critical to your app strategy success.

User Experience with AppsA complete and comprehensive app strategy finds a way to maximize organization, efficiency and security withoutharming their user experience. Balancing these aspects isn’t always as simple as it seems, and no one method is best.
Users want their apps to work, when they need them to work, and if done right, they won’t even know about the role theIT admin plays in the background, ensuring they have the most flawless experience with apps needed to be productive.
Striking the right balance of user involvement or interruption when keeping apps updated, while keeping security
in mind, is key to establish. Whether it’s fully up to the user as to when they install their apps or IT pushes apps
without user interaction are decisions needed when attempting to find that balance – and you may find that you
have a little bit of all the strategies below, depending on the app.

This method can happen either initially during enrollment or via Self Service.
During enrollment, users power on their Apple device and have everything theyneed, including apps, based on how an admin provisions a users’ machine, oftenSilentInstallation

based on cloud identity.
If the admin chooses to user App Installers as the method for updating apps,
updates will silently install in the background and users do not need to take any
action. Its hands off for IT admins, and unnoticed by users.

Admins may choose to start building a culture of easily keeping apps up todate by giving your users a little nudge and guiding them to install updates
in a timely manner. Admins can call out that an update is available via
notifications, badges, and reminders and if that doesn’t prompt the user

Notifications

enough to install the update, patch policies can be set to enforce an updateafter a set period of time. Reminders are a great way to have a mix between
user and IT-driven app updates.

Using Jamf Pro’s Self Service empowers users to use and update the IT-approved
apps that keep them productive and enhance their use of technology users toselect the apps they need for their own success. IT admins can still track which

Self Service

apps are installed within the fleet of devices and shift the strategy for a particular
app if more management of updates needs to occur.

Admins may choose to install an application ASAP with no option for the user
to defer the installation. Although this could be considered intrusive if using thedevice, it is an important method when admins have an app with important security

Install with nodeferral option

updates and want to ensure that the update happens immediately to avoid
potential security risks. Because of the potential interruption to a user, this methodshould be used wisely if patches can’t be scheduled for “off” heavy work times.

The ability to customize your user experience allows you to cater directly to your organization’s needs, your users’
needs and maintaining the security of apps. Whether your app strategy runs on employees being empowered to seekout what they need or having everything from app selection to deployment and updates automated so your teamspends more time focused on customers, Jamf allows you to deliver the exact experience you want.

Reporting on Apps
With any good strategy, the ability to monitor, measure, and react is important to continually tweaking and improving
it – ALM strategies are no different. Finding methods to gather data and report on aspects like app versions and app
usage across an entire device fleet offer admins the power to tie applications to real business goals, budgets, andorganizational success.

Viewing reports
Pulling the numbers and reports surrounding apps is nice but
being able to visualize the data and map app data throughout theapplication lifecycle is a goal to strive to achieve. It allows you tomonitor key figures, KPIs, and moments that require IT-interaction.

App Version reports

You can also enable reporting on as many apps as you want to get

See which devices have the latest

a visual representation of how up-to-date your fleet of devices is,versions of apps and take action

even if you may not be actively patching every single app that you

when needed.

are using. There are a few common ways to view these reports:

App Usage reports
Understand how much, and by

The Jamf Pro dashboard
is built into Jamf Pro and isready to use, enabling IT
admins to monitor the status ofJamf Pro
Dashboard

licensed applications. Jamf Pro
dashboards allow you to adda list of items including policies,
patch reports, licensed software,and more.

Devices submitting inventory
reports on specific apps withregular frequency offer IT theability to see which devices arecarrying which version of specific

Patch
Reportingapps. A key juncture to track
when it comes to taking action
and monitoring for potential flaws
in security. These reports can beexported to CSV or TXT formats
for sharing.

whom, certain applications are used.
Take action to reallocate or revoke
apps from devices.

Advanced Search gives the ability to display only the fields an administrator
wants to see about an app while allowing admins to configure criteria to display

AdvancedSearch

only the devices or users that meet that criteria. It’s common to use advanced
search reporting to combine patch reporting with other, specific, related criteria
to pull customized reports.

Bring your data to life and map your secure and support app lifecycle with thehelp of third-party tools. It’s important to expect and plan for additional cost andMarketplace
integrations
e.g., Splunk,
Tableautime to onboard and integrate these tools to your organization’s liking, but it
offers the ability to display your management success in a viewer-friendly way
that combats glazed eyes that can come with row after row of data sheets. Inaddition, there are also API possibilities to consider, such as Jamf Pro sending
webhooks to Slack/Teams with the webhook PatchSoftwareTitleUpdated.

The Path Forward
It’s important to remember that no single app lifecycle management
plan fits all organizations, but that all should work toward having
a complete ALM strategy. Whether your needs demand apps fromevery source and routine patch management, or a few well-curated
apps deployed in Self Service for each department to access, knowing
where your apps come from, where they are hosted, how they are
deployed and updated, and how you will pull reports on apps is key toensuring your environment remains organized, efficient and secure.
Once apps are in the wild and licenses are issued, things can get
hectic. Having a well thought out, comprehensive strategy to manage
apps throughout the lifecycle saves time, money, and headaches, while
simultaneously delivering a better user experience. From sourcing apps
to streamlined deployment, patching, and reporting, Jamf is built tohelp you deliver success to the entire organization.
See how Jamf can elevate your app strategy.
Request Trial.