Application management

The apps your team needs, on every phone, without a spreadsheet.

Mobile application management is the part of device management that decides which apps exist on a company phone, which version they run, and whether an employee can remove them. NounDesk does this through Google Play: you mark an app Required, Available or Blocked inside a security policy, set a minimum version, and a compliance view shows exactly which devices have it, lack it, are outdated or failed to install.

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Required apps installing across the fleetapp.noundesk.comRequired apps · Field WorkerGoogle Maps7/7Jobber6/7Slack7/7Authenticator5/71 device missing Jobber · 2 outdated (min 6.1)0 failed installs
Application Management in NounDesk.

MDM and MAM, from one policy

Larger vendors sell device management and application management as separate products with separate consoles. In NounDesk they are two parts of the same security policy, so there is one thing to edit and one preview before anything ships.

  • The policy that requires a PIN is the policy that requires your job app.
  • Change both in one draft and see a single list of what will change and who it affects.
  • A device that is missing a required app shows as needing attention on the same dashboard.

A catalog that looks like the Play Store

Search Google Play by name or paste a package name, and NounDesk pulls the icon and title from Google. If you are starting from scratch, 59 suggested business apps arrive grouped into nine categories.

  • Navigation, messaging, field service, scheduling, accounting, security, scanning, productivity and browsers.
  • Employees never sign in to Google Play with a personal account to receive them.
  • Apps install through the managed Play Store that enrollment sets up automatically.
  • Your own app goes in too: upload the APK and it is published privately through managed Google Play in about 10 minutes, visible to your devices only.

Required, Available or Blocked

Every app in every policy sits in one of three states. That is the whole model, and it is how you make sure the job app is always present and the games never are.

  • Required installs automatically and cannot be removed by the employee.
  • Available shows in the device's managed Play Store for staff to install if they want it.
  • Blocked cannot be installed, and raises an alert naming the device if it appears anyway.

Versions you chose, not versions that happened

A dispatch app that updates itself mid-shift and changes its routing is a bad afternoon. Minimum versions and an update window put you back in charge of when software changes.

  • Set a minimum version so a stale install reads as outdated rather than quietly running last year's release.
  • Choose automatic updates, a nightly window, or postpone them for a period.
  • Security patches to the operating system are never delayed by an app update setting.

See who is missing what

The compliance view lists every required app with four numbers and the spread of versions, so a failed install is something you find rather than something a technician reports.

  • Devices that have the app, are missing it, are outdated, or failed to install.
  • A failure names the device and the reason, most often not enough storage.
  • The alert that arrives says the same thing, in the same words as the dashboard.

Where application management stops

NounDesk manages which apps are on a phone and which version is installed. It doesn't look inside them. That line is deliberate, and it's worth knowing before you roll phones out to a team.

  • No app content

    Messages, files and records inside an app stay between the app and the employee.

  • No keystrokes

    Nothing typed on the phone is logged, ever.

  • No browsing history

    Sites visited on the phone are not reported to anyone.

Security and privacy →App management, screen by screen →Publish your own app privately →Lock a tablet to one app →

Inside the product

The features behind application management

Security policies

Android security policies in plain English: pick a template, set screen lock, updates, camera, Wi-Fi and encryption, and preview changes before publishing.

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App management

Install and manage apps on company Android phones: mark Google Play apps required, available or blocked per policy, and spot missing or outdated apps.

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Kiosk mode

Android kiosk mode with no kiosk app to install. Lock a tablet or phone to one app, a few apps or a web page in a four-step wizard, and see each kiosk's health.

Learn more →

Alerts & monitoring

Alerts for company Android devices that go offline, fall out of compliance, install a blocked app or run low on storage. Auto-resolve and email digests.

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Industries

Application Management by trade

The businesses that lean on this most, each with its own scenario and recommended policy template.

Field service

Technician phones that are ready before the first job.

Technician phones that hold the schedule, the customer address and the photos that get you paid. Keep the job app and maps installed, push the shop Wi-Fi, and lock a phone the moment it is left at a customer's house.

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Cleaning & home services

Simple phones for a team that's always at someone's home.

Staff phones that carry the schedule and a client's gate code into someone's home. A simple PIN rule, an app allow-list, and reassignment in seconds when the team changes.

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Delivery & logistics

Driver phones that navigate, scan, and lock when they go missing.

Driver phones running navigation and proof of delivery all day. Keep the dispatch app on the version you tested, get told when a phone goes quiet, and lock it the moment it is lost.

Read more →
Restaurants & retail

The order tablet shows the menu. Nothing else. All day.

Order screens and check-in tablets that should show one app and nothing else. Kiosk mode blocks the settings menu, keeps the screen awake, and tells you before the lunch rush if a tablet dies.

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Clinics & small healthcare

Front-desk tablets and staff phones that would pass an audit.

Front-desk tablets and staff phones that hold appointment details. Encryption, a real screen lock, patching on a schedule, and reports you can export for a compliance review.

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Small schools & training

Classroom tablets that stay on the lesson.

Shared classroom tablets used by a hundred students and supported by a teacher. A multi-app kiosk per room, blocked app stores, and updates that run overnight.

Read more →

See every industry →

Why NounDesk

Why small businesses choose NounDesk for Android device management

Ten minutes, not a project

Guided onboarding with a live checklist. Scan a QR code on the phone's welcome screen and it enrolls itself. NounDesk runs on Google's Android Enterprise, so there is no agent app to install and nothing of ours to keep patched on the device.

Plain English everywhere

"Screen lock does not meet policy", not a compliance code. Every setting explains what it does and names the Android version it needs, so nothing fails silently on an older phone.

Safe by default

Erasing a device needs its name typed out, and bulk erase is never offered. Policy changes show what will change and how many devices it hits. Nothing is wiped automatically when an employee leaves.

Status you can believe

A command reads "waiting for device" until the phone confirms it, rather than claiming success on send. Offline means not seen in 24 hours, not broken.

Privacy you can explain to your team

No call or message monitoring, no browsing history, no keylogging, and no location outside lost mode. You can tell staff exactly what the phone reports, and point them at the page that says so.

Priced for small fleets

$1.50 per device per month. One price, every feature, any number of devices (over 50, email support@noundesk.com first), no minimum and no annual contract. A 14-day trial covering up to 50 devices with no card, and a free demo fleet before you touch a real phone.

Other solutions

Device Management

Enroll, secure and recover every company phone

Read more →

Kiosk Management

Run and monitor kiosks across every site

Read more →

Work Profile & BYOD

What we support today, and what is coming

Read more →

Tablet Management

Counter, clinic, classroom and van tablets

Read more →

Rugged Device Management

Scanners, handhelds and site-proof tablets

Read more →

All solutions

Every way small businesses use NounDesk, side by side.

See all →
From the blog
ArticleHow to Stop Employees Installing Apps on Work PhonesBlocking apps on company Android phones by controlling what is available rather than policing what gets installed, plus how to handle the requests that follow.ArticleAndroid Enterprise Explained for Small BusinessesAndroid Enterprise is Google's device management built into Android itself. What it is, why there is no agent app, and the three things that actually matter.ArticleGemini Notebook on Work Android Phones: What Admins Should SetGemini Notebook now records audio on Android and is on by default for Workspace. What that means for shared and field phones, plus Drive's new data rules.

Read the complete guide to Android MDM for small business →

User guide
Guide · PoliciesSecurity policiesCreate a NounDesk security policy from a template, edit the settings, preview what changes, publish it and restore an earlier version.Guide · PoliciesPolicy settings referenceEvery setting in the NounDesk policy editor: the options, what each does, which Android versions support it and the Standard Business default.Guide · PoliciesPolicy versions and publishingSave policy changes as a draft, preview exactly what changes, publish a new version, roll back to an earlier one, and apply, default or archive a policy.Guide · PoliciesNetwork settingsPush Wi-Fi networks to company devices, control hotspots and Bluetooth sharing, and set up always-on VPN and Private DNS from a security policy.Guide · PoliciesSystem and app updatesChoose when company Android devices install system updates and app updates, set a nightly maintenance window, and keep kiosks up to date.Guide · PoliciesKiosk modeLock an Android tablet or phone to one app or a few apps with the four-step NounDesk kiosk wizard, then roll it out to your devices.

Browse the full user guide →

Application Management: questions answered

What is mobile application management?

It is control over which apps are on a company device, which version they run, and whether the employee can remove them. It is often shortened to MAM, and in NounDesk it is part of the same security policy as the device settings.

Can I stop staff installing their own apps?

Yes. Block apps from outside Google Play in the policy and mark unwanted apps Blocked. A blocked app that appears anyway raises an alert naming the device.

What if our main tool is a website, not an app?

Turn the URL into a web app. It installs like a normal app and opens full screen, which is how most order screens and check-in desks run on NounDesk kiosks.

Do you support sideloading APK files?

Not onto phones directly. Apps come through Google Play, which is deliberate: it is what keeps a managed fleet free of unsigned software nobody can account for. If you have your own app, upload the APK in NounDesk and it is published privately through managed Google Play, free, in about 10 minutes. Only your devices see it, and employees do not need a Google account to get it.

Can NounDesk see what staff do inside an app?

No. NounDesk manages which apps are present and up to date. It does not see app content, messages, browsing or keystrokes.

Ten phones. Ten minutes. Protected.

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