Mobile Application Delivery with System Center Configuration Manager 2012 R2 and Windows Intune - Part 4

Hi again, it’s Jeff Buller. This post will discuss how to deliver Windows Phone 8 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 1: Introduction

       · 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

Windows Phone 8 Application Delivery

So far in this series on Mobile Application Delivery, I discussed how to deliver iOS and Windows 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 a Windows Phone 8 (deep-link) application to a user. A high level summary of the administrator and user process is listed below.

       Administrator Process to Deliver a Windows Phone 8 (deep-link) Application

              1. Create a Configuration Manager Application and Windows Phone 8 Deployment Type

              2. Deploy the application to a Configuration Manager User Collection

       User Process to Access a Windows Phone 8 (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 Windows Phone 8 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.

       · Windows Phone 8 enrollment enabled, specifying the .pfx file or Application Enrollment token and location of the signed Windows Phone 8 company portal app. (Using Support Tool for Windows Intune Trial Management of Window Phone 8 is ok).

Windows Intune Subscription Properties window showing Windows Phone 8 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 Windows Phone 8

       · Support Tool for Windows Intune Trial Management of Window Phone 8

Administrator process to deliver a Windows Phone 8 (deep-link) Application

The following administrator steps outline the process to deliver a Windows Phone 8 (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 Windows Phone App Package (in the Windows Phone Store) 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 Windows Phone app package (in the Windows Phone Store) .
4. For the Location field, Click on the Browse button.
5. In the “Windows Phone app package Browser” window, search for your Windows Phone 8 Store application. In this example, I searched for Skype and then Clicked OK.
6. The Location field is now populated with the path to Skype in the Windows Phone Store. 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 application is now listed in Applications.

2. Deploying the Windows Phone (deep-link) application

1. Open the Configuration Manager Management Console, Click on the Software Library Workspace and Expand the Application Management folder.
2. Right Click on the Skype 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 application is now listed under Applications as deployed.

User process to access a Windows Phone (deep-link) application

The following user steps outline the process to access the Windows Intune Company Portal and install the Skype application.

1. Access the Company Portal on Windows Phone 8

1. Open the Windows Intune Company Portal application. Note: For Windows Phone 8, the Windows Intune Company Portal is distributed and installed as part of the enrollment process. In this example, the device has been enrolled and the Company Portal application has been installed. 2. Enter user id 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 Windows Phone 8

1. While in the Company Portal, Click on the Skype application.
2. Click on Store.
3. Click on Install.
4.The Skype application is now installed.

Summary and Next Post

So far in this series, I have discussed delivering iOS, Windows 8/RT and Windows Phone 8 applications using Configuration Manager 2012 R2 with Windows Intune. In part 5, I will walk through the steps to deliver an Android application using a similar administrator and user process.

Talk to you soon,

Jeff