I have a bunch of out-dated android devices running MaaS360, since before it was IBM.  The app is up to date.  I have some questions on moving forward and usage/capability of this MDM software.

Our dominant use at the moment is a book library replacement.  We are in the HVAC industry.  Techs used to take stacks of books with them for the most common systems, but most started using personal devices and search the web for manuals.  The tablets (Galaxy Tab 4 10") gave the techs ALL manuals (potentially) on a device with the obvious percs of searchable content.  This has worked great.  They also use email and web.  Our email is through Google Aps.

These tab devices are out dated and space is limited.  They need to be upgraded. 

In an ideal world, I would love to be able to:
1) Push apps to the device (have them install automatically, currently I have to manually install).  With approx 50 devices and 1 IT guy, its not the worst in the world, but is a PIA
2) push the pdf files to the devices (into the "manual" directory, where all the other manuals are).

We use this in kiosk mode. 

Internally we need to decide whether we want to add cell service to the mix.  We are in Vermont so that does not guarantee users will have internet.  But some definite advantage to communications capabilities with Hangouts and emails.

So the questions are 
1) can MaaS360 accomplish what I am looking for?  Do you have recommendations if not?
2) I would love to hear suggestions if you have them on how you would accomplish this.
3) device recommendations?  IOS vs Android?

Thanks for any and all input.  I greatly appreciate it.

Hi Grant,

MaaS360 can accomplish both of these asks, but there could be a big caveat depending on your setup.

I'm going to gloss over some facts pretty quickly, but give you some links at the end here that go a little more in depth.

There are essentially two styles of management for Androids - Device Admin (DA) and Android Enterprise (AE).  DA has effectively been deprecated on Android 10+, so AE is now the default.  If AE is not setup in your portal, you'll need to do that first.

DA managed devices never had direct Play store tie-in and silent app installs for enterprise apps (where you have a copy of the APK app file) were only possible on Samsung devices.

AE makes it possible to silently install both public and private apps.  So, good news there.

The less good news is that you will have to migrate from DA to AE.  This will require interaction on the devices, there just isn't a way to do that silently.  Since you are using kiosk mode, that extends to a full factory reset (if you don't mind not using kiosk, we have an in-app migration). 

The other good news is that we can push files to specific destinations on the device, but this is not a feature enabled by default.  If you reach out to your account rep/partner rep, they will be able to get that turned on for you after they verify your accounts entitlements. 

Here are some resources on Android Enterprise: https://www.securitylearningacademy.com/mod/resource/view.php?id=24744

Here is a webinar on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFwgM8yFkKo&t=327s