IBM Security MaaS360

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  • 1.  Android Enterprise - Profile Owner enroll

    Posted Wed January 13, 2021 07:31 AM
    Hi folks - I'm working on the Android Enterprise roadmap for my business and looking at enrolling a device into Profile Owner from a factory reset, instead of Device Owner. 

    I'm comfortable with the process however the issue is having to use a Google account for the Play Store to download the MaaS360 app. While we could have an account per device/user, this gets clunky from a support and users perspective.

    Is there any way to "silently" associate the AFW / AE account with the enrolment in the same way as enrolling as Device Owner achieves, so it's transparent to the user?

    Also considering whether this will be an issue for us migrating DA to PO.

    Thanks!

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    Matt Wilsher - Head of Service Delivery
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  • 2.  RE: Android Enterprise - Profile Owner enroll

    Posted Wed January 13, 2021 09:18 AM

    Hi Matt,

    PO is really targeted towards a BYOD demographic, so the Google account-to-Play Store workflow is a fundamental part of the process.  You could have them sideload our agent, but that would probably be even more confusing if the user base isn't very technical.

    Another option is what's called Work Profile on Corporate Owned (WPCO) - at a very broad level this is PO experience running on DO devices - it's a more streamlined enrollment process but the downside is that it's only available on Android 11+, which is still not available to a majority of the devices on the market.

    Since you are enrolling from a factory reset state - are there any specific concerns that we can address as to why DO isn't being leveraged instead?

    As for the DA to PO migrations - since the app is already installed on the device they won't have to go through any of the manual Google Play workflows, but it does require a bit of user interaction on the device.  It's not something that can be done silently.



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    Matt Shaver
    System Architect
    IBM
    mshaver@us.ibm.com
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  • 3.  RE: Android Enterprise - Profile Owner enroll

    Posted Wed January 13, 2021 09:55 AM
    Thanks Matt. It's good to know I'm not missing anything here and my understanding was indeed ok.

    In terms of DO enrollment, it's the management of the Play Store that comes as the issue. We've always allowed the Play Store to be open and to suddenly close it off to approved apps only, along with the admin overhead of dealing with user requests for apps to be approved going forward, is the biggest deal breaker for DO. It's certainly not a full deal breaker of course but it does swerve us away from it somewhat.

    Again am I missing something with DO, and could we effectively open the store up fully?

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    Matt Wilsher
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  • 4.  RE: Android Enterprise - Profile Owner enroll

    Posted Wed January 13, 2021 10:44 AM
    Yes - as long as you don't restrict account modification in the policy,  the user can add their personal Google account to the device, and they will be able to access the full Play Store experience.  The caveat is that they will need to know how to switch to their personal account in the Google Play app locally on the device.

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    Matt Shaver
    System Architect
    IBM
    mshaver@us.ibm.com
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  • 5.  RE: Android Enterprise - Profile Owner enroll

    Posted Wed January 13, 2021 10:53 AM
    Ah that's very interesting, I didn't know that. Will give that a test tomorrow.

    Thanks again Matt! :)

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    Matt Wilsher
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  • 6.  RE: Android Enterprise - Profile Owner enroll

    Posted Wed January 13, 2021 11:04 AM
      |   view attached
    After adding an account, I can't switch to it Matt. There's nothing in the Play Store that allows a switch to the account I've added that I can find in any of the sub menus.


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    Matt Wilsher
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  • 7.  RE: Android Enterprise - Profile Owner enroll

    Posted Wed January 13, 2021 11:22 AM
    I wish they made this as straightforward as an option in the menu, but it's a little less obvious.  There should be a circle in the right corner of the Play store - when tapped on it will show account options, including switching between accounts or switching between the work and personal profile (PO only)




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    Matt Shaver
    System Architect
    IBM
    mshaver@us.ibm.com
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  • 8.  RE: Android Enterprise - Profile Owner enroll

    Posted Thu January 14, 2021 04:11 AM
    Epic - so simple, yet so hidden away at the same time. Thanks again Matt, you've made a bit of a quandary into an easy decision! I wish all days would go like this.

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    Matt Wilsher
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