IOS Enterprise Distribution Through OTA
As of December 2011, these are the steps:
- Create a provisioning profile in your Apple Enterprise account
- Set this as the Code Signing Identity under the Build setting of your app.
- Make sure the Bundle ID matches that of the provisioning profile.
- Select Product > Archive to build IPA file.
- Click Share (aka Distribute) button after selecting your Archive.
- Set Contents radio button to iOS App Store Package (.ipa)
- Make sure Identity in dropdown is the one used from Enterprise account.
- Click Next
- Select the check box "Save for Enterprise Distribution"
- For Application URL put in the URL that points to where the ipa file will be placed (example:
http://oursite.com/myApp.ipa) - Click Save. This will save a plist & an ipa file for you.
- Place these files on your server with a link formated like this:
<a href="itms-services://?action=download-manifest&url=itms-services://?action=download-manifest&url=http:/oursite.com/myApp.plist" id="text"> - Go to this page from your device and click the link to install the app
Probably the best way to distribute your enterprise mobile app and then securely manage users, groups, data and devices is using a Mobile Device Manager (MDM) tool suite.
iOS provides specific APIs that support enterprise deployment via MDM products with API level features like Per App VPN connections that allow you to firewall a DMZ application server to only connect to a specific signed client iOS app. The vendors also provided authentication SSO integration and encrypted storage on the devices to sandbox your enterprise apps from other untrusted personal apps on a BYOD device.
Here's the Gartner 2013 review of MDM products:
- http://www.business.att.com/content/whitepaper/Gartner-MDM-MQ.pdf
The 3 major players are now: Air Watch, Mobile Iron and Citrix XenMobile.
NOTE: I don't work for or have a vested interest in any MDM vendor.