As discussed in the post ‘Purchasing Apps’, some modern tablet platforms manage the deployment of applications in a different manner to traditional Windows and OS X operating systems. Apps purchased from application stores on Android and iOS, for example, are specific to the account of the user downloading or purchasing them, rather than to the device. This raises some issues around purchase and installation of apps provided on the device at deployment as well as of those provided post-deployment. In some cases, schools choose to treat apps as consumable items, whereby apps are gifted to pupils who can then continue to use them when they leave school, others use a model where the school maintains ownership of the apps, which are retrieved and redeployed when pupils leave school. The former model requires little setup by the school as redemption codes are sent to pupils who redeem them against their own account. The latter model may look financially attractive but will require up-front work to configure the device, the resource cost of which may ultimately be more than the cost of the apps themselves.

There are circumstances where, with an additional Mobile Device Management (MDM) service, you may be able to deploy applications to tablet devices over the air. There are free and paid MDM solutions available offering varied functionality and XMA can advise of the best solution to suit your individual requirements.