B2B applications are hot commodity ever since the pandemic and several enterprises are eyeing on creating diverse applications to captivate the market. In short, it is a must for every business to understand importance of B2B apps to make them easy to deploy. Now that we have covered the beginners guide of B2B apps , let’s delve deeper into the next part, which is the distribution of these apps on various platforms.

• This is the most common way of distributing iOS apps. The app is directly published on the App store and is publicly available for download.
• However, this is not ideal for distributing white-labeled B2B solutions as the Apple Platform has very stringent guidelines for public app distribution.
• For example, if two applications with the same functionality and UI but different names and Logos are to be deployed, Apple tags it as spam and rejects it.
• The only workaround for this is having one app deployed in the app store and then differentiating multiple enterprises at the login level.

Example: The app is deployed in the public app store. One set of user groups belonging to one organization have to log in using a specific code to access data related to their enterprise-level data and another user group uses a different code to access data related to them.

For this type of distribution, two programs are required

1. Apple Developer Program: for the developer
2. Apple business manager: for the target organization

The developer of the application must be enrolled in the Apple Developer Program. Once the app is ready, they upload the file in App Store Connect and select private distribution and submit it to Apple for review. Once the app is reviewed and approved by Apple, it will be available for purchase for businesses identified in the App Store Connect.

Now the target organization can purchase from their Apple Business manager account and distribute it internally using MDM (Mobile Device Management) or redemption codes.

(Refer to Apple Developer Enterprise Program for more details).

• This distribution is similar to the enterprise developer program, but it doesn’t have the eligibility criteria that the Enterprise Developer Program has.
• This method is ideal for developers who wish to share an app for private beta or small temporary distribution. Ad-Hoc distribution will allow businesses to distribute apps directly to up to 100 devices that are registered to the Apple Developer Program membership.