# Mobile Device Management


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
title: "Introduction"
description: "Catalyst Mobile Device Management (MDM) is an app hosting and management feature that allows you to host Android and iOS apps built with Catalyst&#39;s mobile SDK in your project, as well as perform app user management."
last_updated: "2026-03-18T07:41:08.535Z"
source: "https://docs.catalyst.zoho.com/en/cloud-scale/help/mobile-device-management/introduction/"
service: "Cloud Scale"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


# Mobile Device Management

## Introduction

Mobile Device Management is a Catalyst Cloud Scale component that enables you to seamlessly host, distribute, and manage Android and iOS mobile apps within Catalyst. Built using {{%link href=&#34;https://www.manageengine.com/mobile-device-management/&#34; %}}ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus{{%/link%}}, it offers a cost-effective solution for enterprise-grade mobile device management. The entire deployment and management process is powered by Catalyst, providing a secure, scalable, and reliable cloud environment that adapts to your app’s growing demands while ensuring a smooth user experience.

You can easily host your mobile app from the console and manage your application&#39;s versioning in Catalyst. You can host one Android app and one iOS app for each project. MDM also allows you to send the end users invites from the console to install the mobile apps for both platforms. This enables you to keep track of the number of devices the app is installed on from the invites and view user statistics.

Catalyst also helps you incorporate {{%link href=&#34;/en/cloud-scale/help/push-notifications/introduction&#34; %}}Push Notifications{{%/link%}} in your iOS mobile app and send push notifications directly from the console. The mobile apps you host on MDM will be made available to the users only in the Production environment of your Catalyst project. You can host your Android or iOS app to test MDM&#39;s functionalities in the Development environment. However, the app will not be available live. You can must deploy your Catalyst project to Production and work in the Production environment, to use MDM&#39;s features in production. Refer to the {{%link href=&#34;/en/deployment-and-billing/environments/production-environment&#34; %}}Environments help page{{%/link%}} for more information.

{{%note%}}{{%bold%}}Note:{{%/bold%}} 

* Unlike web applications, you cannot create or deploy resources of your mobile applications from the Catalyst CLI.
* Mobile Device Management is currently not available to Catalyst users accessing from the EU, AU, IN, JP, SA or CA data centers.

{{%/note%}}

&lt;br /&gt;

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
title: "Key Concepts"
description: "Catalyst Mobile Device Management (MDM) is an app hosting and management feature that allows you to host Android and iOS apps built with Catalyst&#39;s mobile SDK in your project, as well as perform app user management."
last_updated: "2026-03-18T07:41:08.535Z"
source: "https://docs.catalyst.zoho.com/en/cloud-scale/help/mobile-device-management/key-concepts/"
service: "Cloud Scale"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


# Key Concepts

Before you learn how to host mobile applications in Catalyst, it&#39;s important to familiarize yourself with some basic concepts of Catalyst MDM.

### Developing Mobile Apps in Catalyst

Catalyst provides a rich set of Android and iOS SDK tools for Android and iOS mobile app development. You can download the SDK packages from the {{%link href=&#34;/en/getting-started/set-up-a-catalyst-project/developer-tools&#34; %}}_Developer Tools_ section in _Settings_{{%/link%}} or from the {{%link href=&#34;/en/getting-started/navigating-in-the-console&#34; %}}menu on the right side of the console{{%/link%}}.

You can develop Android and iOS apps in Catalyst by providing the required bundle details, downloading the SDK packages, and building the apps using Catalyst&#39;s SDKs. If your mobile app uses any Catalyst components such as user authentication or functions, you must ensure that you include the relevant Catalyst SDK packages in your app&#39;s structure. For more information, refer to the {{%link href=&#34;/en/sdk/android/v2/overview/&#34; %}}Android SDK{{%/link%}} and {{%link href=&#34;/en/sdk/ios/v2/overview/&#34; %}}iOS SDK{{%/link%}} documentations.

If your mobile app doesn&#39;t use any Catalyst components, you can develop it independently without including any Catalyst SDK packages, and just host it in MDM.

### Hosting a Mobile App

While you develop your Android or your iOS app, you must ensure that you adhere to the guidelines issued by Google or Apple. You can refer to the official {{%link href=&#34;https://developer.android.com/docs&#34; %}}Android documentation{{%/link%}} for information on Android app development and the official {{%link href=&#34;https://developer.apple.com/documentation/&#34; %}}Apple developer documentation{{%/link%}} for information on iOS app development.

Catalyst enables you to host your mobile app easily by uploading the APK file or IPA file of your app and providing some required information in _Mobile Device Management_. You can generate these files from your IDE, and upload them in the Catalyst console.

For iOS applications, you must obtain an APNs certificate from Apple. The APNs certificate permits MDM to distribute your app to the users. If you are hosting an iOS app for the first time in Catalyst, you must upload the APNs certificate when you upload the app in the Catalyst console.

The steps to generate an APNs certificate are specified in the {{%link href=&#34;/en/cloud-scale/help/mobile-device-management/implementation&#34; %}}Implementation{{%/link%}} section.

Note the following points before you host a mobile app in Catalyst:

* The app name that you provide while hosting the app in the console is only a representational name. This name will be displayed in the _Android_ or _iOS_ sections in _Mobile Device Management_, and in the email invite to a user. It does not need to be the same as the actual app name.
* You can set the app name in the {{%badge%}}strings.xml{{%/badge%}} file in the source folder of your Android app. For an iOS app, you can set the app&#39;s name in your IDE.
* You can change the representational app name, the logo image of your mobile app, and the description for each app update, if you require.
* You must ensure that you do not upload an app source file that is from a different bundle while updating the app.

### Application Versioning

Catalyst supports versioning your mobile apps. You can upload and host upgraded versions of the apps and view the app&#39;s version history in _Mobile Device Management_. However, you will not be able to roll back to a previously deployed version of the app from the Catalyst console.

The following guidelines must be followed when providing the version information for an Android or iOS mobile app before hosting it in Catalyst:

1. You must provide the version information of your iOS app in the {{%badge%}}contents.json{{%/badge%}} configuration file, which can be found in your iOS application&#39;s structure. Specify the version number in the {{%badge%}}version{{%/badge%}} field.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
2. You must provide the version information of your Android app in the {{%badge%}}build.gradle{{%/badge%}} file which can be found in your Android app&#39;s structure. Specify the version number in the {{%badge%}}versionName{{%/badge%}} field.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
3. You must specify the version number of the app in decimal format.
4. For every subsequent update of your app, you can modify the version number incrementally to indicate the next version.
5. You cannot reduce the version number, once the app has been hosted. This will cause compatibility issues with the SDK package.
6. If you want to roll back your app to an older version, you can do it manually by deploying a previously hosted version. However, unlike with {{%link href=&#34;/en/cloud-scale/help/web-client-hosting/introduction&#34; %}}Web Client Hosting{{%/link%}}, you will not be able to roll back from the Catalyst console.

### Inviting Users

As discussed earlier, you can send invites to your end users to install the app on their devices. These invites can be sent for both Android and iOS apps. Apart from sending invites from _Mobile Device Management_, an end-user can access your mobile app in other ways.

In general, you can invite an end user to access your mobile app in three different ways:

1. {{%bold%}}Inviting from Authentication{{%/bold%}} &lt;br /&gt; You can send invites to users to access an Android or an iOS app from the _Users_ section in _Authentication_ in the Catalyst console.
&lt;br /&gt; However, these invites can only be sent to users of Zoho CRM or Zoho Desk who are members in your organization, i.e., the users that you have configured as members of your organization in your Zoho CRM or Desk account.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; You can easily add an organization, manage organization settings, add users to your organization and more in {{%link href=&#34;https://www.zoho.com/crm/help/&#34; %}}Zoho CRM{{%/link%}} or {{%link href=&#34;https://www.zoho.com/desk/help/&#34; %}}Zoho Desk{{%/link%}}.&lt;br /&gt; You can add, view, manage, and delete users of your application from _Authentication_. For more information, refer to the {{%link href=&#34;/en/cloud-scale/help/authentication/user-management/users/introduction/&#34; %}}Users help page.{{%/link%}}.
2. {{%bold%}}Accessing from ManageEngine MDM{{%/bold%}}&lt;br /&gt; Since Catalyst MDM implements ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus, users will be able to access your mobile app in ManageEngine MDM automatically once you host it in Catalyst. To do this, the users must first install ManageEngine MDM on their mobile devices.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Once it is installed on their mobile device, they will be able to access all the mobile apps that you have distributed to their mobile device. For more information, you can refer to the {{%link href=&#34;https://www.manageengine.com/mobile-device-management/help.html&#34; %}}ManageEngine MDM help documentation.{{%/link%}}
3. {{%bold%}}Inviting from the Catalyst console{{%/bold%}}&lt;br /&gt; You can send invites to the users from the _Invites_ section in _Mobile Device Management_ in the Catalyst console. When you specify the service (Zoho CRM or Zoho Desk) while sending an invite from Catalyst, all the users of your organization in that service will be listed. You can then select the users that you want from the list and send the invite to them.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Since you can be part of multiple organizations in Zoho CRM or Desk, you must select the required organization in Catalyst to view the list of its members.

This document only covers the procedures to invite and manage users from the _Invites_ section in _Mobile Device Management_ in the Catalyst console.

In addition to allowing you to send user invites, the _Invites_ section also provides information about the number of devices the mobile app has been installed on from the invites, and the number of devices on which installation is pending.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
title: "Benefits"
description: "Catalyst Mobile Device Management (MDM) is an app hosting and management feature that allows you to host Android and iOS apps built with Catalyst&#39;s mobile SDK in your project, as well as perform app user management."
last_updated: "2026-03-18T07:41:08.535Z"
source: "https://docs.catalyst.zoho.com/en/cloud-scale/help/mobile-device-management/benefits/"
service: "Cloud Scale"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


### Benefits

1. {{%bold%}}Easy Internal Distribution {{%/bold%}}&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; You can use Catalyst MDM to host mobile apps that need to be used internally in your organization, and securely distribute them to the members of your organization. This helps facilitate limited usage of the mobile apps that you build. You can easily distribute and obtain reports on app usage from the _Invites_ section.
2. {{%bold%}}Qualitative Analysis and Testing{{%/bold%}}&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; If your app is built for commercial usage, you can perform qualitative analysis and testing of your mobile apps with the members of your organization as test users before launching the app commercially. Catalyst MDM is highly useful for this, as you can distribute the app internally and evaluate the overall app experience from the users&#39; perspective.
3. {{%bold%}}Safe and Secure End-user Experience{{%/bold%}}&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Catalyst MDM offers ManageEngine MDM&#39;s data security, device protection, and app security features for your mobile apps. Security certifications are dispatched to Apple for iOS apps and to Google for Android apps from Catalyst. If the users have ManageEngine MDM installed on their devices, you can perform security activities and enforce safety regulations on their devices.
4. {{%bold%}}Integrated Space to Distribute Apps and Manage their Versioning {{%/bold%}}&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; You can easily host your apps in the _Mobile Device Management_ section in the Catalyst console in a few simple steps. You can also easily update an app and view its version history on a single page. The _Invites_ section also displays a list of all the users that you have sent invites to, along with the acceptance status of every invitation.
&lt;br /&gt;


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
title: "Implementation"
description: "Catalyst Mobile Device Management (MDM) is an app hosting and management feature that allows you to host Android and iOS apps built with Catalyst&#39;s mobile SDK in your project, as well as perform app user management."
last_updated: "2026-03-18T07:41:08.536Z"
source: "https://docs.catalyst.zoho.com/en/cloud-scale/help/mobile-device-management/implementation/"
service: "Cloud Scale"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


# Implementation

The _Implementation_ section acts as a step-by-step procedure guide to hosting, updating, and sending invites for both Android and iOS apps from the Catalyst console.

You must ensure that you are working in the production environment in the Catalyst console to host your app live.

### Enable Mobile Device Management in the Console

You must enable Mobile Device Management for your project before you access it for the first time, in the following way:

1. Navigate to {{%bold%}}MDM{{%/bold%}} under _Host &amp; Manage_ in the Catalyst Cloud Scale console, and click {{%bold%}}Enable Now{{%/bold%}}.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
2. Click {{%bold%}}Proceed{{%/bold%}} in the confirmation pop-up window.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;

Catalyst MDM will now be enabled and you will be able to access it. You will not be able to disable MDM for your project, once you have enabled it.

### Host an Android App

To host an Android app, you will need to upload the APK file of your mobile app and provide the required information.

To host an Android application in Catalyst:

1. Navigate to {{%bold%}}Add-on Services{{%/bold%}} under _Discover_, and click {{%bold%}}Access Now{{%/bold%}} on the _Mobile Device Management_ window.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; If you had just enabled MDM, you will be navigated to the _Mobile Device Management_ page automatically right after enabling it.
2. If you are uploading a mobile app in your project for the first time, click {{%bold%}}Upload{{%/bold%}} to upload your Android app in the _Device Management_ page.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; If you have previously uploaded an iOS app for your project, click {{%bold%}}Upload{{%/bold%}} to upload your Android app from the _Android_ section.
3. Enter the {{%bold%}}App Name{{%/bold%}} in the pop-up window.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
4. Select {{%bold%}}Android{{%/bold%}} as the platform. If you are uploading the file from the _Android_ section, only the Android option will be available.
5. Select the application&#39;s APK file from your computer.
6. Select the Android app&#39;s logo image from your computer.&lt;br /&gt;
{{%note%}}{{%bold%}}Note:{{%/bold%}} The logo image must be in the _.jpeg_ format. The image size must not exceed 50KB.{{%/note%}}
7. Crop the logo image as required and click {{%bold%}}Crop{{%/bold%}} in the pop-up window.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
8. Enter a description for the Android app.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
9. Click {{%bold%}}Upload{{%/bold%}}.

Once you have uploaded the APK file, your Android app will be hosted automatically if you are working in the {{%link href=&#34;/en/deployment-and-billing/environments/production-environment&#34; %}}Production environment{{%/link%}}.

The details of your mobile app will be displayed in the _Android_ section of MDM. The section also displays the _App Version History_.


### Host an iOS App

To host an iOS app, you will need to upload the IPA file of your mobile app and provide required information.

To host an iOS application in Catalyst:

1. Click {{%bold%}}Upload{{%/bold%}} to upload your iOS app in _Mobile Device Management_, if you are uploading a mobile app in your project for the first time.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; If you have previously uploaded an Android app for your project, navigate to {{%bold%}}iOS{{%/bold%}} and click {{%bold%}}Upload{{%/bold%}} in the iOS section to upload your iOS app.
2. Enter the _App Name_ in the pop-up window.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
3. Select {{%bold%}}iOS{{%/bold%}} as the platform. If you are uploading the file from the iOS section, only the iOS option will be available.
4. When you choose iOS as the platform, a _Create and Sign CSR_ pop-up window will automatically open. If you are uploading the file from the _iOS_ section, you must click {{%bold%}}Create APNs{{%/bold%}}.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; To create an APNs certificate, you need to download the {{%bold%}}Vendor Signed CSR{{%/bold%}} signed by ManageEngine by clicking {{%bold%}}Download{{%/bold%}} in the pop-up window. You can then upload it to the {{%link href=&#34;https://identity.apple.com/pweb/&#34; %}}Apple Push Certificates Portal for Third Party Servers{{%/link%}} and generate the APNS certificate there.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; To learn about the steps to obtain an APNs certificate from Apple, refer to the official documentation on {{%link href=&#34;https://developer.apple.com/documentation/usernotifications/setting_up_a_remote_notification_server/establishing_a_certificate-based_connection_to_apns&#34; %}}Obtaining a Provider Certificate from Apple{{%/link%}}. Follow the steps in it and download the certificate that is generated to your system.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
{{%note%}} {{%bold%}}Note:{{%/bold%}} The certificate that you download from Apple is in ._cer_ format. You must convert it to _.p12_ format before uploading it to Catalyst.
&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; You can {{%bold%}}convert a ._cer_ certificate to a _.p12_ format{{%/bold%}} on your Mac in the following way:

   1. In your Mac, double-click on the downloaded certificate to install it in _Keychain Access_.

   2. Open _{{%bold%}}Keychain Access{{%/bold%}}_ and locate the installed certificate under the _Certificates_ section.

   3. Expand the arrow next to the certificate to show the key and select it.

   4. Select {{%bold%}}File{{%/bold%}} and then {{%bold%}}Export Items...{{%/bold%}}

   5. Provide a name for the export file. Save the file in the _.p12_ format.

   6. Provide a password to protect the certificate. You will need this password while enrolling for Catalyst Push Notification services. Click {{%bold%}}OK{{%/bold%}}.

   7. Provide your Mac password to enable the export. Click {{%bold%}}Allow{{%/bold%}}.

 Your APNS certificate is now saved in the _.p12_ format.{{%/note%}}

5. Once you have completed this, click {{%bold%}}Next{{%/bold%}} in the _Create and Sign CSR_ window.

6. Upload the APNs certificate in the ._p12_ format in the pop-up window. Enter the corporate Apple ID used while creating the APNs certificate, and the email address to send notifications about APNs expiry to. Click {{%bold%}}Upload{{%/bold%}}.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; You will be redirected to the _Upload Your App_ pop-up window.
7. Select the application&#39;s IPA file from your computer.
8. Select the iOS app&#39;s logo image from your computer.
{{%note%}}{{%bold%}}Note{{%/bold%}}: The logo image must be in the _.jpeg_ format. The image must not exceed 50 KB.{{%/note%}}
9. Crop the logo image as required and click {{%bold%}}Crop{{%/bold%}} in the pop-up window.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
10. Enter a description for the iOS app.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
11. Click {{%bold%}}Upload{{%/bold%}}.

Once you have uploaded the IPA file containing the source files of your iOS app, it will be hosted live automatically if you are working in the {{%link href=&#34;/en/deployment-and-billing/environments/production-environment&#34; %}}Production environment{{%/link%}}.

The details of your mobile app will be displayed in the _iOS_ section of MDM. The section also displays the _App Version History_.


### Application Versioning

The _App Version History_ displays all the existing versions of your application with other details of the version.

To upload an updated version of an Android or an iOS app in Catalyst:

1. Click {{%bold%}}Update App{{%/bold%}} in the _Android_ or _iOS_ section in MDM.
&lt;br /&gt; 

2. This will open the _Upload Your App_ pop-up window. Follow the same procedures as in the previous sections to provide the required information and select the required platform.&lt;br /&gt; 

3. Click {{%bold%}}Upload{{%/bold%}}.

The updated version of your mobile app will now be hosted live. You can view all version updates of your mobile app in the _App Version History_.

&lt;br /&gt;

However, as mentioned previously, you will not be able to deploy an older version of your application from the console. Support for deploying a previously uploaded version of a mobile application from the console will be rolled out soon.

### Delete an Android or iOS App from Catalyst

You can delete an Android or iOS app from Catalyst MDM. However, the app will still be available in ManageEngine MDM.

To delete an Android or iOS app from Catalyst:

1. Click the {{%bold%}}Android{{%/bold%}} or {{%bold%}}iOS{{%/bold%}} tab and click {{%bold%}}Delete App{{%/bold%}}.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
2. Click {{%bold%}}Delete App{{%/bold%}} again in the confirmation window.&lt;br /&gt; 

#### User Invites

You can send an invite to a user in your organization for installing an Android or iOS app from the console in the following way:

1. Click the {{%bold%}}Invites{{%/bold%}} tab in _Mobile Device Management_.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
2. Click {{%bold%}}Invite Users{{%/bold%}}.
3. Select the service as _Zoho CRM_ or _Zoho Desk_ in the _Service_ row in pop-up window.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; This will automatically list the members of your organization configured in that service, as discussed {{%link href=&#34;/en/cloud-scale/help/mobile-device-management/key-concepts/#inviting-users&#34; %}}previously{{%/link%}}. You can add a user&#39;s email address by clicking {{%bold%}}Add{{%/bold%}} for the user. The _Email Address_ section will display the email addresses of the users that are being added.
4. Select the platform of the mobile app to invite the user to.
5. Click {{%bold%}}Send Invite{{%/bold%}}.

Once you send the invite, the user will receive an email with an access link to access the mobile app.


When the user clicks on the link, they will be redirected to a sign-up form, where they can set up a password to access the app.


When the user clicks {{%bold%}}Update{{%/bold%}}, they will be redirected to the redirect URL that you specified in the {{%link href=&#34;/en/cloud-scale/help/mobile-device-management/key-concepts/#developing_mobile_apps_in_catalyst&#34; %}}application bundle{{%/link%}}.

The user will also receive an invite from ManageEngine MDM to install the mobile app. The app will download and get installed when they install the required MDM certificates in their mobile device. Refer to {{%link href=&#34;https://www.manageengine.com/mobile-device-management/help.html&#34; %}}MDM help{{%/link%}} for more information.

The _Invites_ section displays information about the number of devices the mobile app has been installed on from the invites, and the number of devices on which installation is pending. This information is displayed under _App Summary_ for both Android and iOS platforms.

&lt;br /&gt;

The users are listed in the _Invites_ section along with their details and their invitation stage. You can search for a user by their email address using the search bar.

When a user accepts and installs the app they were invited to access, their _Stage_ changes to _Installed_, and the information is reflected in the count in _App Summary_ as well.

{{%note%}}{{%bold%}}Note:{{%/bold%}} This section only lists users that were invited from the Catalyst console. If a user downloads the mobile app from other sources, they will not be included in the statistics displayed in this section.{{%/note%}}