As part of the testing to see if I really could access applications from “any device/any OS”, I used the following devices:

  • My corporate laptop, an HP EliteBook Folio 9470m
  • My old, and I mean old iPhone4 running iOS 7.1.2
  • An old, though not as old as the iPhone, Acer A100 tablet running Android 4.0.3

Could I install the AirWatch Agent App on these devices and if so, could I run corporate applications from the AirWatch workspace?

NOTE:  A note about the applications I’ll be accessing….in AirWatch terminology, they are web applications but in reality, they are applications published using VMware Horizon’s Remote Desktop Services integration and accessed through the AirWatch App Catalog, thus, my device(s) will need the Horizon Client (3.0 or later) to launch the applications.  Though I will not cover it, the Horizon Client was installed on the mobile devices using their respective app store (Apple Store / Google Play Store)

Also let me say this, the steps to install the AirWatch Agent on the Android tablet were almost identical to that of the iPhone and since I like the Apple screenshot process better, I’m documenting the Apple process here.

1. The process typically begins when an administrator sends you an email stating that you have been provisioned an AirWatch account.  This email should contain your Username, Password, Server URL, and Group ID.  If you do not have this information, the installation will not succeed.

2. Open the Apple App Store and search for AirWatch MDM Agent and then tap INSTALL.

IMG_2395

3. When the installation has completed, tap OPEN.  On the Welcome screen, enter Email/Username OR Server, and Group ID information as found within the AirWatch enrollment email and then tap Continue.

Welcome_Screen

4. When prompted, enter your credentials to access system so that the AirWatch profile can be installed onto your device.  When the Install Profile notification appears, tap Install Now and if prompted, enter your devices passcode.

InstallProfile

5. A mobile device management Warning notification will appear informing you that by installing this profile, the system administrator will be allowed to remotely manage your device.  Tap Install to continue.

3_ProfileWarning

**This is where I suggest that IT teams be as transparent as possible with their end-users, especially on the mobile devices that the organization does not own.  What will you be doing to my device?  Will I be able to use my camera?  Are you going to be spying on me?  If I call the help desk one too many times, will you remotely wipe my device?  Let your users know your intentions and your policies.

6. When the AirWatch profile has been installed, tap Done.  You should see a screen similar to the following indicating that the enrollment process has completed successfully; tap Continue.

IMG_2409

7. You should see a AirWatch push notification, tap Don’t Allow or OK.  For my testing, I selected OK to allow the Push Notifications from AirWatch.

8. As you can see below, my device is successfully enrolled and the connectivity status is normal.

IMG_2411

That completes the installation of the AirWatch MDM Agent on your mobile device.  Again, the installation steps were very similar on the Android tablet and I had no problem installing the AirWatch MDM Agent or the VMware Horizon Client (3.0 or later) on version 4.0.3.

In the next post, we’ll look a little bit more at the AirWatch agent, specifically, what you will see should an administrator configure automatic deployment of an application, as well as accessing and using apps in general.