Apple enterprise program distribution questions [closed]

Question

This question relates to the Apple iOS Developer Enterprise Program

I am trying to determine the limits and relationships between the following 4 entities: Apple Enterprise Program distribution licenses, DUNS numbers, distribution certificates, and apps.

Here's the scenario: a client wants to develop iPad apps for in-house distribution. This client does not want to go begging to another department head every time he wants to update or release an app, so he wants control of the distribution preocess. Is it possible for him to have his "own" department-level enterprise license or can he have a separate enterprise distribution certificate under the (presumably single) enterprise license? Further, is there any limit to the number of apps that can be distributed in-house under a)an enterprise license, or b)a distribution certificate.

So this boils down to:

1. Can an enterprise have more than one enterprise license? For example, could 2 departments each have their own enterprise developer license?
2. Can a single enterprise license have more than one distribution certificate?
3. Can a single enterprise distribution certificate apply to more than one app?

Edit: you can skip the dialogue below; just go straight to the answer

Scamper

What did Apple say in response to your questions? – Tamworth

Average response time from Apple (for me) is on the order of months, so I don't ask Apple anymore. SO has actual humans who respond in minutes. – Scamper

@Mike: "enterprise license"? For what? Does this license have a terms and conditions document that goes with the license? Since actual humans can rarely guess correctly, it might be helpful to provide some facts. – Tamworth

Sorry if I was imprecise. I'm talking about the Developer Enterprise Program. One needs a DUNS number to join to see the license agreement. Neither my employer nor my customer will reveal theirs (for security reasons), so I am reduced to asking questions. – Scamper

@Mike: developer.apple.com/support/ios/… seems pretty clear, but I'm not a lawyer. Also developer.apple.com/devforums seems to have actual humans. Or, are you not an iOS developer yet? – Tamworth

@Tamworth - thanks for the links. I am an individual iOS dev. I understand the differences between the programs. I just have specific questions about the Enterprise program. I will try the forums. Thanks for your time. – Scamper

@Tamworth - here's an an example of why I don't usually bother with the Apple forums: clear question, no answers in the last 2 months. – Scamper

@Mike: As with Stack Overflow, the question may be clear to the asker, but may not be clear to anyone else. "2 departments each have their own enterprise license" for example, makes no sense when both departments will have the same DUNS. You might want to clarify your question. – Tamworth

@Tamworth - that's the whole problem, I don't know if it makes sense or not for 2 depts with same DUNS to have their own licenses. The name "enterprise" implies this, but that's not definitive. But I will try to clarify the question. – Scamper

@Mike: One DUNS is not an "implication". – Tamworth

Please show me where it says "one DUNS one license". It says a DUNS number is required for a license, but that does not preclude a one-to-many relationship between DUNS and licenses. If you know the answers to my questions, please tell me. If my question/confusion bothers you that much, just down vote it and move on. – Scamper

@Mike: I'm trying to make one point. This is the point. You may think your question is perfect. But there is a small chance that it is not perfect. My downvote won't improve your question, will it? Perhaps you should consider the remote possibility that there might be a way to clarify your question. – Tamworth

@Tamworth - I don't by any means think my question is perfect. If I could clarify it, I would. But I don't know what I don't know. You seemed to be arguing that it's obvious there can only be one enterprise license per DUNS number - how do you know that? (That's not sarcasm - is it a conclusion you came to based on the naming, or have your read/experienced it?) I will try re-wording the question. – Scamper

@Mike: Add as much explanation as you can. "But I don't know what I don't know." False. Always The question is not about what you don't know. The question is this: "What decision do I have to make?" and "What facts do I need to make that decision?" It helps to actually state the actual decision you have to make. You might be pursuing wrong or useless facts. – Tamworth

@Tamworth -please see latest edit - I think/hope it captures the problem. – Scamper

"This client does not want to go begging to another department head" That sounds like a root cause problem. The rest of this is a distraction. – Tamworth

Yes, that's the root problem, and he has made it my problem. In order to solve it I need to know if I should tell him "Just buy another enterprise license" or "just create another distribution certificate" or "Sorry, get comfortable with begging." Hopefully my question is clear now :-) – Scamper

@Mike: Not even close to clear. "Begging" makes no sense at all. I didn't think "cooperate" was spelled "beg". I'm sorry that this question confuses me so much, but it seems very strange. – Tamworth

Ah. My client is a department in a government agency. Cooperation between departments is ... not going to happen. I need to know what the technical options are. – Scamper

@Mike: Hilarity ensues. – Tamworth

@Tamworth - so, can you shed any light on this problem? – Scamper

Answer 1

I posed these questions to Apple developer relations

1. Can an enterprise have more than one enterprise license? For example, could 2 departments each have their own enterprise license?

2. Can a single enterprise license have more than one distribution certificate?

3. Can a single enterprise distribution certificate apply to more than one app?

I got this response

• A single organization can enroll in up to five iOS Developer Enterprise Programs.  
• Multiple Enterprise distribution provisioning profiles can be created.
• Each Enterprise distribution provisioning profile can only be associated with one App ID.*

Edit: and this response...

• Two enterprise distribution certificate can be created at a time.
• A single enterprise distribution certificate can apply to multiple apps.

and then this response:

Each iOS Developer Enterprise license is completely separate with different distribution certificates. If a company enrolls in five enterprise programs, they will be able to create five different distribution certificates.

Scamper

The third bullet of the first response seems wrong, but seemingly corrected by the second response. – Middelburg

@Errol: I think it's OK - you will have one enterprise distribution certificate for the company, and then several enterprise distribution provisioning profiles (one for each app which you want to distribute in-house, each linked to that App's App-ID). – Virtues

Just a minor edit that orgs can now have two enterprise distribution certificates at a time. This was put in place I believe to ease the pain of handling certificate expirations. From help.apple.com/iosdeployment-apps/mac/1.1/#app43ad802c : You can have two distribution certificates active at the same time; each is independent from the other. The second certificate is intended to provide an overlapping period during which you can update your apps before the first certificate expires. – Keyes

Answer 2

Answers:

1. No. Each enterprise can have only one enterprise program subscription; different departments within the same organization will need to coordinate with each other. After reading the comments, however, I'd say that "department" contains some ambiguity. I'd be surprised if the Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense have to share a single enterprise program subscription, but the Lingerie Department and the Footwear Department will probably have to work together.

2. No. There's just one team agent per subscription, and only the team agent's certificate can be used to sign apps for distribution.

3. No, there's no limit to the number of apps that can be signed with a single certificate, but I believe there are some restrictions on to whom you can distribute the apps. Read the developer agreement for details, but expect to distribute only to people connected to your organization.

Edit: I should add that the information above, particularly with respect to (1), is my understanding of Apple's policy based on conversations with ADR folks from a couple years ago. I have no reason to believe that the policy has changed, but the details of your situation differ somewhat from mine. Your best course of action would be to contact Apple Developer Relations yourself and get the most up-to-date answers for your situation.

Pell

Please see updated answer below. – Scamper

I am going to subscribe for Enterprise distribution. Just a quick question, how many devices can be provisioned using Enterprise distribution? Do I have to send .app and provision profile to individual users when I update App or it would be done through Apple? – Sultry

@AppleDeveloper Realize that you need to actually be an enterprise to sign up -- you'll need a DUNS number at the very least. There's no technical limit on the number of devices that you can distribute to. Read the agreement -- you can only distribute to people in your organization. You used to have to send the provision profile separately, but these days it's included in the app so you can just distribute the app. – Pell

Thanks Celeb! My main worry is how the distribution is supported in enterprise distribution? We have been using Ad-hoc distribution so far and I know very well how does Ad-hoc dist works. I learnt that for enterprise distribution I don't need to register UDIDs and there won't be apple approval process! How would I exactly get app installed on 500s devices then? – Sultry

@AppleDeveloper That's all well documented (PDF) and easy to set up. Basically, you can distribute through e-mail or by posting the app on a protected web page, or users can drop the app into iTunes and sync. MDM is also an option. – Pell