Tech Firms Create ‘ACE’ Standards for Enterprise Apps

A consortium of technology companies this week launched the App Configuration for Enterprise (ACE) group, which aims to create development standards for enterprise apps so they more easily integrate with a number of commonly used enterprise mobility management (EMM) products.

Box, Cisco, VMWare’s AirWatch, Workday and Xamarin formed the group and laid out its objectives at the Mobile World Congress this week in Barcelona.

The group proposed a standard software development kit (SDKs) that can be used to build security and management features into Android and iOS apps so they’re compatible with the leading EMM products.

From the ACE site:

“Each EMM provider has its own proprietary SDK, and usually a version for each major platform, adding to the fragmentation and scalability issues for app developers.”

ACE says standardized SDKs, which use the latest Apple and Google APIs for iOS and Android, will help enterprise app developers create software that better integrates with popular EMM products, while reducing the IT headaches associated with scaling and app management. The standards should result in better, more uniform app experiences for users. And ACE could also help EMM providers, because apps developed using the standards should be easier to secure and manage via those EMM offerings.

ACE

According to AirWatch, ACE offered standards for app setup and configuration; app-to-network connectivity; single sign-on authentication; access control for native apps; data loss prevention configurations; and standard device and enterprise wipe.

Read more about ACE on the organization’s website.