Develop your solution

  • Develop an Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solution for Android using the Android Management API to manage devices and distribute applications.

  • Utilize enrollment tokens to provision devices and bind them to your enterprise, initiating the installation of Android Device Policy and a managed Google Play account.

  • Configure and manage devices through policies, enabling you to enforce settings such as password requirements, app installations, and system updates.

  • Integrate new policy settings and support for the latest Android versions with minimal development effort using the API's policy-based model.

  • Streamline app distribution and management by adding apps to policies, while still leveraging managed Google Play for app discovery and permission control.

This page provides a brief summary of how to use Android Management API as a foundation for developing an enterprise mobility management (EMM) solution for Android.

Development effort EMM console: API integration, front-end development
Enterprise types Managed Google Play Accounts enterprises
Use cases Work profile devices
Fully managed devices
Dedicated devices
Minimum Android version Android 5.1
Figure 1. Android Device Policy automatically handles communication between your EMM console and managed devices

The Android Management API supports mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM). The API's partner app, Android Device Policy, receives management policy settings from the API and enforces them on devices.

Set up devices for management

Figure 2. Provision devices with an enrollment token

The Android Management API uses enrollment tokens to bind devices with an enterprise. Passing an enrollment token to a device initiates provisioning, a process that also includes installing Android Device Policy and adding a managed Google Play account to the device.

A successfully provisioned device is represented by a Devices resource. For more information, see Enroll and provision a device.

Manage devices and distribute apps with policies

The Android Management API's Policies resource allows you to configure and save unique groups of enterprise management settings. IT admins still use managed Google Play to discover apps manage app permissions, but can distribute apps by adding them to policies.

You can use Policies to manage the full range of Android Enterprise device deployments. For example, to manage devices for knowledge workers, you could create a policy that:

  • Enforces minimum password requirements.
  • Remotely installs apps or makes apps available in managed Google Play.
  • Specifies a maintenance window for system updates.

To manage company-owned devices for dedicated or shared use, you could create a policy that:

  • Locks down a device to a single app or sets of apps.
  • Disables features such as camera, notifications, and location mode.

When you associate a policy with a device, the API automatically sends the policy settings to Android Device Policy on the specified device or the specified user's device(s). After Android Device Policy receives the settings, it automatically enforces them on the device.

A complete list of policy settings is available in the Android Management API reference.

Get started with the Android Management API

  1. Review the steps required to release your solution.
  2. Review the Android Management API developer documentation.

Next: Release your solution