What is application management?

Application management is a broad topic which includes software deployment, self-service software installation, software inventory collection, software updates, and patching across your device fleet with or without manual intervention. Application management solutions allow admins managing many devices to eliminate repetitive work by creating software installation policies and letting automation enforce them.

This article goes deeper into what application management can look like, why it matters, how modern application management systems work and what to evaluate when choosing tools.

Definition: Application management vs. device management

Mobile Device Management (MDM) controls device-level settings like disk encryption, firewall rules, password complexity, screen lock, etc.

Application management focuses on installed native and 3rd party software running on managed devices.

Why application management matters

Modern application management solves the operational challenge of manually maintaining software across large device fleets. Without it, teams can waste hours on manual tasks that potentially delay critical updates and drain resources.

This delivers immediate security benefits while letting teams effectively manage software on thousands of devices with minimal intervention. Automation directly improves business outcomes by reducing security incidents, strengthening compliance posture, and freeing technical staff for strategic work rather than repetitive maintenance.

Cross-platform application management

Many MDM platforms include application management features, but, MDM-focused tools often treat application management as a secondary feature.

Furthermore, many organizations deploy many types of devices rather than deploying devices from a single manufacturer or that fall within a single computing platform, e.g., an organization may need to deploy mostly Macs alongside Windows laptops and Linux workstations.

Platform-specific management tools can create management silos making it difficult to answer questions about deployed software and software vulnerabilities without checking multiple systems. During security incidents, checking multiple systems for software inventory, coordinating software updates through multiple management consoles and reconciling different completion reports can add time to incident responses when speed matters most.

Cross-platform application management provides unified inventory, policy enforcement, and update deployment across all platforms. This matters when critical vulnerabilities require immediate patching across your entire fleet regardless of operating system.

Security and patch management

Installed, unpatched applications are a primary attack vector on all computing devices. Attackers can exploit known vulnerabilities within hours of a security issue disclosure. Manual patching workflows often can't keep pace with a modern attacker's use of automated tools that scan devices for vulnerable software versions. Manual software patching often means updates are delayed as installers are manually downloaded, tested for compatibility and maintenance windows are coordinated with end users to validate success.

Modern application management solutions can automate install and update workflows. Agents can query software inventories on device, comparing installed software versions against vulnerability databases and can flag vulnerable devices for patching. Automated workflows can also test updated software on staging devices before expanding installations to a production device in the hands of an end user..

Consider a critical Zoom vulnerability that attackers are actively exploiting. Manual patching means checking which devices run Zoom, identifying versions, downloading the installer, testing, then deploying to production. Automating any part of this workflow with an application management solution can reduce complexity while allowing admins focus on overall security outcomes.

Removing unauthorized software

End users often install applications (if they are allowed to do so) to solve immediate problems without considering security implications.

Application management solutions can enforce approved application lists, block prohibited software, and remove applications if software reaches end-of-life. This can help maintain clean devices free of known vulnerabilities that comply with your organization's security posture.

License compliance and audit preparation

Application management solutions track which applications are installed on managed devices and thereby which users actively use the software. This helps track which installations match purchased licenses (often by sharing data from an MDM solution to a separate Software Asset Management (SAM) solution.) This visibility allows organizations to right-size license purchases, identify unused applications for removal, and prevent unlicensed installations that create risk.

During vendor audits, organizations need installation counts to match purchased license counts. Application management solutions maintain a running inventory of where each application is installed. Application data can also be queried to automatically determine which users actively use a particular software and when it was last opened. This data serves as the audit trail showing documented installation counts, license assignments, and usage patterns.

Supporting remote workforces

Remote workforces need applications deployed and updated without IT assistance. Users today work from home offices, coffee shops, hotels and airports. They need applications installed and updated regardless of location without IT assistance.

Application management solutions provide self-service software installation as well as automated software installs and updates regardless of device location, eliminating help desk tickets for routine software needs. Automated software installations and self-service installations completely eliminate the "old school" concept of IT manually installing software by logging into or walking up to an end user's computer.

Application management solutions also can provide application provisioning during a zero-touch device enrollment. A "new" device delivered to an end user can arrive pre-configured for enrollment and receive required applications during setup. When required applications need future updates, policies can be configured to install them without end user or admin intervention.

Operational efficiency for small teams

Many organizations have small teams of admins managing thousands of devices. For some organizations that have not adopted modern software management, deploying software manually means these small teams waste valuable hours on repetitive tasks.

Application management solutions can help to reclaim this time by automatically handling routine software deployment, inventory and patching. Instead of spending hours deploying updates, admins can define software management policies once and maintain ongoing automation to execute them.

How application management works

Application management relies on six core components working together as an integrated system. Each component handles a specific part of the application lifecycle, from discovery to deployment and eventual retirement. Understanding these components helps you evaluate which tools best match your organization's needs and identify where your current processes might have gaps.

1. Discovery

Software data is collected from computers via an installed agent or via MDM on mobile devices, then, it is reported back to the management server for use by software management tools.

Most application management systems collect and report an inventory of installed software on-device. With Fleet, almost any aspect of an application's metadata is available to query, including Spotlight application metadata on macOS and all data from applications listed in the Windows Registry. This includes application names, versions, install paths, install dates, install types, bundle identifiers, version numbers, code signatures last-used timestamps and more.

Software inventory is updated continuously as software is installed, used and removed. For example, if a user installs a non-standard web browser, that application will be reported back to the console almost immediately.

2. Policy enforcement

Policies can define which applications should be installed, which are prohibited, and how updates deploy. Admins can create policies specifying requirements like:

• All devices must run Chrome version 119 or newer
• Adobe Creative Cloud installs only on devices belonging to the Design team
• Security patches deploy within 24 hours of release for critical applications.

An applications management system can then evaluate each device against these policies and take action when devices fall out of compliance.

3. Application deployment workflows

Deploying applications requires packaging installers in formats your management system understands. For macOS, this often means .pkg installers. On Windows, .msi packages are common. Fleet supports many of the most common package types across all platforms.

A software deployment workflow typically follows this pattern:

• upload an application installer to your management server
• define installation parameters like whether users can defer installation
• assign the application to specific device groups or users
• schedule deployment timing
• monitor deployment success

Modern application management systems support progressive rollouts where applications can be deployed to small test device groups and expand to larger groups when success criteria are met.

4. Patch and update management

Application management systems can monitor for updates to installed applications and automatically download and install them. Workflows can also be created to install updated applications in staging environments and only deploy to production systems according to success criteria.

Some applications management systems (like Fleet) can integrate directly with vendor update feeds or posted links to updated software version downloads, automatically detecting when vendors release updates. Others require manually uploading updated versions of software for deployment. The automated approach reduces administrative burden but does require trust in vendor feeds and solid testing workflows. Manual approaches can provide additional control at the cost of more work.

5. Self-service installation

Self-service portals let end users browse approved applications and install them on-demand without submitting tickets.

End users simply click to install and the management system handles deployment without requiring local administrator privileges. This nicely balances security (only approved applications are listed in the software library) with end user autonomy. Self-service software installs reduce help desk burden by deflecting common requests into actions end users control themselves.

6. Integration with device and identity management

Application management can coordinate with device management and compliance to enforce policies like:

• Only devices with disk encryption enabled can run Slack
• Devices not checking in for 30 days lose access to internal applications

Integration with identity management ensures that only authorized end users can access specific applications. If integrated, identity systems controlled by the HR department, e.g., can change end user status in a user directory such that the identity system notifies an application management solution to revoke an end user's application access and remove their device from management.

(Integrations of this type often require APIs connecting multiple systems and coordination between cross-functional teams.)

Types of application management tools

The application management landscape features several distinct tool categories, each with unique strengths and tradeoffs.

Your organization's specific requirements should determine which approach works best. Consider your team's technical depth, existing infrastructure investments, and future growth plans when evaluating these options.

Platform-specific MDM with application management

An Apple-focused MDM platform like Jamf Pro includes application management. It is focused on Apple devices with functions like Apple Business Manager integration, Apps and Books license management and managed app deployments, but, it only supports Apple devices.

Organizations with heterogeneous environments that include multiple device platforms (e.g., Apple, Linux, Windows, Chromebook, iOS / iPadOS, Android) require multiple management solutions, or, cross-platform managements solutions.

Cross-platform MDM solutions

Platforms like Microsoft Intune and Omnissa Workspace ONE can manage applications across platforms. These tools promise unified management but often prioritize Windows, treating Apple management as secondary feature set.

Mac admins using Intune frequently encounter features that work on Windows but require workarounds on macOS. Evaluate whether cross-platform tools actually provide parity or if they deliver inferior admin experiences.

Purpose-built application management platforms

Some application management solutions exist as integrations or stand-alone tools without broader device management capabilities. These platforms excel at software deployment, patching, and license tracking but do not have integrated MDM features.

This specialization works when your organization or team already has device management solved but needs better application lifecycle capabilities.

It fails when integrated device management and application management is required without having to deploy and maintain separate solutions or servers.

Evaluation criteria

When comparing application management tools, organizations with cross-platform management needs should prioritize:

• Platform support for macOS at parity with other platforms
• Automation capabilities and API access for programmatic control
• Software vulnerability detection
• License compliance tracking and audit reporting
• Software update mechanisms and application vendor feed / download integration
• Deployment architecture options including self-hosting for data residency requirements
• Ease of long-term maintenance
• Total cost including per-device licensing and implementation overhead

Modernize your application management workflows

Application management can transform repetitive manual work into automated workflows that keeps software current, compliant and safe. For admins managing hundreds or thousands of devices in small teams, automation reclaims time for strategic work.

The right application management tool depends on your environment. Pure Mac fleets may succeed with Apple-focused MDM. Heterogeneous environments need cross-platform solutions that support macOS at parity with other operating systems.

Open-source and API-first platforms

Fleet provides cross-platform device management with deep application visibility based on osquery along with built-in, modern application management solutions for all platforms. Fleet has a catalog of Fleet-maintained applications, ready to deploy and make available to end users with a single click. Fleet has an easy-to-configure Self Service application install capability available in the Fleet Desktop app installed on every enrolled Fleet host. Fleet's API-first architecture enables GitOps workflows where configurations live in version control and are deployed through CI/CD pipelines. These configurations can be setup to behave much like other modern software tooling (e.g., Munki) where software versions can be watched on the internet for updates to enable automated software patching on device.

Schedule a demo to see how Fleet approaches application management for modern Mac environments.

Frequently asked questions

How can a small IT team effectively manage applications across hundreds or thousands of devices?

Automation makes this possible. Admins can define policies once that specify which applications should be installed and when updates deploy, then the management system enforces them automatically across your fleet. Self-service portals reduce IT workloads further by letting users install approved applications without submitting tickets. Combined with automated patching, this transforms hours of repetitive work into minutes of policy configuration.

What's the difference between MDM and application management, and do I need both?

MDM handles device-level settings like encryption and firewall rules, while application management focuses on deploying and updating software. Most organizations need both since MDM secures your devices and application management keeps your software current. Many platforms bundle these capabilities, though you should check whether both are treated equally or if one feels secondary.

Can I self-host application management tools instead of using cloud services?

Yes, several platforms offer self-hosting for organizations with data residency requirements or policies against third-party cloud storage. Fleet provides self-hosting with API-first architecture built on osquery, letting you run infrastructure on your own servers while maintaining automated workflows. The tradeoff is managing infrastructure yourself rather than using fully managed cloud services.

Can one tool manage applications across Mac, Windows, and Linux without creating silos?

Yes, but you need tools with genuine feature parity across operating systems rather than platforms that just claim multi-OS support. Separate tools create silos where answering basic questions requires checking multiple systems, which adds delays during security incidents.

Look for unified inventory and policy engines that treat macOS as seriously as Windows. Fleet is a cross-platform device management platform that provides full Mac support alongside Windows and Linux without compromising any platform. Schedule a demo to see how Fleet handles heterogeneous device environments.