Google has upped its game by introducing a way for companies to distribute Android apps internally, via a Google Play Store service called Google Play Private Channel.
To use the service, organizations need to have a Google Apps for Business, Education or Government domain. A Google Apps administrator needs to enable the Google Play Developer Console for employees already registered as Google Play apps publishers who will be publishing apps internally. The ability to download internal apps through the Google Play Private Channel also is controlled by Google Apps administrators for a given domain.
After apps have been uploaded using the Google Play Developer’s Console, employees can access them through the Google Play Private Channel by logging in via their Google Apps accounts and Android devices. Logging in to Google Play through a Web browser won’t work as Private Channels are only visible on Android devices, for now.
Says Ellie Powers — Product Manager, Google Play
“Whether you’ve built a custom expense reporting app for employees or a conference room finder, the Google Play Private Channel is designed to make your organization’s internal apps quick and easy for employees to find. Once your company has loaded these internal apps using the Google Play Developer Console, users just need to log in with their company email address to browse the Private Channel and download apps.”
This move certainly helps in the push towards making Google more enterprise-friendly, and in a global environment, with employees in various locations, distributing apps through a dedicated internal channel makes a lot of sense. If you are a company using Google Apps for Business, Education or Government, and are interested in setting up your own private channel, you can read up on the specifics here.
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