The latest release of 1E's Shopping (version 5.0) delivers the only enterprise app store that delivers the consumer experience users have come to expect from app stores on their own tablets and smartphones.
Shopping 5.0 represents an enormous shift in enterprise IT delivery, blending, for the first time ever, the traditional rich functionality of an enterprise request portal, with the experience expected of a modern consumer app store. Version 5.0 delivers a simple, modern interface which enables users to find and obtain the software and services that they need, when they need them, within their corporate IT environment in a way they now expect and are familiar with.
Shopping provides a web portal that gives users the modern app store UI experience they are used to when obtaining new apps or services on their consumer devices like smartphones and tablets. Simple, attractive, easy to use.
“Consumerization of IT covers a number of topics, but one thing is clear: end users want enterprise IT to work in the same way that their consumer products do, and this extends to their enterprise app store. Shopping makes that a reality today while also ensuring cost-savings for IT managers,” says Sumir Karayi, CEO of 1E. “It is simply the best way of making software and services available within an organization.”
Dave Harding, Senior Product Manager, adds "Shopping allows any user to access a familiar feeling interface, through a standard web browser within their corporate desktop environment, and then browse for the software or services that they might need. This can include desktop applications, web-apps, virtualized apps, group privileges, and even hardware items. Where needed, approval workflows can be configured within Shopping to allow business managers to make decisions via actionable email notifications. There is no good reason an enterprise app store should lag behind its consumer cousins."
Once any approval is complete, the requested software or services are delivered within minutes, just like users have come to expect from their consumer app store. Shopping does this through close integration with enterprise IT systems, including deep out-of-the-box integration with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007/ 2012 and ActiveDirectory. An open integration framework also allows for integration to any third-party provisioning or service-desk system.
Shopping 5.0 provides individual pages for each application or service, with the ability for administrators to build in contextual information, images, and other materials that may be of interest to a user determining if they require the item – again replicating the capabilities of modern consumer app stores.
IT administrators are able to promote and advertise new software and service capabilities to their end users avoiding both user disruption from forced mass-deployments and the lack of user adoption from relying purely on requests. A striking feature that aids this in Shopping 5.0's UI is the use of banners on the front page to show highlighted and featured apps or services.
Another feature of this enterprise app store, is improved granularity than ever to the end user about the status of their requests. Whether waiting for approval, or in the process of being delivered by an enterprise systems management tool, their status is visible to the end user as well as being communicated through email notifications.
To learn more about Shopping, the enterprise app store from 1E, visit the Shopping Product Page at our website.
