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In our daily lives, we strive for clarity and efficiency. There’s nothing worse than uncertainty when it comes to seeking out what you need or understanding what options are available to you. In search of this calm state you likely seek out systems that help you quickly find what you need, so you can ensure everything has a designated place.
For those in IT, an app catalog is exactly the kind of system that provides clarity and efficiency for end users in search of valuable, approved software. It’s a fundamental tool that brings order to your organization’s IT environment, and its benefits, while seemingly simple on the surface, should not be overlooked.
From small businesses to large enterprises, companies of all sizes are leveraging app catalogs to solve a number of critical, interconnected challenges. An app catalog is far more than just a software list; it’s a foundational tool that empowers IT to strike a crucial balance between security and control on one hand, and user productivity and agility on the other.
Let’s dig into why an app catalog should be as fundamental as your mobile device management (MDM) platform or single sign-on (SSO) service, and how JumpCloud is advancing its capabilities here to deliver a seamless experience for you and your end users.
5 Reasons Your Company Needs an App Catalog
The value of an app catalog extends beyond simple organizational advantages. When done right, your app catalog can improve your security posture, reduce the load on support staff, and mitigate costly overhead and bloated license budgets.
1. Mitigate Security Risks
Uncontrolled software installations—or “Shadow IT”— create huge security risks for any organization.
Without a centralized app catalog, employees are free to download and install unvetted, potentially malicious, or vulnerable applications. This leaves the entire organization exposed.
By creating a single, approved source for software with an app catalog, every app is vetted and pre-configured for security, which significantly minimizes the risk of malware and unauthorized applications, effectively closing a critical security gap.
2. Streamline and Ensure Compliance
Adhering to compliance using a manual approach can be very challenging for IT. For example, creating a report to show every application on every endpoint is patched and secure as required by industry frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001 can be a massive, error-prone task.
Using an app catalog, it can provide a clear, auditable record of all approved and deployed software. It also ensures that only sanctioned, regularly updated applications are in use.
This automated approach closes the gaps that manual tracking creates, making compliance a more reliable and straightforward process.
3. Drive IT Efficiency and Automation
Any IT admin can attest that deploying software and updates to a fleet of devices is a time-consuming and repetitive task. And if that effort is done manually, it’s a major drain on IT resources.
Not to mention, the constant flood of support tickets for installs and updates consumes countless hours.
An app catalog provides the automation needed to break this cycle. It allows IT to deploy applications with one click and frees up IT time to focus on more strategic initiatives.
4. Elevate End-User Productivity and Experience
No more waiting for software.
The traditional, manual process of IT approvals and installations slows down an employee’s work productivity.
An app catalog houses a curated library of IT-approved applications that employees can browse and install the software whenever they need. This provides frictionless experience and accelerates employees’ workflow, while significantly improves their overall satisfaction and productivity.
5. Ensure Consistency
Software version sprawl easily creates chaos in an IT environment. When employees are using different versions of the same application, compatibility issues and endless support headaches can surface.
An app catalog gets rid of the headaches and chaos.
With a single, central source for all approved software, it ensures a consistent and uniform software environment across your entire organization. This strategic consistency simplifies troubleshooting for IT, enhances security, and improves the overall end-user experience.
What is the JumpCloud Application Catalog?
The JumpCloud Application Catalog is a list of curated, third-party applications that can be installed, updated or patched, and managed via the JumpCloud Admin Console. We first introduced our Application Catalog for third-party Windows applications. Our latest release allows IT admins to support their popular third-party Mac applications.
Initial applications that we support for Mac, with more applications to be added incrementally in the future, include:
- 1Password
- Airtable
- Alfred
- Amazon Chime
- AnyDesk
- Asana Desktop
- Box Drive
- Brave
- Canva Desktop
- Chrome
- DuckDuckGo
- Egnyte Connect
- Firefox
- Google Drive
- Grammerly Desktop
- Keeper Password Manager
- LastPass
- Malwarebytes
- Microsoft Teams
- NordVPN
- Notion
- OneDrive
- Perimeter 81
- Slack
- StrongDM
- Twingate
- Webex
- Zoom
Key capabilities of JumpCloud’s application catalog include:
- Curated Apps: Apps are validated from the installation binaries, signatures, and checksums, directly from the source.
- Updated Apps: Apps are updated with the latest versions and/or patches (typically within 1 business day) upon release from the third party software vendor.
- App Catalog: Apps can be installed, managed, and updated on a single, multiple, group or groups of JumpCloud managed devices.
The Power of an App Catalog, Now in Your Hands.
Curious how an app catalog can transform your IT? We’re here to show you. For existing JumpCloud customers and MSP partners, our JumpCloud Application Catalog is now available at no additional cost.
New to JumpCloud? Experience the benefits of a unified platform firsthand. Sign up for a free trial or speak with a JumpCloud representative to discuss your specific needs.
