Deploying VPP purchased Mac App Store apps in a classroom or lab?

[stiermanc]

I've searched around and haven't found a great answer or workflow for this. How are you deploying your paid Mac Store apps that are purchased through VPP as managed distribution in a lab/classroom environment where the machines don't have "users" attached to them with AppleIDs?

Are you using a single AppleID for the Mac app store for all the computers in the lab? or Creating AppleIDs for every Mac? or a different workflow?

Are you making them available in Self Service and/or pushing the apps to the machine without user interaction?

[jevans76]

Are you using a single AppleID for the Mac app store for all the computers in the lab? or Creating AppleIDs for every Mac? or a different workflow?

If you're trying to push apps via device distribution, you don't need an Apple ID at all, with the exception of the VPP account you purchase the apps with.

At the moment, I'm assigning the devices to a smart mobile device group, i.e. "iPad Cart A" and then scoping the VPP app to that Smart Mobile Device group, that's all there is to it.

Off course, the app needs to have been enabled for Device Assignment by the developer, and you have to have ticked "Assign VPP Content" under the "VPP" tab for the app in the JSS.

Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be an way to enable a silent "push" of VPP apps via device assignment. Each app scoped to install in this manner prompts the end user that an app will install at no cost to them, and asks if they want to "Cancel" or "Install" the app.

[jevans76]

Update: plawrence has clarified that it may have been because the iPad I was testing with wasn't supervised by configurator:

https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=17590

[rdwhitt]

If you're talking Macs, then VPP device distribution hasn't been enabled yet. For labs, we use composer to repackage our purchased apps and deploy them with a policy making sure we own enough licenses. The downside is you have to repackage/redeploy every time there is an update.

[stiermanc]

Yes, I am deploying to Macs, not iOS.

[rdwhitt]

In that case you can assign your VPP apps to a single apple id, download the app, and drag it into Composer to package it up. Then push it with a standard software install policy. Someone might have a better workflow, but this works for us. Hopefully they will be adding the ability to do VPP device assignments for Mac App Store apps soon.

[scharman]

I would very like them to implement this as well, I'm sick of packaging up any mac store app for redistribution especially when the previous packaged app is an older version and I have to repackage them up periodically to keep them upto date.