Centralized mobile application management system and methods of use
An application launcher is disclosed for retrieving and permitting launch of multiple mobile applications through a single, secure authentication process, and a method of use. The method includes receiving a request to launch one or more applications through a single authentication process. The method further includes authenticating a user through an application launcher. The method further includes appending a security token to one or more applications upon authentication of the user to enable the user to launch the one or more applications through the single authentication process provided by the application launcher.
1. A method comprising:
receiving a request to launch one or more applications through a single authentication process;
authenticating a user through an application launcher to authorize the one or more applications;
appending a security token to at least one authorized application of the one or more applications, via the application launcher, upon authentication of the user to enable the user to launch the one or more applications through the single authentication process provided by the application launcher; and
appending the security token to another authorized application, via the application launcher, which enables the user to launch the one authorized application and the another authorized application without requiring additional authentication of the user.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the authenticating includes checking credentials provided by the user.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the checking of the credentials is performed by the application launcher.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the security token is retrieved from a cache of the application launcher.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the security token is retrieved from a security manager, remote from the application launcher.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the application launcher serves as a security gateway on a mobile device to access multiple enterprise applications by appending the security token to the one or more applications upon authentication of the user.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising integrating the application launcher with a storage system in order to access, retrieve and provide launch authority for any of the one or more applications.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a list of authorized applications or separate icons to the user, after the user has been authenticated, which are capable of being opened directly from a mobile device upon authenticating the user through a single sign-on and authentication process during the launch thereof.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the list of authorized applications or separate icons the user can launch is based on business rules executed by a backend system.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the business rules provide authorization to access application based on at least one of user need, security level and other enterprise criteria.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the security token provides security restrictions associated with the one or more applications.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising updating security policies of the security token.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing the user with single launch capabilities, apart from the application launcher.
14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising checking an integrity of a mobile device, prior to launching the one or more applications.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of claim 1 are implemented in a computer infrastructure having computer executable code tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having programming instructions operable to perform the steps of claim 1 .
16. A system implementing application launch capabilities of one or more mobile applications on a mobile device, comprising a computing system with a processor executing computer instructions implementing functionality and capabilities of an application launcher tool, wherein the application launcher tool appends a security token to one authorized application of the one or more mobile applications to be launched by a mobile device through a single sign on process, and the application launcher tool also appends the security token to another authorized application of the one or more mobile applications to enable a user to launch the one authorized application and the another authorized application without requiring additional authentication of the user.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the application launcher tool stores the security token as security policies for the one or more mobile applications.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the security policies are an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file that contains restrictions and supporting attributes, and which is managed by the application launcher tool.
19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the application launcher tool receives credentials from a user and authenticates the user, prior to appending the security token.
20. The system of claim 16 , wherein the one or more mobile applications are launched directly from the application launcher tool through the single sign on process.
21. The system of claim 16 , wherein the application launcher tool is a computer infrastructure having computer executable code tangibly embodied on a computer readable storage medium having programming instructions.
22. The system of claim 16 , wherein updates to user credentials or security policies are automatically saved by the application launcher tool.
23. The system of claim 16 , wherein the application launcher tool goes to sleep, upon launching of the one or more applications by the mobile device.
24. The system of claim 16 , further comprising a security component that at least one of:
tracks usage information and updates enforcement of rules;
provides an escalation path to apply increasing pressure to accept the updates;
requests the application launcher tool to present a notification to the user; and
after a set time period or number of notifications enforces an increasing wait time to launch other enterprise applications when the user does not accept the update.
25. The system of claim 16 , wherein the application launcher tool provides a list of authorized applications or separate icons to the user, after the user has been authenticated, which are capable of being opened directly from a mobile device upon authenticating the user through a single sign-on and authentication process during the launch thereof.
26. A computer system for sending and receiving policies and mobile applications, the system comprising:
a CPU, a computer readable memory and a computer readable storage media;
first program instructions to authenticate a user during a single sign on process by obtaining credentials of the user;
second program instructions to retrieve one or more security policies, which are appended, using an application launcher, to an authorized application of the one or more requested applications which the user is authorized to launch;
third program instructions to provide application launch capabilities of a requested application, upon authentication of the user, in the single sign on process and
fourth program instructions to append the one or more security policies, using the application launcher, to another authorized application which enables the user to launch the one authorized application and the another authorized application without requiring additional authentication of the user; and
wherein the first, second, third and fourth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.
27. The computer system of claim 26 , wherein the one or more requested applications are launched directly from the computer system through the single sign on process.
28. The computer system of claim 26 , further comprising further comprising program instructions to provide a list of authorized applications or separate icons to the user, after the user has been authenticated, which are capable of being opened directly from a mobile device upon authenticating the user through a single sign-on and authentication process during the launch thereof.
29. The computer system of claim 26 , further comprising program instructions to provide a list of authorized applications or separate icons to the user, after the user has been authenticated, which are capable of being opened directly from a mobile device upon authenticating the user through a single sign-on and authentication process during the launch thereof.
30. The computer system of claim 29 , wherein the list of authorized applications or separate icons the user can launch is based on business rules executed by a backend system, and the business rules provide authorization to access application based on at least one of user need, security level and other enterprise criteria.