Google has been expanding and improving their Play Store since its birth, and today is no different. While we aren’t getting a new layout, improved features, or any of those things today they’ve announced a neat new feature for companies and businesses. Google has just detailed what they’re calling Play Store Private Channels. A place to distribute apps privately to customers or employees.
Google Play Store Private Channels will be a dedicated place for Google Apps customers to help distribute internal apps to their employees, and eventually probably customers and more. Just as Google states on their official blog. Whether you’ve build a dedicated app for employee’s, or a new conference room finder for large company events and more. This will be your one-stop place for those apps.
Finding these apps in the private channels is extremely easy too. Google will allow customers to simply upload apps to the Developer Console, then employees just sign in with their private business email to browse and download all company apps securely in the private channel. Interesting concept guys. Not only is this becoming a bring your own device workplace, but bring your own app too.
Google will be offering this service to their Google Apps customers in business, education, and government. More details for those interested can be found at the Help Center. Is this a good move by Google? Allowing businesses their own private area on the Google Play Store to share and test Android apps. I think it’s awesome. Well played Google. Well Played.
Interesting Idea for sure, Google should make turn-key apps for business and colleges ( such as class finder,/scheduler, directory, Campus Map etc) that an entity could quickly setup and deploy to their employees/students as a way to encourage Android adoption.
If I was going to Random University and they had a series of useful apps on Android, and not on iphone, I would be more inclined to get an Android.
Same scenario with business, being that corporate users are running from Blackberry but are not sure who they want to get in bed with. Having in-house android apps would encourage android deployments.