App store models for enterprise software: A comparative case study of public versus internal enterprise app stores

Abstract

Mobile app stores have changed the way how consumers discover and buy private software. Employees and end users in companies expect a similar experience and flexibility from their corporate IT. Enterprise software vendors (ESVs) therefore create new modular applications and establish their own versions of app stores for companies. Two models have appeared on the market: the public and the internal enterprise app store (EAS). Public EASs are managed and operated by large ESVs serving them as sales and distribution channels for their software and the software built by their ecosystem. Internal EASs are managed and operated by corporate IT departments to distribute applications to company-internal users. We conduct a comparative case study of one public and one internal EAS and derive recommendations for corporate use to better meet the expectations of today's business stakeholders. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.