Phased Deployment of Resources

Workspace ONE UEM offers two deployment methods — Assignment Groups and Phased Deployment — to support different rollout strategies. Assignment Group–based rollouts make a resource available for installation when assigned devices check in. This approach is ideal for broad deployments of stable, well-tested resources. In contrast, Phased Deployment allows you to deploy resources gradually across your device fleet. By deploying in phases, you can identify and mitigate potential risks early, minimizing their impact on a broader group of devices.

Currently, phased deployment is available only for internal applications, except Bootstrap apps.

Create a Phased Deployment Assignment

To roll out your Internal app in phases, create a Phased Deployment assignment by following the listed procedures.

For improved readability, the procedure is divided into sub-procedures, each with its own set of instructions.

Step 1: Upload Internal Apps

Follow these steps to upload a new internal application or assign an existing one:

1. Navigate to Resources > Apps > Native Apps > Internal
2. Upload a new internal application and select Save & Assign, OR
3. Select an existing application and choose Assign from the actions menu. The Assignments page is displayed.
4. On the Assignments page, select Add Assignment.
   The Distribution tab is displayed.

Step 2: Select Deployment Method

Follow these steps to configure the assignment details and select the deployment method:

1. In the Distributions tab, enter the basic details for your assignment, including its name and a brief description.

2. Next, choose your Deployment Method from the available options:

   • Assignment Groups: Deploys the application to devices in the selected Assignment Groups when those devices check in.
   • Phased Deployment: Deploys the application in phases.

3. To continue, select Phased Deployment. The Select Target Assignment Groups page is displayed.

Step 3: Select Target Assignment Groups

In the Select Target Assignment Groups page:

1. Enter all the assignment groups you want to include in the phased deployment. These groups are assigned to specific phases in the next step.
2. Click Next.

Step 4: Set up Phases

You can divide your app deployment into multiple phases.

1. Select Add Phase to create a new phase. You are provided with two options:

   • Assignment Group phase: Targets devices based on specified Assignment Groups.
   • Progressive Rollout phase: Targets devices based on a specified percentage. The percentage is applied to the group of devices belonging to the remaining Assignment Groups that are not targeted in any Assignment Group phase.

2. Specify the details.

   Setting	Description
   Phase Name	Enter a name for the phase.
   Phase Target	Select the assignment group(s) or percentage targeted in the phase.
   Exclusion (optional)	Select the assignment groups you want to omit from the phase.
   Estimated Devices	Displays the estimated number of devices targeted in a phase, after removing excluded devices.

   You can add as many phases of each type as needed. Newly added phases are positioned at the end of the sequence for their respective phase types. Additionally, you can configure phases so that they are all of a single type or a combination of both types.

3. Select the deployment progression method to decide how the deployment progresses to the next phase.

   • Manual Progression - You must manually approve to move to the next phase.
   • Automatic Progression - Deployment automatically progresses to the next phase when the progression rules are met. Configure the rules for automatic progression:
     • Install Rate - Percentage of assigned devices that must have the resource installed.
     • Wait Days - Minimum number of days the phase must remain in progress.

   Devices will be deployed to all Assignment Group–based phases before deployments start for any Progressive Rollout phases. This ensures resources are deployed first on test or beta devices, which are often targeted through dedicated Smart Groups, before deployment expands to production devices, often targeted through progressive rollout phases.

   A default Final Phase is automatically added to every phased deployment. This final phase targets any devices not targeted in earlier phases and ensures the app is deployed to all devices in the targeted assignment groups. The final phase cannot be deleted.

   At the top of the phase configuration view, you can see the total number of assigned devices and their distribution across Assignment Group phases and Progressive Rollout phases.

   The phases you create are arranged in a sequential order before the Final phase. You can reorder the sequence by dragging and dropping the phases, and remove any phase by clicking the trash icon next to it.

4. Click Save to finalize your Phased Deployment setup.

Step 5: Determine when to begin the Deployment

You can decide when you want to begin the deployment by setting a time for it in the Distribution tab.

1. In the Deployment Begins setting, enter the date and the time to start the deployment.
2. Select the check box for Apply Start Time to All Phases. This setting ensures deployment progresses to the next phase only at the time configured in the Deployment Begins setting, even if all progression criteria have already been met.
   This setting helps to prevent unintended rollouts during off-hours, reduce the risk of disruption, and align deployments with organizational policies and support availability.

Step 6: Set the App Delivery Method

The app delivery method is always set to Auto for phased deployments.

Step 7: Publish Assignment

This is the final step for your Phased Deployment setup.

1. Click Create to finalize your phased deployment setup.
2. Review the devices added to the application in the Device Preview screen. Ensure all wanted configurations are set before publishing.
3. Once confirmed, click Publish.