Automate distribution of redemption codes for Custom B2B app

Question

I have built a Custom B2B app for one of our clients. My question is how to automate the distribution of the redemption codes.

I have already looked at some of the MDM providers. Their solutions are too expensive and all we really need is a way to distribute the app from a webserver, not manage a bunch of mobile devices.

As you probably already know, when a client buys a Custom B2B app through the Apple VPP program, they get a spreadsheet with valid redemption codes for the number of licenses they have built. This spreadsheet has 2 columns: 1) redemption code 2) URL to redeem the code

I want to provide my client with a URL where they can send their users to download the app. They just don't have the expertise/infrastructure to distribute the app themselves. And emailing clients is not going to work.

I'm not a web guy, but it seems to me that we could write a webpage that would look at the spreadsheet for the next available activation code and then redirect the user to the associated URL. I'm not concerned with the number of licenses they distribute since I have another way of auditing the real number of users (Flurry). So I want this to be as painless as possible.

In fact, I have multiple clients and want to provide them each with their own URL for their clients. It seems like this shouldn't be too difficult to code.

The problem is, I'm not the guy to write that code. Any ideas on how best to do this?

Answer 1

Assuming that you don't want to show the user a website you should be able to do this with an online service like parse.com and the features it offers.

From a user POV you would supply them with a link which directed them to parse.com with a path and parameters indicating the action to be taken (get app) and what account is associated. This would redirect the users browser to the appropriate destination.

The main issue (and this applies to any solution) is knowing if the user actually followed through and used the code. ie should it be removed from the DB so it isn't offered to another user in future. Then you would update the DB each time you get a new spreadsheet.

Anyway, this could be achieved with a little javascript in parse.com, specifically, by using cloud code which can interrogate and modify the DB and then redirect the user.

Obviously if you need user authentication of some kind or other restrictions then you would need to start adding some web interface on top of this in order to collect the details.