Odyssey says that AppCenter uses both active and passive approaches to restrict end-user activity to a set of administrator-defined, authorized-only applications. It actively monitors all running applications and automatically closes unauthorized applications, and also controls the availability of the start menu and supplemental input panel on an application-by-application basis. AppCenter also functions as an "enhanced application launcher" -- a centralized menu system for the authorized set of applications, according to the company. Additionally, it can automatically launch approved applications upon startup, at defined intervals, or in a defined order.
AppCenter is part of Odyssey's Athena Management Suite, which provides remote management of mobile technology. Touted capabilities of the suite include security and access control, device discovery, device health monitoring, interactive troubleshooting and repair, remote control, application provisioning, and detailed asset tracking.
Prior to this release, AppCenter was only offered through Symbol Technologies, for use on Symbol's handheld mobile devices, according to Odyssey.
"By expanding the availability of AppCenter, we're responding to customer and market demand," said Mark Gentile, president of Odyssey Software. "Many of our end-user customers and partners have to support a heterogeneous device population, and have expressed the importance of broad AppCenter availability across device manufacturers in order to maximize end-user productivity."
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