Publish mobile apps with custom branding

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Publish Mobile Apps with Custom Branding

    The ServiceNow® Mobile Publishing application allows you to create secure, branded mobile applications that reflect your company's unique identity. This feature enables customization through branding, which impacts what users see before login, and theming, which affects the post-login experience.

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    Key Features

    • Custom Branding: Configure unique names, splash screens, icons, MDM vendors, and colors for each mobile app.
    • Integration: Supports standard Now Mobile and Mobile Agent apps, as well as custom app types.
    • Management: Easily manage and view recent app requests, request new apps, and access brand asset guidelines.
    • Build Request Form: Streamlined form to ensure that your app requests meet organizational requirements.

    Key Outcomes

    By leveraging Mobile Publishing, you can effectively deliver branded mobile apps that enhance user engagement and maintain a consistent brand experience across iOS and Android platforms. The program aligns with best practices from Google and Apple, ensuring compliance and a guided path to achieve your branding goals.

    Note that Mobile Publishing is a paid plugin available with Pro, Enterprise, and App Engine subscription levels or via the ServiceNow Store. Setting up prerequisite tools is essential before submitting your first app request.

    The ServiceNow® Mobile Publishing application enables you to publish secure and branded mobile applications. These mobile apps use your unique company identity and management method.

    ServiceNow offers the following ways to customize your mobile apps:
    • Branding: Determines what users see before they reach the login screen.
    • Theming: Determines what users see after they log in.
    Mobile Publishing enables you to brand your mobile apps. You can use Mobile Publishing to create a visually distinct version of ServiceNow mobile apps with custom branding that reflects your unique company identity. Configure each of your mobile apps with a unique name, splash screen, icon, Mobile Device Management (MDM) vendor, and colors.
    For information about using theming to further customize your apps, see:
    For more information about the considerations for using Mobile Publishing and configuring it, see Mobile Publishing resources. For information about why your company might want to use Mobile Publishing, see Mobile Publishing use cases.
    Note:
    Mobile Publishing is supported on both production and sub-production ServiceNow instances.

    The ServiceNow publishing program complies with the suggested practices from Google and Apple for branded app releases. The program gives you a guided path to achieve your branding goals.

    Licensing

    Mobile Publishing is a paid plugin. It is included in the Pro, Enterprise, and App Engine subscription levels (SKU's) of ServiceNow. Alternatively, you can purchase the plugin on the ServiceNow Store and add it to your ServiceNow subscription. Navigate to the ServiceNow Store, log in with your credentials, and then search for mobile publishing.

    Custom-type mobile apps

    Use Mobile Publishing to brand standard Now Mobile and Mobile Agent apps that are part of the ServiceNow Mobile Platform. If you need additional client app types other than Now Mobile and Mobile Agent, you can create custom app types that have unique mobile client app names.

    For more information about custom mobile apps, see Create custom-type mobile apps with Mobile Publishing.

    For more information about the integration between Mobile Publishing and Mobile App Builder, see Mobile App Builder.

    Manage your custom-branded apps

    Navigate to All > Mobile Branding > Manage Mobile Publishing Apps in your instance. Do any of the following (refer to the numbered call-outs in the below image):
    1. View your recent app requests. A maximum of nine builds can be tracked on this page.
    2. Request a new branded app by selecting Request a new app.
    3. Get information about what you need (prerequisites) to request different apps and associated distribution types.
    4. Watch a video that guides you through the process of requesting a custom branded app and shows you how the third-party tools are used to populate mandatory fields on the request form.
    5. Access helpful resources and FAQs to get further help.
    Figure 1. Mobile Publishing overview tab page
    Mobile Publishing main page
    Scroll down to view the brand assets guide panel (refer to the below image), which supplies guidelines to help you create a consistent brand experience for iOS and Android apps.
    Figure 2. Mobile Publishing brand assets guide panel
    Mobile Publishing brand assets guide panel

    Request custom-branded apps with the build request form

    The build request form has sections that you can navigate between to make sure your build request suits your organization's requirements (refer to the numbered call-outs in the below image):
    1. Use the Back and Next buttons at the bottom of the form to access build options or to revisit options you've already selected so you can make any needed corrections.
    2. View the right panel to get help from product documentation and FAQs.
      Note:
      Hover over the FAQs to see the full question and to expand the list to see the answers.
    Figure 3. Mobile Publishing build request form
    Mobile Publishing build request form

    View custom branded app builds and check build progress

    (Refer to the below image):
    Figure 4. Mobile Publishing history tab page
    Mobile Publishing history tab full page
    Select one of the build cards on the history tab page to drill down for details about the app build (refer to the numbered call-outs in the below image):
    1. View who requested the app and their email contact information.
    2. Get details about the app type, distribution type (private or public), what mobile application management (MAM) vendor the app uses, and its operating system.
    Figure 5. Mobile Publishing build details page
    Mobile Publishing build details page