How AirDroid Business Simplifies Certificate Deployment

1How AirDroid Business Overcomes the Three Difficulties of Enterprise Certificate Deployment

When an enterprise's device count exceeds 50 and spans multiple locations, certificate deployment often encounters three core challenges: inefficiency, interference, and discontinuities, leaving IT teams struggling to cope.

A logistics company deployed VPN certificates for 300 handheld terminals in its fleet. IT staff had to manually configure each device, taking three days and missing 15.

A retail chain's overseas stores required remote guidance for one hour per device due to staff lacking technical expertise.

A healthcare company spent two days converting files when importing new certificates due to incompatible formats.

The core of these pain points is the lack of deployment tools suitable for large-scale, cross-scenario deployments.

AirDroid Business's certificate management feature is designed to solve these problems:

through its four core capabilities of "strategic distribution, silent installation, multi-format compatibility, and precise isolation," combined with deep optimization for Android devices, IT teams can easily complete certificate deployment for thousands of devices without travel or user cooperation, building a solid "first line of defense" for enterprise device security.

2AirDroid Business Core Features: Building a Closed-Loop of Basic Operations for Certificate Deployment

AirDroid Business's certificate deployment capabilities stem from four "small features" that are close to the actual needs of enterprises. Although seemingly simple, they accurately solve the core pain points of manual configuration and make complex deployment "zero-threshold."

Policy-Driven Distribution: Configure by group, eliminating individual device identification

Function description: Accurate matching of device groups and certificates

AirDroid Business allows IT administrators to create dedicated device groups based on device purpose, department, and region (such as the "East China Logistics Fleet Group," "Beijing Sales Team Group," and "Overseas Store Kiosk Group") in the background, and then bind corresponding certificate profiles to different groups:

For example, push a VPN certificate to the "Logistics Fleet Group" (to facilitate remote uploading of freight data), push a Wi-Fi certificate to the "Store Kiosk Group" (to only allow connection to the company's private network), and push a code signing certificate to the "R&D Team Group" (to verify the legitimacy of self-developed apps).

The configuration process requires only three steps:

• 1.Enter the policy module to prepare the policy:
  Log in to the backend → [Policy & Kiosk] - [Policy & Kiosk Config Files], create or edit the target policy;
• 2.Add the certificate to the policy:
  Enter the Policy edit page → [General Settings] - "Credential settings", click [Add credential] to upload the certificate (or select an existing credential; the password is required for .p12/.pfx);
• 3.Bind the device group to take effect:
  Select the target device group in [Apply Config File], wait for "Status" to display "Applied successfully", and the certificate will be automatically distribute.

Core highlights: Differentiated management, saving 80% manpower

A cross-border e-commerce company has five departments and 800 Android devices. Previously, when manually deploying certificates, IT staff had to record the "Device Ownership - Certificate Type" for each device, resulting in a mismatch rate of up to 20% (for example, a sales Wi-Fi certificate was installed on a finance device).

Using AirDroid Business's policy distribution feature, they created five policies, including "Finance Group - SSL Certificate" and "Sales Group - VPN Certificate," and completed all of them within 10 minutes. This reduced the mismatch rate to zero and reduced IT staffing from two days to one hour.

More importantly, when a device is transferred across teams (for example, when an employee is transferred from Sales to R&D), AirDroid Business automatically uninstalls the old group certificate and installs the new one, without any manual intervention. One tech company used this feature to complete 120 cross-team device transfers in six months, without missing a single certificate configuration.

Silent Certificate Installation: Zero-touch, no disruption to business

Function description: The user is unaware and the certificate automatically takes effect

AirDroid Business's certificate deployment process runs silently in the background, eliminating the need for users to click "Confirm" or "Install," and preventing any pop-up windows from interrupting operations. Even when the device is in use (e.g., an employee processing a customer order on a tablet, or a store kiosk accepting payments), the certificate will automatically install during idle time (after the screen is off and there has been no activity for 30 seconds). The installation takes effect immediately, completely unaware to the user.

For newly activated devices, "activate and install" is supported (relying on Provisioning Templates):

After the employee enters the activation code to bind the device, the system matches the certificate setting policy according to the default device group preset in the template and silently installs the certificate simultaneously.

For a new kiosk in a restaurant chain, it only takes 5 minutes from unboxing to normal payment collection, without the need for employees to have technical knowledge and without the need for IT visits.

Core highlight: Solving the industry pain point of "difficulty in user cooperation"

A medical enterprise previously manually installed certificates on 150 nurse handheld terminals, requiring nurses to stop work and cooperate. This took an average of 10 minutes per device, and installation often failed due to operator errors. However, with AirDroid Business' silent installation, IT staff initiated the deployment at 2 a.m. and completed all device configurations within an hour. The next day, nurses were completely unaware of the certificate update when using their devices normally.

Support for importing multiple certificate formats (Multi-Format Support): Seamlessly connect to the existing PKI system

Function description: Compatible with mainstream formats, no need for manual conversion

AirDroid Business fully supports common enterprise certificate formats, including .p12, .pfx, .cer, .pem, .crt, and .der. This eliminates the need for IT staff to manually convert certificates using tools like OpenSSL. Whether you download certificates from a third-party CA or generate them using your own PKI system, you can upload them directly to the AirDroid Business dashboard, where the system automatically recognizes and adapts the format.

AirDroid Business also supports batch decryption and import for password-protected .pfx certificates. Administrators only need to enter the password once when uploading, and the system will automatically store and decrypt it, eliminating the need to re-enter the certificate when distributing it to devices.

For example, a financial institution's 200 POS device certificates, all in .pfx format, required manual import, requiring password entry for each device, which took four hours. With AirDroid Business, batch uploads were completed in just 10 minutes, eliminating the need to enter a password for subsequent deployments.

Core highlight: Avoiding deployment gaps caused by "format compatibility"

A manufacturing company previously used an MDM tool that only supported the .pem format, while the company obtained certificates in .pfx format from its CA. This required two IT staff members to spend a day converting the format before each deployment, and conversion errors often resulted in certificates becoming invalid. After switching to AirDroid Business, they could simply upload .pfx certificates, eliminating the format conversion process. This saved them eight hours of labor per month and increased their certificate deployment success rate from 85% to 100%.

Certificate Configuration Isolation: Precisely control certificate usage scenarios

Function description: Bind the certificate to the business configuration to avoid abuse

AirDroid Business isolates certificate configuration by setting up "Certificate" and "Corresponding Business Configuration" in the same Policy file. First, configure the certificate (e.g., Wi-Fi certificate) in the Policy, then set the corresponding business rules (e.g., specifying Wi-Fi networks) in the same Policy. Bind the two and apply them to devices/device groups, ultimately ensuring "certificates are used only in specific scenarios"—for example, only allowing devices with configured Wi-Fi certificates to connect to a specific corporate Wi-Fi network, preventing certificate abuse.

Configuring isolation is also very simple:

• 1. Enter the Policy module to prepare files:
  Log in to the Admin Console backend, enter [Policy & Kiosk] - [Policy & Kiosk Config Files], create or select the Policy file to be edited (isolation must be based on the same Policy and cannot be linked across files);
• 2. Configure the certificate in the Policy:
  Enter the Policy editing page, click [General Settings] - "Credential settings", and upload the target certificate (such as Wi-Fi certificate, supporting .pem/.cer and other formats) through [Add credential] to complete the configuration of the certificate in the Policy;
• 3. Configure the corresponding business rules in the same Policy:
  Still on the Policy editing page, find and expand [Wireless Network settings] (if it is a Wi-Fi scenario), click [Add Wi-Fi], enter the SSID, encryption method and other information of the enterprise-specific Wi-Fi, and ensure that the Wi-Fi configuration corresponds to the certificate in step ②;
• 4. Apply the Policy to take effect isolation:
  After saving the Policy, select the target device / When the "Status" displays "Applied successfully," the device will only be able to connect to the specified Wi-Fi network using the certificate configured in the Policy, achieving scenario isolation.

To later remove the isolation, re-edit the Policy file, remove the corresponding "Certificate Configuration" or "Business Rules," and save the file. The system will automatically synchronize the configuration to the device to prevent configuration residue.

Core highlights:Improve configuration security and meet compliance requirements

A hospital's Android patient monitors require SSL certificates to encrypt patient data transmission. Previously, due to a lack of isolation configuration, an employee mistakenly used the certificate to connect to public Wi-Fi, posing a data breach risk. After implementing isolation with AirDroid Business and applying a policy to the monitor device group, public Wi-Fi connections were blocked because they weren't authorized in the policy's network configuration. This fully complies with HIPAA's "Healthcare Data Transmission Security" requirements and completely mitigates the risk of certificate misuse.

3AirDroid Business Highlights: Core Competitive Advantages Beyond Basic Functionality

If the core features solve the problem of "deployment", then AirDroid Business's four key highlights solve the problem of "effective and economical deployment" - they are the key to AirDroid Business's distinction among many MDM tools, directly creating the core value of "cost reduction, efficiency improvement, and security" for enterprises.

Extremely simple deployment: Configure thousands of devices in just 3 steps, even IT novices can use it

Core value: intuitive interface, easy operation

AirDroid Business's certificate deployment interface follows a minimalist approach. All operations are completed within the single "Policy & Kiosk" module, eliminating the need to navigate multiple pages. The overall process is simple and clear. Even newly hired IT assistants can complete the operation independently after 10 minutes of training, eliminating the need for complex configuration techniques. This significantly reduces the barrier to entry for certificate management.

Quantified results: Deployment of 1,000 devices took less than 30 minutes

A retail company used AirDroid Business to deploy Wi-Fi certificates for 1,000 store kiosk devices. From uploading the certificates to launching the deployment, the process took just 25 minutes. Previously, manual deployment took three IT staff two days of overtime, resulting in a nearly 60-fold efficiency improvement.

More importantly, AirDroid Business automatically generates deployment reports that clearly display the number of successful and failed devices, along with the reasons for failure (e.g., offline devices). This eliminates the need for IT staff to troubleshoot each device individually, allowing them to complete troubleshooting in just five minutes.

Cross-regional remote management capabilities: Domestic teams manage global devices, reducing travel costs to zero

Core value: breaking geographical restrictions and managing without blind spots

AirDroid Business's cloud-based architecture supports unified global device management. Regardless of whether devices are located in China or overseas (e.g., in the US or Southeast Asia), as long as they have internet access, the domestic IT team can remotely deploy certificates, eliminating the need for travel.

For example, a cross-border logistics company with 20 distribution centers worldwide previously required a week-long business trip for two IT staff to add 100 new devices, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual travel costs. With AirDroid Business, the domestic team can now operate remotely, eliminating travel costs and reducing deployment time from one week to one day.

Case: Optimizing certificate management for a clothing brand’s overseas stores

The brand has 50 stores in Europe and Southeast Asia, with a total of 800 Android cash registers. Previously, certificate deployment required:

• 1. Domestic IT personnel to create a USB flash drive with the certificate;
• 2. Express delivery to overseas stores;
• 3. Local employees to manually insert the USB flash drive for installation - the entire process took 15 days, and new store openings were often affected by express delivery delays.

By streamlining the process with AirDroid Business, all device configurations were completed within one day. New store openings are no longer impacted by certificate deployment, and the savings in travel and courier costs can significantly reduce expenses each year.

Deep optimization for Android devices: adapting to complex scenarios, with a deployment success rate exceeding 99%

Core Value: Focus on Android and solve deployment problems for "special devices"

As an MDM tool specifically designed for Android devices, AirDroid Business is deeply compatible with a wide range of Android devices (including kiosks, industrial tablets, and medical terminals), solving complex scenarios that other general-purpose MDM tools struggle with:

For devices in Kiosk mode:

AirDroid Business supports "synchronizing certificates with Kiosk configurations," automatically installing certificates when Kiosk mode is enabled and automatically clearing certificates when Kiosk mode is disabled to prevent residual certificates.

For rooted and non-rooted devices:

AirDroid Business can be installed silently, regardless of whether the device is rooted or not, with a 100% compatibility rate.

For older Android systems (such as Android 7.0):

We've optimized the certificate installation interface to prevent deployment failures due to outdated system versions.

An industrial enterprise's 100 Android 7.0 industrial tablets previously experienced a 30% failure rate when deploying certificates using other MDM tools. After switching to AirDroid Business, system adaptation and optimization reduced the failure rate to 0, and the devices can now use certificates to encrypt production data transmission.

Comparative advantage: Better understanding of Android than general MDM tools

A medical device manufacturer tested three MDM tools and found only AirDroid Business to be perfectly compatible with its customized Android monitors. Other tools either couldn't be installed silently (requiring user interaction) or didn't support medical-specific certificate formats. AirDroid Business, on the other hand, not only deployed silently but also deeply integrated with the monitor's "data transmission module," ensuring that certificates were used only for patient data encryption, meeting medical industry security requirements.

Building a Solid Foundation for Security: Avoiding Compliance Risks from the Deployment Stage

Core value: Certificate deployment complies with industry compliance standards

AirDroid Business's certificate deployment process strictly adheres to compliance requirements such as HIPAA (healthcare), PCI DSS (finance), and GDPR (cross-border), eliminating compliance risks caused by improper deployment from the outset:

Compliance Logging:

Automatically records the "certificate deployment time, operator, and version" for each device, stores the logs in encrypted form, and supports exporting them to PDF for auditing purposes.

Permission Control:

Deployments are divided into "Certificate Administrator" and "Auditor" roles. Only administrators can initiate deployments, and auditors must approve them before execution, preventing unauthorized access.

Encrypted Transmission:

Certificates are encrypted using TLS 1.3 during transmission from the AirDroid Business cloud to devices, preventing interception.

A payment institution used AirDroid Business to deploy POS device certificates. Because it complied with PCI DSS requirements for "certificate deployment traceability and transmission encryption," it passed its annual audit without any additional documentation. Previously, manual deployment required a week of audit documentation due to a lack of complete records.

Case Study: A Hospital Achieves HIPAA Compliance with AirDroid Business

The hospital had 300 Android tablets for nurses and needed to deploy SSL certificates to encrypt patient records. The previous manual deployment resulted in issues such as no operation logs and employees being able to delete certificates at will, leading to rectification during a HIPAA audit.

After using AirDroid Business, we achieved three major compliance measures:

• 1. Complete deployment logs (including operator and time)
• 2. User deletion is prohibited after installation
• 3. TLS 1.3 encryption during transmission - during the next HIPAA audit, there were no issues with certificate deployment, and the review time was reduced from 3 days to 1 hour.

The following table summarizes the strategic highlights of AirDroid Business and the core value it brings to enterprises:

Conclusion: AirDroid Business - The "Best Solution" for Certificate Deployment on Android Devices

For enterprises, certificate deployment isn't just a one-time operation; it's a fundamental step in ensuring device security throughout its lifecycle. AirDroid Business addresses fundamental pain points like inefficient manual configuration, difficult user cooperation, and format incompatibilities through its four core features: strategic distribution, silent installation, multi-format compatibility, and precise isolation.

Furthermore, AirDroid Business leverages its four key features: extreme simplicity, cross-region management, deep Android optimization, and compliance compliance, further delivering on its core value of reducing costs, improving efficiency, and ensuring security.

Whether you're a small or medium-sized enterprise with 50 devices or a large multi-region enterprise with thousands of devices; whether you're using retail kiosks, logistics handheld terminals, medical monitors, or financial POS devices—AirDroid Business transforms certificate deployment from an IT burden to a security booster with its low barrier to entry, high adaptability, and strong security.

Sign up for a 14-day free trial of AirDroid Business now to experience the efficient process of deploying certificates to hundreds of devices in just 3 steps, building a solid first line of defense for enterprise device security.

4Experience the ease of deploying AirDroid Business certificates now

• 1. Visit the AirDroid Business official website (www.airdroid.com/business) and register for a free trial account.
• 2. Go to [Device Management] to create a device group and add test devices (up to 10 devices are supported for the free trial).
• 3. Go to [Policy & Kiosk] and find [Credential Setting] to upload and configure the certificate and apply it to the device group.

During the trial period, AirDroid Business provides 24/7 online customer service for any questions regarding certificate deployment, ensuring a quick start.

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