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ChromeOS At Work

The use of ChromeOS in corporate offices and enterprises has meant that many developers of enterprise grade software have either migrated to a web-based application or have ported their software to work on ChromeOS. Thanks to this rapid adoption, many of the applications that you already use will function flawlessly on ChromeOS. If you are a company who wishes to migrate to ChromeOS, it is strongly recommended to consult the software vendors of the applications you use to ensure that they support ChromeOS and understand the minimum hardware requirements that a ChromeOS device must have to work with their software.

Device Management

Enterprise Web Applications

Over the past several years, many modern enterprise applications have moved to a web application that offers a rich set of features within a web browser that would have only been possible on an installed application a few years ago. Many CRMs, billing solutions, inventory management applications, HR management applications and telephony applications are now available as fully featured web applications that work flawlessly within the Chrome web browser offered on ChromeOS. These applications will just work as intended, the same as they do on MacOS, Windows and Linux.

There is one exception to this, a small (and shrinking) number of web applications may require a helper application that will only work on MacOS, Windows and Linux. In some cases, these software vendors may release a Chrome Extension that fulfills the requirements of the helper application, but in other cases where an extension is not available, the web application may not function or offer limited functionality.

Remote Desktops, Application Streaming or Desktop As a Service (DaaS)

ChromeOS will support many popular Remote Desktop and Application Streaming Services via a Chrome Extension or Web Client. Many popular services such as Amazon Work Spaces, Citrix/XenApp/XenDesktop, Microsoft RDP/RDS and VMWare Horizon are all supported on ChromeOS.

Amazon Workspaces

Amazon Workspaces will work via the Chrome Browser thanks to the HTML5 Web Client. Your administrator may need to enable the web-based HTML client in the Amazon Management Console.

Citrix/XenApp/XenDesktop

Citrix has been a pioneer in remotely hosted desktops and application streaming. Companies who wish to use Citrix XenApp or XenDesktops have several options to offer ChromeOS users which includes the use of an Android Application, Chrome Extension or HTML5 Client. Each of these options has advantages and limitations, including minimum versions of the server-side Citrix server and licensing requirements. Generally speaking, the Chrome Extension is the best option for users on ChromeOS, however many administrators may prefer the simplicity of the "Zero Install" Web Client.

Microsoft RDP/RDS

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is used by several organizations to publish remote desktops and remote applications to users. Companies who use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and which to allow Chromebooks should enable the Remote Desktop Services HTML5 client. Additionally, users may use the Android Application or Linux Application to access the remote desktop connections. As of this writing, Microsoft does not publish any ChromeOS extensions for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, but there are several third-party extensions to bridge the gap if you wish to use a Chrome Extension. Several of these third-party extensions require additional licenses to be purchased directly from the developer of the extension.

VMWare Horizon

VMWare Horizon is a popular solution for companies who wish to provide remote desktops to their employees and contractors. ChromeOS will work with the VMWare Horizon HTML5 Client, VMWare Horizon Linux Client (on ChromeOS devices that support Linux), VMWare Horizon Android Application and the ChromeOS Extension. The HTML5 client is often the most popular option for users, however the ChromeOS extension offers a greater feature-set for administrators, specifically if users need access to local hardware such as printers and scanners.

Corporate VPNs

ChromeOS supports excellent support for most commercial VPN products, either via a Chrome Extension or through an Android Application. ChromeOS also has native support for L2TP VPNs, OpenVPN and WireGuard. Please consult the manufacturer of the VPN product for their preferred method for ChromeOS users to connect to the VPN service. In addition, users will need to obtain server credentials from their companies Information Technology Team (IT).