Chromebook Plus is a new category of ChromeOS devices that come with the following guaranteed hardware specs:

• CPU: Intel Core i3 12th Gen or above, or AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series or above
• RAM: 8GB+
• Storage: 128GB+
• Webcamera: 1080p+ with Temporal Noise Reduction
• Display: Full HD IPS or better display
• Operating System: ChromeOS

But it’s not just a series of new specs – Chromebook Plus devices also come with a host of new features. From pro level video editing, AI-based features like Magic Eraser in Google Photos, to a host of new services that make your professional life easier – here’s an in-depth look at the advantages that Chromebook Plus offers to businesses and how Chrome OS’ integration with Cameyo amplifies those capabilities even more.

1. Performance Unparalleled

At the heart of the Chromebook Plus is the promise of increased power. With faster processors plus double the memory and storage, multitasking becomes a breeze. From running complex data analytics to simple document editing, businesses can rely on Chromebook Plus to deliver seamless performance. Paired with a Full HD IPS (or better) display, Chromebook Plus devices also guarantee clear visuals, essential for presentations or graphic-intensive tasks.

2. Video Conferencing Elevated

In the era of remote work and global collaboration, video conferencing has become an essential tool. New Chromebook Plus laptops feature enhanced 1080p webcams with temporal noise reduction to ensure high-quality video feeds, and the built-in AI elevates the experience further by optimizing lighting and cancelling background noise. Whether it’s for internal team meetings on Google Meet or client calls on Zoom, Chromebook Plus guarantees a pristine video calling and collaboration experience.

3. Apps for Every Business Need

With Chromebook Plus you can bring a wide variety of projects to life with built-in Google apps, as well as creative powerhouses like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Express and LumaFusion. Advanced graphical projects are easily managed, and with promotional offerings like three months of Adobe Photoshop free, businesses can test out these tools without immediate commitment. But wait – what about all the Windows or internal web apps your business relies on? See below for more – but spoiler alert, we’ve got you covered. 

4. AI-Powered Productivity

The on-device AI in Chromebook Plus devices not only enhances video calls but is set to redefine content creation. Whether drafting emails, creating social media posts, or even designing custom wallpapers, the built-in AI capabilities will streamline tasks, saving time and effort. The integration of AI capabilities, especially with Google Workspace’s Duet AI, hints at future collaborative tools that can revolutionize business workflows.

5. Reliable Data Access with File Sync

The Chromebook Plus ensures that your important files from Google Drive are always at your fingertips. Whether online or offline, the new File Sync feature keeps your data accessible, making it an ideal solution for professionals on the move.

6. Future-Proofing with Continuous Enhancements

Chromebook Plus isn’t just about today’s advantages. Google’s commitment to updating and improving Chromebook Plus devices means that businesses investing in these devices today can be assured of reaping benefits tomorrow. From generative AI backgrounds for video calls to content drafting assistance, there’s a lot on the horizon.

While Chromebook Plus brings numerous advantages to the table, businesses aiming for a holistic adoption of ChromeOS devices need to ensure comprehensive app accessibility, including vital Windows apps. This is where Cameyo steps in.

ChromeOS Virtual App Delivery with Cameyo

The only thing more exciting that realizing that Chromebook Plus makes it easy for your organization to adopt business-ready ChromeOS devices is knowing that you can do so while maintaining access to ALL of the apps your people need to be productive. 

Transitioning to ChromeOS doesn’t mean you need to leave behind your essential Windows applications (because, frankly, you can’t leave many of those apps behind without disrupting business). Cameyo’s Virtual App Delivery solution has been bridging this gap for five year, allowing businesses to fully embrace ChromeOS devices. But even more importantly, back in August we announced that Cameyo has officially been integrated into ChromeOS and launched “ChromeOS Virtual App Delivery with Cameyo.”

Here are the key benefits of this in-depth integration of Cameyo into ChromeOS:

• Simplified App Delivery – “Deploying apps with ChromeOS and Cameyo is remarkably simple. Session management, load balancing, failover, etc. – it’s all handled by Cameyo, so all we had to focus on was the apps we wanted to publish. It was very easy to get set up, and ongoing management is a breeze – especially when compared to traditional virtual desktop approaches.” – Mario Zúñiga, IT Director, Digital Workplace at Fortune 500 manufacturer Sanmina
• Reduce TCO by 54% – After speaking with organizations that made the switch from traditional virtual desktops to Virtual App Delivery with ChromeOS and Cameyo, analyst firm Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) released a recent Economic Validation study that found ChromeOS and Cameyo provide a 54% reduction in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) compared to virtual desktops.
• Enhanced Security – “One of the biggest draws of migrating to ChromeOS was its security. This integration, and the fact that Cameyo has a zero-trust security model baked in at its core, adds additional layers of security so that we can confidently enable our employees to work from anywhere, on any device, with the utmost security.” – Mario Zúñiga, IT Director, Digital Workplace at Fortune 500 manufacturer Sanmina
• The Best User Experience – “It’s clear that Cameyo and the ChromeOS team have worked closely together on integration because the user experience is just seamless. There’s no difference between the experience people used to have with local apps and the apps that are running in Cameyo on ChromeOS. All of the feedback from our users has been incredibly positive.” – Dan Morley, Head of IT Infrastructure and Service at Village Hotels

For a detailed look at how Cameyo is revolutionizing ChromeOS app delivery, check out the official announcement.

In addition to the Google and Cameyo partnership providing your business with the peace of mind of a deeply integrated solution set, many of the major ChromeOS device manufacturers (OEMs) are also starting to bundle the ChromeOS Virtual App Delivery with Cameyo solution into the sale of their Chromebooks. For example:

• Acer – Check out this blog post to learn more about a bundle of Acer’s ChromeOS devices with Cameyo
• LG – Check out this announcement to learn more about how LG is bundling the Cameyo Virtual App Delivery solution with it’s ChromeOS Flex-certified devices

And there are many more to come, as more ChromeOS device manufacturers look to eliminate the app gap and enable major enterprises to adopt Chromebooks while still being able to access all their apps. 

Conclusion: A Comprehensive Solution for Modern Businesses

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, businesses need solutions that are future-proof, efficient, and versatile. Chromebook Plus, especially when paired with the ChromeOS Virtual App Delivery with Cameyo solution, offers a comprehensive package. It ensures businesses are equipped with top-tier hardware and software capabilities while also guaranteeing access to all essential legacy applications, including legacy Microsoft and Windows apps. It’s a combination that is hard to beat for businesses looking to stay ahead when it comes to reducing costs, providing zero trust security, and delivering the best digital employee experience possible. 

To see for yourself how ChromeOS Virtual App Delivery with Cameyo can help your organization access all of your apps – including Windows, Linux, SaaS, and internal webs apps – on Chromebook Plus devices, you can start a free trial to test it yourself or schedule a demo and we’ll give you a personal walkthrough and show you case studies that are relevant to your business. 

Eligible Devices

As of this blog post’s writing, here are the list of Chromebook Plus eligible devices: 

The post The Business Benefits of Chromebook Plus and Cameyo appeared first on Cameyo.

When talking about context switching when it comes to human productivity, people are usually referring to the amount of time people lose when switching between different tasks throughout their workday. Research shows that there’s a significant cost of context switching, in that it takes an average of 9.5 minutes to get back into a productive workflow after task switching. This is why so many time management and productivity experts suggest that, to truly achieve a state of deep work you should focus on a single task until it is complete. For bigger projects that will take a long time, people suggest things like breaking the task up with the Pomodoro technique, using time blocks, or the bundling of similar tasks to facilitate more focused work and tackle your to-do list.

Now, when we talk about context switching as it relates to software and computing, that refers to the disruption that is caused when someone has to switch from one environment to another in order to complete a new task. One common example of the cost of context switching when it comes to computing is the use of traditional virtual desktops environments.

The use of virtual desktops (whether legacy VDI or DaaS) skyrocketed during the pandemic as orgs needed a way to give their people access to the apps & data they need to do their work from any device, anywhere. In some cases those orgs needed to send their people home with whatever devices they could find (or afford), and in other cases they needed their people to work on their own personal devices. The issue that orgs then have is that you may have people on multiple different operating systems like Windows, MacOS, ChromeOS, and more – but those people still need access to the business-critical apps and data needed to do their jobs.

By implementing virtual desktops, this creates a bifurcated experience in which your team members may have some applications installed locally on their device, and they also likely access a lot of their apps via SaaS – but then they have to log into a separate virtual desktop environment to access their business-critical apps (like your ERP, CRM, EHR, etc.). When a user has to stop working in one environment and then start a new process or application in another environment, that context switching takes a toll on your employees’ productive time and leads to attention residue that makes it harder for your people to get their focus time back.

Context Switching and its Impact on Digital Transformation

As part of their digital transformation efforts, many organizations are looking to move more of their infrastructure and applications to the cloud. Similarly, there is an accelerated demand for cloud-first operating systems (OSs), like ChromeOS, due to the cost, manageability, and security benefits. In fact, analyst firm IDC recently released a study titled “Accelerating Enterprise Adoption of Cloud-First Operating Systems with Virtual App Delivery (VAD)” addressing that trend.

But at the end of the day, the traditional virtual desktop approach to delivering apps is inherently problematic for the long-term adoption of cloud-first OSs like ChromeOS because it requires context switching that degrades the user experience & disrupts productivity. 

For example – on ChromeOS, users access most of their apps as SaaS directly from Chrome or as PWAs. But when they need to access legacy Microsoft Windows, Linux, or internal web apps – the traditional virtual desktop model forces users to log in to a separate Windows OS-based environment. This context switching results in an awkward, bifurcated experience that (at best) annoys the user or (at worst) confuses them. In either case, it is an interruption to their workflow that distracts them from important tasks.

The context switching that virtual desktops force is one where users must switch back and forth between a modern, cloud-first computing model and the legacy model of a traditional Windows desktop. Virtual desktops and their reliance on the legacy Windows OS will always anchor organizations to the past, making it harder to fully adopt the future of computing. 

Eliminating Context Switching for Cloud-First Operating Systems like ChromeOS

Cameyo has believed since day one that the future of computing is the elimination of the traditional desktop (the Windows OS, and therefore all legacy virtual desktops, too). Cameyo pioneered the Virtual App Delivery (VAD) market to make virtualization invisible to the end user, simply letting them access all of their apps the way they always have, as if they were installed locally, regardless of device. And we do so by eliminating the virtual desktop altogether and simply letting users access their apps from any device/operating system with no change to their behavior.

Cameyo is the only virtualization solution that eliminates context switching on cloud-first operating systems like ChromeOS. For example, with ChromeOS and Cameyo, a user simply logs into their ChromeOS device and can access all of their apps either from the browser or as PWAs. Even legacy Windows, Linux, and internal web apps can be deployed as Cameyo PWAs on ChromeOS, so the end user simply clicks on the app icon in the taskbar/shelf and the app launches in its own window. To the end user, Cameyo doesn’t exist – they simply click an app icon from the ChromeOS taskbar and work the way they’ve always worked (rather than logging into a Windows OS-based virtual desktop before launching their apps).

The Future of Computing, Unlocked

The world is increasingly aware of the security, manageability, and cost benefits of cloud-first operating systems – especially ChromeOS. Accelerated adoption of ChromeOS is not an awareness problem – it’s a legacy roadblock problem. Many enterprise IT leaders know that ChromeOS would yield many benefits for their org, but they are held back because they either think that they simply cannot access Windows (and other) apps on ChromeOS, or they think that the only way to do so is with virtual desktops which, in addition to the context switching problem, introduce cost, complexity, and security issues. 

ChromeOS is the modern approach to computing that today’s cloud-first enterprises need. But organizations’ perceived need to adopt legacy virtual desktops in order to gain access to their critical apps on ChromeOS – forcing their people to switch back and forth between the future and the past – will continue to impede adoption. 

ChromeOS and Cameyo (a Chrome Enterprise Recommended virtualization solution) unlock a future of computing where organizations no longer have to give any thought to which OS is required to run their apps. Orgs can now embrace the world’s most secure, manageable, sustainable, and cost-effective operating system and simply know that their people will be able to access all of their apps with absolutely no change to their behavior. As a result, a cloud-first operating system like ChromeOS can become the future of computing, with no need for users to ever switch back to the past.

The post Cameyo Eliminates Context Switching for Seamless Productivity on ChromeOS appeared first on Cameyo.

Otherwise, please read on! 

Here’s the scenario: You’ve got a Chromebook (or are thinking about getting one) and you’ve got a copy of Windows 10. And if you can just figure out how to install Windows on that Chromebook, you believe you’ll achieve the perfect marriage of form and functionality. Or maybe you work in IT, and you have ambitions of getting an entire fleet of ChromeOS devices to run Windows instead.

The logic behind that is understandable. But isn’t swapping out operating systems an extreme solution to a much simpler problem? Because, when you think about it, the real goal of carrying out a Chromebook Windows installation is the ability to run Windows software, not Windows itself.

So let’s proceed from that starting point instead. You want to run Windows apps seamlessly on your Chromebook. Is ditching ChromeOS for Windows 10 really the best way to do it?

The answer is no. And here’s why.

For starters, most Chromebook models aren’t made to run Windows. They’re designed to run ChromeOS, which is why they get such great battery life, why they’re so affordable, why they’re more manageable and why they have inherent security benefits. To put it bluntly, turning your Chromebook into a Windows laptop defeats the purpose of owning a Chromebook in the first place.

That also applies to a dual-boot setup, which is where you choose which operating system to use when you power on the computer. When you’re in the ChromeOS environment, you’ll get the customary Chromebook advantages. But when you’re booted in Windows, you sacrifice those advantages just for the sake of running Windows apps. You’ll also have to choose your operating system and skip OS verification every time you start your Chromebook!

To truly get the best of both worlds, Cameyo is the perfect solution. Cameyo’s Virtual App Delivery (VAD) platform gives Chromebook users seamless access to all of their business-critical Windows software, including legacy Windows apps, directly within the ChromeOS environment. They can work with the native Windows version of Microsoft Office or even specialized programs like AutoCAD or Quickbooks without the need for a compatibility layer.

Cameyo isn’t a remote desktop. Nor does it force you to use proprietary viewer clients or deploy on-prem infrastructure like VDI. VAD is a cloud-native technology that transforms full-featured desktop apps into progressive web apps (PWAs) with just a few clicks. On ChromeOS, they can integrate with the launcher and file system for a completely transparent cloud desktop experience.

In fact, Cameyo moves beyond the operating system entirely, opening up access to Windows apps across all devices. It’s able to deliver apps via any modern HTML5-capable web client like the Safari or Chrome browser, which means users can access desktop Windows apps on macOS devices as well as mobile devices like an iPhone. Also, our new Cameyo for Linux capabilities extend VAD’s capabilities to Linux apps too. Thanks to Cameyo’s pioneering VAD platform, it’s all done in a simple, secure, centralized and cost-effective way.

Instead of spending hours trying to hack Windows 10 to run on your Chromebook, take a minute to sign up for your free trial of Cameyo. You’ll be using Virtual App Delivery to access desktop-tier Windows apps from Chrome OS in no time. Or, if you’d like a little more insight into how Cameyo’s Virtual App Delivery works, schedule a demo to get an engineer’s take. Either way, you’ll gain a better understanding of why Cameyo is the optimal solution when your organization’s goal is using Windows software on its Chromebooks.

Still Determined to run Windows on your Chromebook? Keep Reading

If you’ve read to this point and you still think installing Windows is worth a try, below we offer some background on getting Windows 10 (and possibly other versions of Windows) onto your Chromebook.

However, these instructions come with a huge disclaimer! They are not a guaranteed, foolproof method of Windows installation on Chromebooks. We’re only providing them below to illustrate the cumbersome, potentially dangerous steps involved in the installation process.

Not only do these actions require some familiarity with a Linux-style terminal and confidence with computer hardware, there’s also a real risk of damaging your ChromeOS device and/or voiding your warranty because you’re making essential, unsupported changes to the BIOS (among other things).

In a nutshell, anything that goes wrong is entirely on you.

To start, you’ll need the following:

• The Chromebook you want to install Windows on
• A separate Windows PC or Windows laptop
• A USB flash drive for installation media
• A USB keyboard and mouse

To prepare your Chromebook:

• Turn off the Chromebook by shutting down or pressing the power button.
• Open the back of the Chromebook and remove the Write Protect Screw (consult teardown guides for its location).
• Press ESC + Refresh + Power to enter Recovery Mode.
• Press CTRL + D and then press Enter to enable Developer Mode.
• Press CTRL + D to boot Chrome OS.
• Press CTRL + ALT + T to open up a terminal.
• Type in shell and press Enter.
• Copy and paste this command into the terminal: cd ~; curl -L -O https://mrchromebox.tech/uefi-flash.sh && sudo bash uefi-flash.sh
• Press Enter.
• Select Full coreboot Firmware from the options.
• Press Y to confirm.
• Press U to install the UEFI firmware

To create Microsoft Windows installation media:

• Open a browser on your Windows PC or laptop.
• Go to Microsoft’s website and download the Windows 10 ISO (or whichever version of Windows is current).
• Open the file you downloaded and click Accept.
• Insert the USB flash drive.
• Select “Create Installation media” (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC.
• Click Next.
• Choose “Use the recommended options for this PC” and click Next.
• Choose “USB flash drive” and click Next.
• Wait for the process to complete, then click Finish.
• Note: You can also use the tool Rufus to create bootable Windows and Linux installation media.

To install Windows on your Chromebook:

• Take the Windows installation media (i.e., USB flash drive) and plug it into the Chromebook.
• Your Chromebook should boot directly from the USB device. If nott, press ESC as soon as the Chromebook boots. Find your USB device in the menu and select it.
• Connect your USB keyboard and mouse to the Chromebook.
• Select your language and your region, then click Next.
• Click “Install now.”
• When asked to enter the product key, select “I don’t have a product key.”
• Select the version of Windows you want to install. This will likely be Windows 10 Home or Pro.
• Select “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).”
• Delete all partitions listed. Ignore any warnings that might appear, then click Next.
• Let Windows finish installing and then reboot.
• Remove the USB drive if asked to do so.
• Set up Windows. Skip the Internet connection step.
• Install drivers for Windows.

Even if everything goes smoothly up to this point, this last step could be your undoing. Incorrect drivers can cause software crashes, random shutdowns and other ongoing problems. The right drivers will depend on variables like your system hardware (an Intel or an AMD CPU, for example) and your peripherals.

A developer known as CoolStar has some tips on solving the many issues and driver incompatibilities that occur when installing Windows on common ChromeOS devices from Acer, Samsung and other well-known manufacturers. Typing “Coolstar Windows install Chromebook” into your preferred search engine should get you closer to finding those resources.

Install Windows 10 on your Chromebook? Why endure the hassle?

In the event that you made it safely through those steps, you can’t escape the fact that running Windows on a Chromebook still negates many of the benefits of ChromeOS. And what’s more, it doesn’t exactly ensure a smooth Windows experience either! If you’d like to see a better way to access all your Windows apps on Chromebooks, schedule a demo with Cameyo today.

The post How to Install Windows 10 on Chromebook (But Wait, Why?) appeared first on Cameyo.

Of course, a good chunk of that rapid growth can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mid-size and large-scale businesses needed to pivot quickly away from decades-old workplace models and equip their newly remote end users with cost-effective tools to remain productive. But what does it say about Chromebooks that they were the go-to choice for facilitating that pivot?

What’s driving the move toward the Chromebook enterprise?

It wasn’t too long ago that the “Chromebook enterprise” was considered a fanciful notion. Certain misnomers about Chromebooks—and their native operating system, the Linux-based ChromeOS—arose when the devices were still in the process of carving out their own unique technological form factor. And, unfortunately, some of those assumptions have persisted over the years.

The Mac, so the thinking ran, was for creatives. Chromebooks were for students. And Windows devices were for businesses.

However, some open-minded technology experts outside of the K–12 space started to recognize Chromebooks for what they are:

• More Cost-Effective: Largely due to ChromeOS, Chromebooks accomplish more with less. Whereas even laptop PCs need to be powered by beefy (and expensive) AMD Ryzen or Intel Core i5 processors to run Microsoft Windows and all its related software, Chromebooks can achieve the same level of performance with more budget-friendly specs, such as Intel Celeron CPUs. Being cloud based, they also don’t need the same amount of SSD storage space.
• Great for ROI: It isn’t just that Chromebooks have lower upfront costs. They introduce new efficiencies to IT as well because, through programs like the Chrome Enterprise Upgrade, an entire fleet of ChromeOS workspaces can be administered easily from a single console. Furthermore, some studies have shown that Chromebooks can save SMBs as much as 45% on software licensing costs alone.
• Longer Lasting: This applies in day-to-day use, as many end users report Chromebooks’ long battery life to be one of their most valued attributes. But it also applies to the lifetime of the device. Rather than being disposable, rapid-upgrade devices, Chromebooks actually maintain the same level of functionality over a longer period of time. That’s why it’s not uncommon to find a vintage Mac or PC struggling a lot more than a Chromebook of the same age.
• Secure by Design: ChromeOS has more than flexibility and efficiency going for it. It gives IT tight control over trusted apps, updates automatically to apply the latest patches and provides proactive protection against malware threats. These security features make Chromebooks some of the most secure devices available. 

When it comes to connectivity, Chromebooks have also largely kept pace with their bulkier, pricier Windows PC cousins. Although barebones Chromebooks certainly exist, it’s not hard to find a Chromebook with all of the necessary business connectivity options like HDMI, current-gen Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, a webcam, IPS displays with Full HD (FHD) or higher resolution as well as UHD graphics, USB-C ports, a headphone jack and even a stylus and touchscreen. This menu of ports and specs enables end users to connect to a wide variety of detachable peripherals, further extending the functionality of their Chromebooks.

What’s the best Chromebook for your needs?

In the traditional laptop corner, you have trusted standbys like the Dell Latitude, the HP Elite series and the Lenovo ThinkPad. These brands and models are well known in the enterprise world and have generated a lot of loyalty on account of their durability and feature set.

But even if a handful of your end users are wedded to their ThinkPads for life, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find viable replacements for all or part of your fleet in options such as the Asus Chromebook line, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook line, the HP Chromebook line, the Lenovo Chromebook line, Google’s Pixelbook Go, the Acer Chromebook Spin series and many more from smaller-scale manufacturers.

Each range will bring its own inherent strengths and functionality, and the constant updates to their form factors and specs make any definitive recommendation difficult. Your best bet is simply to survey the Chromebook landscape (our go-to source for current Chromebook reviews and specs is Chrome Unboxed) just before you’re ready to purchase and make sure that your proposed devices offer the connectivity, warranty and price your organization is looking for. Need help determining which devices are right for your organizaiton’s specific use cases? Reach out to Cameyo here and we’ll connect you with one of our reseller partners who specialize in ChromeOS devices. 

What barriers remain to Chromebook enterprise adoption?

With Chromebooks having matured into enterprise-grade devices and so many options to choose from, it seems like enterprise adoption would be virtually guaranteed across the board.

And yet there’s been a sticking point for IT when it comes to fully embracing ChromeOS: the ability to provide all of their users with seamless access to all of the apps (including Windows apps) they need to be productive on Chromebooks. Previously, this limitation ruled out ChromeOS for end users who needed to do hardware-intensive tasks like video editing — or even those who just needed to work with the desktop version of Microsoft Office.

Cameyo completely removes that limitation. Its Virtual App Delivery (VAD) solution clears the path for enterprises everywhere to finally make the shift to ChromeOS and not look back. With Cameyo, organizations of any size can provide their end users with access to desktop-class applications across their devices, Chromebooks included.

Let’s say, for example, a remote Chromebook user needs to work with the Windows version of Microsoft Excel on account of macros and compatibility. Through Cameyo’s Virtual App Delivery platform, that user can access their business-critical native Windows software right from within their ChromeOS workspace. Cameyo integrates seamlessly, as you’d expect from a Chrome Enterprise Recommended partner, so users can easily continue multitasking with their ChromeOS and Windows apps alongside one another, with nothing new to learn for your end-users.

Fortune 500 manufacturing company Sanmina utilized Cameyo to remove the roadblocks to Chromebook adoption, and is in the process of migrating it’s 30,000 employees to ChromeOS while giving them seamless access to all of their apps with Cameyo. The large Swedish consortium Klarahill leveraged Cameyo to transition to Chromebooks without sacrificing support for legacy Windows apps — and reduced their remote desktop costs by 85% in the process. Retailer Ur&Penn deployed Cameyo to smooth their transition from Windows PCs to Chromebooks by maintaining effortless access to their essential Windows software. And the list goes on and one (see more case studies here).

The takeaway to all this? When paired with Cameyo, any Chromebook can be the best Chromebook for your organization. There’s no compromise in functionality because the operating system is no longer a limitation. Your end users enjoy all the cost, security, and manageability benefits of Chromebooks plus the advantages of working with all of their full-featured desktop Windows, Linux, and other apps.

And it’s easier than you think to get started. Sign up for your free trial of Cameyo today to begin testing its Virtual App Delivery platform right away. If you have questions that need answering beforehand, that’s fine too. Simply schedule a demo to have one of our engineers take you through the basics and show you how Cameyo bridges the enterprise gap between ChromeOS and your essential Windows software.

The post The Rapid Adoption of Chromebooks for Business appeared first on Cameyo.

So what does it take to get full-blown Linux on your Chromebook and start making use of that functionality? If you happened to see our recent blog post on installing Windows on your Chromebook, you’ll probably be relieved to know that Linux installation is slightly easier than that.

But before we start exploring the steps toward a dedicated Linux installation on your Chromebook, you might begin by evaluating whether or not you really need to go through that trouble in the first place. When your goal is simply accessing Linux apps, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to install an entire secondary operating system on your Chromebook.

Instead, a more streamlined and cost-effective alternative is to provide users with access to the Linux apps they need, right from within ChromeOS. That’s exactly the solution that Cameyo for Linux provides (in addition to enabling you to deliver all non-Windows web apps via Linux servers on Cameyo).

Cameyo for Linux leverages the same technology model that has made our pioneering Virtual App Delivery (VAD) platform such a popular choice for Windows app delivery. From healthcare to the enterprise, Cameyo has enabled organizations of any size to provide all their people with mission-critical Windows, SaaS and internal web apps, no matter what desktop environment they happen to be using.

For example, Fortune 500 manufacturing powerhouse Sanmina utilized Cameyo to eliminate the Windows application gap, enabling it to migrate its workforce to Chromebooks. A major Scandinavian company deployed Cameyo to equip its employees, now on Chromebooks, with business-critical legacy applications.

Because Cameyo is OS-independent, organizations like these can use it to deliver apps not just to Windows but also Mac, Ubuntu and ChromeOS machines. In fact, Cameyo can even deliver desktop-native apps to mobile OSes like Android and iOS.

And now Cameyo for Linux extends that capability to Linux apps, so users can seamlessly work with Linux files and Linux-based software on any device—including Chromebooks—without having to run Linux outright or create a dual-boot environment.

What’s the advantage of Linux apps in ChromeOS?

The benefits of running Linux software are applicable to all operating systems, not just ChromeOS.

• Many Linux apps have lower costs. Unlike Windows apps, which can command a hefty price tag, open-source Linux software is more likely to have lower upfront pricing on commercial or enterprise licensing. Many popular distros and titles are even free or donationware. Furthermore, Linux apps such as the Gnu Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) or the LibreOffice suite can be just as powerful as their Windows counterparts.
• Linux distributions can be tailored to your needs. Windows aims to be one-size-fits-all, but that can come at the expense of customization. Linux, by contrast, comes in many flavors that are often far more optimized for specific use cases or implementations. As a result, you can choose a Debian-based distro like Ubuntu, an Arch-based Linux distro like Manjaro or a Fedora-based distro like CentOS depending on your exact application.
• Linux servers have lower admin overhead. The ability to tailor your Linux distro also reduces the number of unnecessary software modules, which in turn limits the scope for incompatibility and error. That contributes to the stability of Linux and scales back the amount of administrative maintenance and oversight required to keep them running smoothly. No wonder so many enterprise-scale organizations are powered by Linux servers.
• Linux performs better on lower-spec hardware. Another bonus of Linux customization and only having to apt-get the software modules and libraries you need? Even with a less expensive CPU and less RAM, you can often achieve the same level of performance as a Windows-based server.
• Avoiding vendor lock in. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Microsoft would very much like your organization to stay within its ecosystem forever. On Linux, the barriers to migration between solutions aren’t nearly as steep, and the lower overall costs mean that organizations have the freedom to experiment with new and potentially more optimized solutions.

With Cameyo for Linux creating the essential bridge between ChromeOS and your organization’s Linux apps, you can now tap into all of these efficiencies. And if you don’t have the resources to manage Linux servers in-house, that’s totally fine. By using Cameyo’s fully hosted option, your organization can deliver apps hosted on Linux servers without having to actively manage the supporting infrastructure on your own.

Still determined to run Linux on a Chromebook?

If you’d still prefer to forge ahead with installing Linux on your Chromebook, there is a sanctioned method for running individual Linux apps in ChromeOS. It’s called Crostini.

Be warned: This functionality is not something that will easily scale to more than a couple very self-sufficient, tech-savvy users. It also only supports Chromebooks released since 2019. More importantly, key steps of the process will likely wipe all your existing data and settings, so be sure to back up beforehand.

First, enable Developer Mode. You do this by opening the “Settings” page and searching for “Linux” in the search field. Click the “Turn On” button, which will initiate a series of prompts that ultimately enable Linux.

Second, install your Linux apps. Keep in mind that the Linux model of software installation is not like it is on Windows. Downloading an app and clicking on the icon in your Downloads folder will not always work. Apps that require dependencies will not run until those dependencies are installed. Most apps can only be successfully installed via command line instructions. For this method, you’ll need to type sudo apt-get install [PACKAGE_NAME] in the terminal window and press Enter.

Maybe Crostini won’t cut it and you’d rather install a full-blown Linux desktop environment to run alongside ChromeOS. This is done through a modified chroot environment known as Crouton.

As with Crostini, using Crouton begins by enabling Developer Mode as above. Once you’ve done that, power off your device, hold down the ESC and Refresh keys, then press the power button to reboot. This will put your Chromebook in Recovery Mode.

When the recovery screen appears, press CTRL + D. Next, you’ll be asked to turn off OS verification. It’s important to note that from this point forward, every time you boot your Chromebook, you’ll have to press CTRL + D and decline OS verification.

After completing these steps, you should be in ChromeOS. Now search GitHub for Crouton and download it to your Downloads folder. Press CTRL + ALT + T to open the ChromeOS terminal, type shell and press Enter to open a terminal window. Next, run the following command:

sudo install -Dt /usr/local/bin -m 755 ~/Downloads/crouton

The following command will install Crouton with the XFCE desktop environment:

sudo crouton -t xfce

It could take some time for that process to complete. Once you’ve confirmed its success, enter this command to launch the Linux desktop environment:

sudo enter-chroot startxfce4

This is by no means the end of your Chromebooks Linux installation adventure; but as of this writing, it should at least give you a working Linux desktop environment on your Chromebook.

Cameyo for Linux + ChromeOS for a user-friendly Linux experience

Clearly, installing Linux on a Chromebook isn’t for the average user. Or the faint of heart. To bring Linux apps to ChromeOS in a way that’s truly as easy for IT as it is for users, Cameyo for Linux is the most economical and seamless solution.

With Cameyo for Linux now a part of our suite of VAD solutions, organizations are able to give all their users access to all of their apps from all their devices. It doesn’t matter whether the apps are coded for Windows, Linux, SaaS or as internal web apps, and the same platform agnosticism is true for the user’s device. It’s a complete liberation from the traditional limits of the operating system.

And with Cameyo’s digital workspaces, there’s none of the complexity of virtual machines and classic remote desktop deployments. Nor is there fine print that forces users to download special Android apps or proprietary cloud desktop clients. When we say universal access to apps from any device, we mean it. So now you can feel confident about adopting cost-effective Chromebooks and efficient Linux infrastructure without compromise and concessions.

To get started with Cameyo for Linux, simply sign up for your free trial. That will give you a hands-on feel for what VAD can do and how it can empower both remote and in-house users with access to all their apps. Alternatively, you can schedule a demo and have a Cameyo engineer take you through the ins and outs of VAD and why the vast majority of users (and IT staff) will prefer it to a dedicated Linux installation.

The post How to Install Linux on Chromebook: A Guide to Linux Apps on ChromeOS appeared first on Cameyo.

But let’s approach that problem from a different angle.

If you have Windows apps that you want to run on a ChromeOS device, switching your entire operating system from ChromeOS to Windows OS is like trading in your sports car for a snowmobile when winter hits instead of simply putting on snow tires. The most straightforward and sensible solution is to get seamless access to all of your Windows software within ChromeOS, without having to install and run the apps locally.

Cameyo’s Virtual Application Delivery (VAD) is a proven solution for doing just that. It’s the only Windows OS-independent method of delivering native Windows apps to ChromeOS, enabling users to work with the desktop-class software they’re used to without having to overcome the technical challenges required to install Windows on Chromebooks.

And it’s extremely important to note here that the technical challenges of running Windows OS on Chrome devices are many. During the process, you’dl need to fiddle with secret key combinations like having to press CTRL + ALT + T and ESC + Refresh. You’ll have to make hardware changes like removing the write-protect screw. Furthermore, Windows only runs on certain versions of Chromebooks to begin with.

You would also need to replace the BIOS on your ChromeOS device with UEFI firmware that’s compatible with Windows, a process that might mean giving up the ability to revert back to ChromeOS. It could even brick the device entirely.

What Are the Tradeoffs of Installing Windows?

But before we get into the specifics of Virtual Application Delivery, maybe we should back up a little to provide some context.

If, for the sake of argument, you had the time, skill and energy to do an operating system swap, why wouldn’t you want to run Windows on your Chromebook? In other words, what would you be sacrificing in order to use Windows?

Chromebooks are popular with enterprises and for several reasons, and many of those reasons stem from the ChromeOS operating system itself. Here are just a few of the important ones:

• Better security: Although modern iterations like Windows 10 and 11 have emphasized security, the simple fact is that those operating systems are inherently more exploitable than ChromeOS. Even restricted Windows users have more scope for installation processes, for example, which makes those OSes broader targets for malicious software.
• More cost-effective: Equipping every one of your users with a Windows PC or laptop can get pricey. Those devices have to have the specs to run Windows in the first place. ChromeOS, by contrast, is a much more streamlined operating system and can run smoothly on much less powerful (and less expensive) machines.
• Easier to manage: Unlike Microsoft Windows or Apple’s macOS, ChromeOS was designed for rapid deployment and centralized management. Admins don’t need to enable specialized BIOS settings or remote desktop capabilities to control an entire fleet of ChromeOS devices down to the user level.

Taking a ChromeOS device and installing Windows on it—which, keep in mind, is a warranty-voiding hack, not a sanctioned use—means giving up all of these advantages for an assumed gain in functionality. And “assumed” is an important qualifier here, because Virtual Application Delivery provides that end functionality without jumping through all kinds of technical hoops.

Okay, you might say, what about a dual-boot scenario where you run both Windows and ChromeOS on the same devices?

Well, for starters, Google put Project Campfire on hiatus in 2019. That was an initiative that would have officially allowed ChromeOS devices to run both operating systems. However, even if it had been released, a dual-boot solution would still have involved many of the tradeoffs above and would require users to reboot just to toggle between OSes.

It’s Not Windows You Want, It’s Windows Apps on ChromeOS

When your Chromebook users need to work with Windows apps, the optimal solution is to deliver those apps to them in a way that takes the OS out of the equation.

That’s exactly what Cameyo’s Virtual App Delivery platform does. It makes native Windows software available to users directly within the ChromeOS environment. There’s no need to go into developer mode and mess with the Windows installer, ISO files, USB drives or other installation media, product keys, UEFI firmware and the like, because Cameyo turns desktop-class software like Microsoft Office or Quickbooks into progressive web apps (PWAs) with just a few clicks. 

In fact, because VAD transcends the traditional limitations of the operating system, you can give everyone in your organization access to all of their Windows apps—not to mention Linux apps, SaaS and internal web apps—regardless of the machine they’re using. Whether the end device is a high-powered Intel desktop running Linux or an ARM-based mobile device running Android, Cameyo can make business-critical software accessible through any modern web browsing client like the Chrome browser.

And that’s why Cameyo is the sensible, enterprise-grade alternative to large-scale OS migrations and deploying fleets of expensive new machines. Cameyo is dead simple. It’s recommended by Google. Plus it doesn’t come with any of the caveats of, say, trying to shoehorn Windows onto a Chromebook.

ChromeOS + Cameyo: Secure, Straightforward & Cost-effective

Although Cameyo is designed to be a universal solution, it integrates especially tightly with ChromeOS, so, for example, your users can access Windows apps right from the launcher. Cameyo also has file system integration with ChromeOS, which means users can open, edit and save as they normally would — even though the virtual apps aren’t stored or run locally.

With the combo of Cameyo and ChromeOS, users and their organizations get a native app experience with responsive, desktop-quality performance on even the most basic Chromebook or tablet. They also get an ultra-secure cloud desktop experience, since Cameyo’s VAD platform is built around a Zero Trust security model and leverages the inherent strengths of ChromeOS.

Likewise, Cameyo is transparent and intuitive to your IT team. Admins enjoy complete control over which apps are available to which users, and they can update those apps systemwide with a couple of clicks via the Cameyo admin console. Compared to the massive resource investment that goes into managing fleets of Windows PCs or costly and complex legacy virtual desktops, Cameyo is an absolute cakewalk.

All those factors explain why Fortune 500 companies like Sanmia choose Cameyo to facilitate Chrome enterprise adoption or why entire school districts leverage Cameyo to deliver resource-hungry design software to Chromebooks.

But why not just experience Cameyo firsthand in your own environment? Sign up for your free trial of Cameyo and discover why VAD is a smarter, simpler and more secure solution than wrestling with the questionable process of installing Windows on Chromebooks (or running costly and insecure legacy virtual desktops). And if you’d prefer one of our experts to take you through Cameyo’s functionality step-by-step, feel free to schedule a demo today.

The post How to Get Windows on a Chromebook: A Simple Guide appeared first on Cameyo.

At first glance, thin clients seem to check a lot of the right boxes. They’re often much more affordable. They tend to appeal to mobile users. They’re generally easy to administer.

But before you take the plunge and start rolling out thin clients to all or some of your end users, it’s helpful to know exactly what defines a thin client, how thin clients stack up against other alternatives, and whether their popular claims measure up to their real-world advantages.

Battle of the endpoints: Thin clients vs. thick clients

A thin client is a type of endpoint, or user-facing computing device. The standard definition of a thin client is a computer that relies on a centralized server for its primary storage and processing rather than its internal hard drive or CPU.

That’s not to say that these devices don’t have those components. It’s just that the remote server they connect to is what does all the heavy lifting. Put another way, it’s the server in the data center, not the local device, that hosts the operating system and powers the primary computing environment—including software applications, Microsoft Office files as well as any sensitive data the user might be working with.

If that sounds a little too abstract, then maybe the concept of a thin client is better understood in relation to its opposite—thick clients.

Thick clients—also called fat clients—are your traditional desktop PCs or laptops. They run their operating system from internal storage using full-featured CPUs, and they can operate just fine without an Internet connection (even if some of their online functionality ends up being restricted). By contrast, server-side computers like thin client devices often require a network connection (via standard WiFi or Ethernet) to the central server to augment their basic functionality.

Another helpful reference point here is a third kind of endpoint device: the zero client. Zero clients rely completely on a network connection to the remote server and often can’t even provide a simple user interface without one. Thin clients therefore occupy the middle ground between zero clients and what you might call regular PCs.

Some well-known examples of thin clients are Dell’s Wyse product line, which can run either Dell’s own proprietary Dell ThinOS or Windows 10 IoT Enterprise. Their thin and zero client devices can be laptops, desktop-style workstations or even all-in-one computers. And that variety extends to thin clients in general. A Citrix employee even gained notoriety in 2013 for configuring a Raspberry Pi as a thin client—a concept that later caught on with other solution providers.

What makes thin clients such an attractive solution?

Thin clients in general have several advantages over thick clients.

First, they’re incredibly cost-effective. The machines themselves have lower upfront costs than standard desktop computers or standard laptops because they don’t need high-end Intel CPUs or hundreds of gigabytes of internal storage. As noted above, the central server is largely responsible for that.

Second, thin-client hardware is often geared toward mobility. Since the server is handling the computing workloads, thin client devices can achieve more with lower device power consumption. Manufacturers can therefore concentrate on making them lighter weight and more portable rather than giving the devices huge cooling solutions or tons of memory.

Third, thin clients are usually easier on IT because they involve fewer moving parts. You don’t have to spend time provisioning every device individually, as is often the case with desktop PCs. By using virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) or cloud-based desktop virtualization (like Virtual App Delivery (VAD)) and remote desktop solutions, IT can make simple server-side changes that are then pushed out to all the thin client computers in the fleet.

Fourth, there’s security. Thick clients can be harder to administer and incorporate into a single security solution, whereas thin clients can all connect to the same protected server. That also makes for better centralized oversight.

And, finally, there’s scalability. By virtue of all these other advantages, it’s generally less work for an organization to procure, deploy, manage and shrink or expand a fleet of thin clients. For example, it’s easier to equip (and de-equip) a seasonal or a contract worker with a thin client than a full-blown desktop PC.

Chromebooks as thin clients of choice

As with any solution category, there are going to be some thin clients that fit the bill better than others.

Following their debut in 2011, Chromebooks quickly became the go-to choice for many educational institutions. But in the past few years alone Chromebooks have seen a widespread surge in adoption across industries. In 2020, Chromebooks outsold Macs for the first time. By 2021, global Chromebook unit shipments were more than double what they had been just two years prior. That same year, manufacturers like Dell, HP and Acer reported record Chromebook sales that outpaced analysts’ already high expectations.

What makes Chromebooks such a popular choice as thin clients? Well, it’s probably the fact that they capitalize on the key advantages of thin clients outlined above and then add powerful integration with Google’s services on top of that. As a category unto themselves, Chromebooks have:

• A clearly defined product niche. When IT purchases and deploys Chromebooks, they know exactly what to expect in terms of capabilities and compatibility, regardless of manufacturer.
• An emphasis on cloud capabilities. Chromebooks helped usher in the era of cloud computing and can leverage leading cloud services as a matter of course.
• A mature thin client OS. ChromeOS is a Linux-based operating system backed by Google’s expertise and support for progressive web applications.

Even though the features and enterprise adoption of ChromeOS have grown over time, Chromebooks have still faced some skepticism. In some IT circles, some still view ChromeOS devices as primarily a fit for educational use cases or light workloads. A lot of this skepticism can be traced back to their very early days when thin client software and support for peripherals wasn’t as robust as it is today. But that has changed.

Cameyo and ChromeOS: The perfect pairing

That being said, there are some things that Chromebooks were designed not to do. ChromeOS was designed to be lightweight and cloud-oriented, so it doesn’t run desktop-class software natively. This can present a barrier to adoption for enterprises who see the value, security, and performance benefits of ChromeOS but still need to be able to provide their employees with access to all of the Windows applications they need to do their jobs.

With Cameyo, all that changes. Our Virtual Application Delivery (VAD) platform delivers apps to any device with an HTML5 web browser, enabling end users to access full-featured desktop applications right from their Chromebooks—including resource-hungry specialized software like AutoCAD or the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite. Your users get seamless access to all the enterprise-grade productivity software they rely on, and IT continues to enjoy the ease of managing secure cloud desktops from the Google Admin console.

Together, Cameyo and ChromeOS make a powerful combo that maximizes the ease of use, cost savings and security of thin client computers.

• Zero Trust Security: Along with ChromeOS, Cameyo strengthens Zero Trust security models by further reducing the attack surface for remote and hybrid workforces.
• Less infrastructure: Unlike many VDI solutions, Cameyo doesn’t force organizations to use a VPN to stay connected. And the tight cloud integration of both Cameyo and ChromeOS creates a feature-rich computing environment without having to roll out a lot of backend hardware.
• Intuitive for end users: Thanks to its native file system integration, Cameyo allows any Windows app to be delivered as a Progressive Web Application (PWA). That means IT can easily manage these apps via the Google Admin console, and they appear on users’ taskbars as if they’re locally installed.
• Lower overall costs: There are multiple interconnected factors that make Cameyo and Chromebooks the most cost-effective solution for many enterprise organizations, especially when compared to the complexity of desktop virtualization with VDI.

Mario Zúñiga, IT Director, Digital Workplace at the electronics manufacturing services provider Sanmina, said that the combination of Cameyo and Chromebooks has saved his company time, money and hassle while also boosting user productivity: “With Cameyo, we can move our employees over to Chrome devices without disrupting their workflows. Cameyo’s platform enables us to give our employees access to the full desktop version of their legacy Windows applications on any Chrome device. For our employees, the experience is seamless.”

No wonder Cameyo is Chrome Enterprise Recommended. We’re making it possible for large-scale Fortune 500 organizations like Sanmina to provide their dynamic workforces with secure Google virtual desktops on their optimal thin client devices.

See what makes ChromeOS and Cameyo the ideal pairing for any organization that’s considering thin clients – and even for orgs NOT considering thin clients, but who are looking to reduce costs and increase the security. Sign up today for your free trial of Cameyo or simply request a demo to learn more about how Cameyo unlocks the full potential of ChromOS devices.

The post Thin Clients: A Guide to Evaluating Your Options appeared first on Cameyo.

It’s not all rainbows and unicorns, however. With cyberattacks occurring once every 39 seconds on average, security remains a major concern for every organization. Equally concerning is the fact that workplace tech is struggling to keep up – not just from a security perspective, but also in terms of delivering a good user experience. A report from Adobe titled “2021 State of Work 2021: How COVID-19 changed digital work” found that close to half of all workers said they were likely to leave their job because of outdated technology.

The upside to all this is that workers really do want equipment & solutions that will help keep them more productive and more secure. The downside is that organizations aren’t always giving them what they need.

There could be many reasons for that. Cost is an obvious one. Or not knowing which solution will provide the best combination of security and productivity for the greatest number of users across remote, hybrid and traditional workplaces.

The combination of Chromebooks/ChromeOS devices and Cameyo’s Virtual App Delivery (VAD) solutions offer an ideal way to meet all those criteria, though.

Long renowned for their attractive price points and versatility, Chromebooks were purposefully designed to be the most secure enterprise-grade devices available. The fact that there have been zero reported ransomware attacks on ChromeOS – ever – speaks volumes. So does the fact that Chromebooks are the device of choice for many security-conscious IT professionals. 

And in a world where everyone needs seamless access to all of their apps & data from anywhere to stay productive, the combination of ChromeOS devices with ultra-secure Cloud Desktops from Cameyo provide the perfect balance of security and seamless productivity. Cameyo’s Virtual App Delivery (VAD) platform was designed with a Zero Trust security model built into its core, and it’s integration with ChromeOS provides a native feel that helps the end user simply work the way they always have. 

Let’s dig deeper into the various security benefits of Chromebooks/ChromeOS and Cameyo, and how the combination of the two could help protect your organization.  

What’s behind ChromeOS security?

ChromeOS was developed with web security as a core design principle. The entire operating system minimizes malware threats by making it harder for hackers to find a viable entry point and run malicious code. Unlike Windows and macOS, which have their roots in a pre-Internet era, the Linux-based ChromeOS provides a much more curated and contained approach to installing and running software.

There are four types of functionality that lend ChromeOS its inherent security features: sandboxing, verified boots, ongoing security fixes and what’s known as powerwashing.

1. Sandboxing — Some of the earliest ChromeOS developers recognized that malware relied on exploiting resources outside of the environment in which it was running. That’s why the Chrome browser was developed to keep each web page as an independent process in its own tab. Data outside the browser is kept isolated, too, which helps to limit access and maintain a higher level of privacy and security than more permissive operating systems.
2. Verified boot — Google makes sure that every single line of code that runs at startup is unmodified by malware. Should something look fishy, the Chromebook will boot in a recovery mode that’s stored in the secure processor.
3. Security fixes — Because of the way ChromeOS self-updates, users get code with the latest security patches in an invisible and automatic process. After an update rolls out, most users will be moved to the most recent version without even realizing anything has changed—or that a particular security loophole has been closed. Rolling background updates like these are one reason why SaaS software models have proved so popular with IT.
4. Powerwashing — If you suspect that a Chromebook has somehow been exposed to spyware or a user has fallen victim to a phishing attack, you can easily reset the device to factory settings with a simple key combination or button press. It’s called “powerwash,” and it will wipe all user data before restoring the Chromebook to a pristine state. Plus, ChromeOS also makes it easy to get back up and running after restarting.

The ability to install Android apps via the Google Play Store is another way that ChromeOS helps to protect users. Similar to other app stores, the titles on the Google Play Store have been vetted by Google and scanned for malware.

Augmenting Chromebook security (and productivity) with Cameyo

When paired with Cameyo’s Virtual App Delivery (VAD) platform, Chromebooks can become full-featured secure cloud desktops. Users get the productivity boost of being able to work with desktop-class Windows software from any location. Meanwhile, IT gets the confidence that comes from all the cybersecurity benefits of ChromeOS. And then some.

This dual benefit is possible because Cameyo turns Windows apps into Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) for ChromeOS. It’s the best of both worlds:

• Forego the need for antivirus software. The built-in active threat protection of ChromeOS wards off external attacks and counters employee negligence. Chromebooks’ read-only OS, verified boot and blocked executables eliminate the need for third-party antivirus software. With Cameyo, all Windows software runs in the cloud, not on your endpoints.
• Leverage granular, flexible policy controls. Through the Google Admin console, IT has full control how Windows apps are accessed via Cameyo and how native apps are installed. Admins can remotely disable or wipe devices that have been lost or stolen as well as manage advanced security functionality to protect the Chromebook fleet.
• Eliminate the worry of outdated software. With ChromeOS, automatic updates take place frequently in the background to deliver the latest security patches. Both existing and new Chromebooks will be updated to the latest version of the operating system. And since Cameyo delivers Windows apps through a secure session in the Google Chrome browser, it mitigates the security risks even of legacy software.
• Reduce your organization’s attack surface. Cameyo automatically ensures all HTTP, HTTPS and RDP server ports are closed and eliminates the need for VPNs, significantly reducing the attack surface. This is possible thanks to security features like secure cloud tunneling, Cameyo’s custom technology that provides a smooth user experience without compromising security.
• Enjoy robust Google account and SSO integration. In addition to seamless integration with Google’s platforms and services, Cameyo supports major single sign-on (SSO) providers as well as multi- and two-factor authentication (also known as 2-step verification) mechanisms.
• Adhere to Zero Trust IT strategies. By combining the strengths and security features of Cameyo and ChromeOS, organizations can maintain a strict Zero Trust security model even as their employees work seamlessly from home.

Cameyo is Chrome Enterprise Recommended

Due to its advanced security features and superior user experience, Cameyo is one of just three virtualization solutions to be named a Chrome Enterprise Recommended partner by Google. Recently Cameyo’s VAD platform has gone on to add native file system integration with ChromeOS, too, which gives users seamless, direct access to their local folders and files from within virtual apps.

The tight integration between Cameyo and ChromeOS serves to supplement and bolster Chromebooks’ native security while giving all of your users access to the business-critical apps they need. Together they give your organization proactive security and a modern employee experience with less management overhead.

“When we began our journey to Chrome OS, we quickly realized that to get more of our people on Chrome OS devices, we needed a way to deliver all of our legacy Windows apps—like our ERP system and certain engineering apps—to those devices from the browser,” said Jeremy Venlet, Network Engineer at Royal Technologies. “Cameyo provides us with secure cloud desktops where each user can securely access all of their apps from any device.”

That in turn leads to twofold cost savings. Not only are Chromebooks more cost-effective to procure and maintain, but with Cameyo in the mix you also reduce risk of endpoint security issues.

Of course, you can always take things further by encouraging employees to use a password manager, educating them on the prevalence of phishing, turning on data encryption options where available and making sure that users only install Chrome extensions from trusted sources. But as an effective foundational step against malware and ransomware, it’s hard to beat the combo of Cameyo and Chromebooks/ChromeOS.

Whether you’re rolling out a new Chromebook fleet or you’re still weighing your options, it’s never too early to start familiarizing yourself with what Cameyo can do for your organization. Sign up for your free, no-strings trial today and see how easy and cost-effective it is to equip your people with secure Google cloud desktops.

Want more details on how Cameyo achieves maximum privacy and security for users without a VPN? Simply book a meeting with our experts and they’ll walk you through Cameyo’s functionality.

The post Chromebook Security + Cameyo = Secure Cloud Desktop appeared first on Cameyo.

Chromebooks were designed for a more secure, cloud-connected approach to computing. But in the past it’s been tricky to bridge the gap between the classic Windows PC paradigm and today’s more nimble, flexible workplace. 

But in 2020, when Chromebooks outsold Apple Macs for the first time, even more CTOs and IT departments in enterprise organizations took notice. ChromeOS had proven to many that it was a far more secure platform than Windows OS, but still, enterprises needed access to ther Windows apps. So how do you bridge the “app gap”?

In this post, we’re going to take a look at some of the most common ways your organization can get Chrome OS and Windows software to play nice. The good news? Yes, you can run Windows software on a Chromebook. But how you choose to do it can have a big impact on the cost, complexity, and user experience.

1) Run Windows apps on a remote desktop

If your end users already have a Windows computer, you can use Google’s Chrome Remote Desktop app to access that device through a remote desktop session. This will require IT to set up a Chrome Remote Desktop extension in the Chrome web browser on the Windows PC. That process will guide you through some setup steps to securely establish the connection between the PC and the Chromebook.

Downsides to this approach? For starters, it requires each user to have a dedicated Windows PC, effectively doubling your device fleet. Also, that PC will have to be up and running whenever the Chromebook user needs to access it, which comes with practical implications as well as increased energy consumption.

The other drawback is that your users always end up interacting with the desktop environment within Chrome OS. It’s a bit like looking through a window through another window just to glimpse a view of the world outside. It doesn’t offer quite the same user experience as native-feeling desktop applications.

2) Emulate a Windows environment with Parallels Desktop

Parallels, the company known for providing cross-OS compatibility through emulators and virtual machines, has a product that enables IT departments to run desktop Windows applications—including full-featured Microsoft Office titles—on Chromebooks. Parallels Desktop is a Windows container that runs natively on Chrome OS and basically allows both operating systems to run side by side, even without an Internet connection.

This dual-OS setup might sound appealing, but it’s not exactly the best of both worlds. It comes with some elevated hardware requirements since users are now running the full version of Windows on their Chromebook. They’ll need devices with an Intel Core i5/i7 or AMD Ryzen 5/7 processor at a minimum. They’ll also need at least 8GB of RAM and 128GB of local storage. That will offset some of the cost savings of low-spec Chromebooks. 

It’s also worth considering that Parallels Desktop is largely a consumer-centric product that isn’t always ideal for enterprise environments with large pools of users. Parallels focuses on delivering a full Windows OS desktop on Macs and Chromebooks (rather than taking a Windows-independent Cloud Desktop approach), and managing these Windows desktops at scale can demand more and more of IT’s time. Most use cases might be better served by other forms of virtualization.  

3) Utilize traditional virtual desktop (VDI) or Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) products 

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Desktop as a Service (DaaS) solutions have been around for more than 25 years, and they enable you to deliver the full Windows OS to any device (Mac, Chrome OS, etc.). We cover the various flavors of traditional virtual desktops in depth on our blog (you may want to start here), but at the end of the day the biggest thing to note is that all VDI and DaaS solutions force you to deliver the full Windows OS to Chrome OS devices in order to run Windows apps. 

But most organizations are making the decision to move to Chrome OS devices so that they can reduce the cost, security concerns, and complexity of managing Windows OS devices – so why make your users access the Windows OS from their Chromebooks? 

4) Enjoy seamless Virtual Application Delivery with Cameyo 

Just a ChromeOS is the secure, cloud-first approach to modern computing, Cameyo’s Virtual App Delivery (VAD) is the secure, cloud-native approach to giving your people access to all of the apps & data they need on any device.

Cameyo’s VAD platform enables users to access full Windows desktop applications either through the Chrome browser or as Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). There’s no Windows-based virtual desktop or emulator necessary, because the apps aren’t running on the local device. 

At the same time, Cameyo ensures a more native experience for the user than any other approach. Our VAD platform’s native file system integration with Chrome OS means that end users can open, edit and save Windows applications files locally on their device. Coupled with Cameyo’s support for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), users can also access their full-version Windows apps directly from their taskbar and launcher. And since the apps themselves aren’t stored and run locally, organizations can even deploy Chromebooks with more economical specs.

The result is uncompromised performance, ease of use and cost-effectiveness. Let’s say a Chromebook user wants to work with the full desktop version of Microsoft Excel (instead of the Office 365 version that doesn’t support macros). Thanks to Cameyo, they can simply click on the app icon in their taskbar, work in their spreadsheet just as they would on a Windows PC, then save the file – either locally or in your org’s cloud storage of choice – for later access or sharing. There’s no VPN or remote desktop client to mess with.

With Cameyo, you unlock the full benefits of ChromeOS with a Windows-independent Cloud Desktop that allows your people to work exactly as they always have, without the cost, complexity, and security issues of Windows OS.

The preferred way to run your business’ Windows apps on a Chromebook

Google has already recognized Cameyo as one of only 3 Chrome Enterprise Recommended solutions globally for virtualization. And the wider Windows community has also been taking an interest in how Cameyo is opening up Chromebooks to enterprise adoption.

 But don’t take our word for it. Here’s how some of our enterprise customers are utilizing Cameyo’s VAD platform with Chrome OS devices to deliver secure, full-featured Google virtual desktops:

• “As a G Suite customer, we love how integrated Cameyo is with Google. We don’t have to configure a thing – everyone simply logs in with their Google account info, and they instantly have access to all of their applications.” — Emir Saffar, CIO at Ur&Penn
• “The most critical need was the ability to deliver our Windows-based ERP system, VismaBusiness, to all of our employees even though they are now utilizing ChromeOS devices. Cameyo played a critical role in enabling our transition to Chrome Enterprise” — Christian Ahlin, Group Head of IT at Nordward
• “Cameyo’s platform plays a critical role in enabling our Digital Workplace strategy by removing the legacy application roadblocks that were preventing widespread Chrome adoption. Cameyo’s VAD platform is the perfect blend of simplicity, a seamless user experience, and advanced security.” — Mario Zúñiga, IT Director, Digital Workplace at Sanmina

If your organization is using, planning to use, or even just curious about ChromeOS devices and you still need access to Windows apps – Cameyo can help. Take a few seconds to sign up today for your free trial of Cameyo and see if Virtual App Delivery is the right solution for your environment. Or to get a one-on-one tutorial from one of our engineers, feel free to request a demo instead.

The post How to Run Windows Apps on Chromebook appeared first on Cameyo.