Taking the business world by storm: the rise of Google's Chromebook

Since the first model launched two years ago, Google's Chromebooks have been maturing into an increasingly successful series.Last Christmas saw Amazon announce a pair of Chromebooks as two of the three best-selling notebooks of the US holiday season and they now make up more than 20 per cent of notebook sales to businesses in the US, matching sales of tablets. We are now seeing this same trend continue in the UK. The last six months has seen a significant increase in deployments of Chromebooks in both commercial and public sector organisations, including the large Chromebook deployment by Ancoris at London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.With this in mind, we quizzed Ancoris MD David MecLeman as to why he believed the device is growing in stature in the B2B market.TechRadar Pro: Why are Chromebooks proving so popular with businesses as a replacement to traditional Windows PC's?David McLeman: Employees are already familiar with Chrome as it's actually the number one browser in the world, with 750 million users and 43% global market share as of March 2014. Web statistics show that when employees have a choice - on weekends for example, they choose Chrome. So why should employees stop using their preferred browser during the week, especially as studies show that employees are 15% more productive when they get to choose the browser they use?In the future, the browser will become the dominant application platform on all types of devices and we are increasingly seeing businesses turn to the browser as the common, underlying technology for distributing and accessing applications. This is very useful in a heterogeneous environment as all of the major platforms for all form factors have a browser. Thus, deploying applications through the browser creates a true write once, run anywhere model. Because browser-based applications store data and preferences on servers or in the cloud, users can access all of their applications and data from any device, instantly. This makes life much better for users who are sharing terminals or using multiple devices. Increasingly we expect a user's entire desktop to be browser-based and follow them to any device. Already Google Chrome will centrally store a users applications, preferences, bookmarks, etc and bring those preference to the user on any device. The browser will allow your entire computing environment to follow you to any device.The fundamental concept behind Chromebooks is that all your applications are being accessed through the browser. There is no application on ChromeOS but the browser - the OS is only intended to connect users to browser-based applications.Chrome was designed to take away anything that comes between the user and their web application. ChromeOS takes that concept to the OS - the user doesn't have to think about anything but their work, making them more productive.TRP: How is the Chromebook changing perceptions among business leaders about which devices to give to their staff?DM: Just as the iPad did earlier, the Chromebook is changing perceptions among business leaders about device choice for their staff. The old dependence on Windows PCs as the sole device for all users is a thing of the past for most organisations. Along with tablets, Chromebooks will increasingly become a valid device choice for teams or departments as they seek to provide simple, secure, low-cost and easy to manage access to both new web applications and legacy systems, unless a specific application forces a Windows decision.Even where business leaders can't see a full migration of all their users it's difficult not to see the benefits of a cheaper, more easily managed, secure device where teams don't need more complex software. They are a great complement to other devices in the office environment and becoming increasingly difficult for business leaders to ignore.TRP: Why are Chromebooks so well received by the average office user?DM: The average user loves the Chromebook for a number of different reasons. Typical comments include "hassle-free", "instant-on", "starts fast, stays fast". Unlike traditional PCs, Chromebooks do not lose speed over time. Set up is exceptionally easy and simple, Chromebooks provide an out of the box solution that does not need lengthy administration by the IT department with no networking complexity.The user experience is familiar as it is the same as the browser people use in their personal lives. And finally, users love the Chromebook for its outstanding battery life. TRP: We understand the appeal of Chromebooks for users, but what about the corporate management of Chrome devices?DM: Google have also made Chromebooks easy to manage and the Chrome Management Console has been a key positive for IT teams. By integrating management into the OS and a cloud console, I believe the ChromeOS is the easiest platform to manage.The Chrome Management Console allows the IT team to configure security settings and install applications for individual devices or groups of devices from a single, central web-based portal, giving them effortless control over large estates of devices in a highly scalable fashion.ChromeOS is also highly secure because it was designed from the ground up with an entirely new security paradigm.By simplifying the environment so much, the total cost of ownership of chrome devices is greatly lower than the overall TCO for a notebook or desktop fleet. Finance directors love the low cost. They no longer need to spend huge sums of IT budgets on licensing of software or maintaining hardware and infrastructure to run it. TRP: What are the most common applications of Chromebooks so far?DM: I'd say there are three common applications for Chromebooks in business: PC hardware replacement, as companies are faced with replacing their older generation of Windows XP machines, following the end of support in April 2014. With most new applications now being built for web and mobile, businesses are realising that many users only need simple, secure devices that let them access web apps like Google Apps for Business and Salesforce. They don't need the complexity and cost of a Windows PC. Users love them because they boot in seconds, the battery lasts all day and they never slow down.Virtualisation. Chromebooks support web-based deployment for Citrix and VMWare VDI environments, providing a replacement thin-client device that supports existing legacy applications but with the benefit of native support for web applications.Specialist single application uses such as customer or employee kiosks or digital signage in public locations where the security of ChromeOS, plus the ability to lock down the device to single applications provides a flexible and low-cost deployment model.TRP: Why are so many computer manufacturers launching a wider range of Chromebooks for businesses to choose from?DM: The last few months have seen all the major PC computer manufacturers launch Chromebooks for businesses to choose from. Eight leading computer manufacturers now offer Chromebooks in a variety of screen sizes and configurations to suit different user requirements. One of the latest form factor to the Chrome device family is the LG Chromebase - an all-in-one 21.5-inch monitor with integrated Chrome device. This is a brand new concept with a low price point, which will appeal to companies with office based staff or mobile staff working from hot desking areas.An interesting feature to note is that the LG Chromebase can be used as a monitor by connecting it to other laptops through the HDMI port. Versatility at its best!TRP: What is the future for Chrome devices? DM: As we mentioned earlier, Chrome devices are ideal as purpose built devices for specialist single applications such as customer kiosks, employee kiosks, digital signage and video conferencing.The first Chrome purpose built device to be announced is the 'Chromebox for Meetings' for video conferencing. Today fewer than 5% of meeting rooms support video-conferencing. The new device brings together Google+ Hangouts with a bundled hardware package to make it quick and easy to set up and manage provide a low-cost video-conference solution at less than £1000 per room (just add a screen). This allows employees, customers and partners to work together as if they were meeting face-to-face, no matter where they are. As more and more users turn to Chromebooks for their speed, simplicity and ease of sharing, we expect a lot more form factors and single use devices to come to market soon.

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