Around 30% of PCs are still running Windows 7. With Microsoft ending support for this version of its operating system in January 2020, many businesses are facing a stark choice: run on an unsupported OS, with no security updates, or take on a costly and time-consuming upgrade to Windows 10.
But if you find yourself in this position, there’s another option: moving to a browser-first next-generation operating system like Chrome OS. Next-generation operating systems are designed to support today’s digital workplaces, where workers are increasingly mobile, expect to be able to work from anywhere using any device, and to be able to collaborate effectively using intuitive web-based apps.
Not only will you spend a fraction of the cost of upgrading to Windows 10 on the equivalent Chrome OS devices (from Chromebook to Chromebox), but you’ll also benefit from all the advantages of using a next-generation OS:
- fast deployment. It takes around five times as long to set up a Windows PC than a Chrome OS device.
- less time and effort spent on support. OS and security updates are automatically delivered from the cloud, so there’s nothing for your in-house IT team to do and they’re invisible to users.
- multi-layered end-to-to-end security that makes it one of the world's most secure operating systems.
- scalability, from five to 5 million devices, with Chrome Enterprise currently supporting several domains with more than 100,000 devices.
- a better user experience, with fast boot up, a consistent experience across devices, and users able to immediately pick up exactly where they left off.
- improved security when users share devices, through public sessions that wipe devices clean when users log off.
With Chrome Browser and Chrome devices, Chrome OS is part of Chrome Enterprise designed to free IT and enable work in the cloud.
Chrome Enterprise also works with your existing infrastructure, letting you continue to use tools such as Active Directory for authentication or Citrix for access to legacy applications. And it allows you to repurpose existing hardware — rather than needing to upgrade that as well — thanks to its light footprint.
To unlock further the built-in business capabilities of Chrome OS and Chrome devices, Chrome Enterprise Upgrade provides enterprise grade management, giving control and visibility not available with Windows devices.
Chrome Enterprise Upgrade makes it easy for IT to secure, orchestrate and power the cloud workforce. For example, you can configure remotely every aspect of your end-user devices, control which apps users can install and disable or lock down devices remotely if they're lost or stolen.
Microsoft is developing its own next-generation OS but has revealed few details so far and isn’t expected to have a solution ready before Windows 7 support ends. Chrome OS, by contrast, has been providing low-cost, secure and fast modern end-user computing in businesses of all sizes for many years.
If you’d like to find out more about why moving to Chrome Enterprise is the smart choice now that Windows 7 is being phased out, come and talk to the experts in our Chrome team.
