- Cameyo by Google adds Windows app support to ChromeOS
- Web-based end-user computing seems to be the future
- Virtualized apps provide better security and performance
After acquiring Cameyo in June 2024, Google has relaunched the service as a Virtual App Delivery solution called ‘Cameyo by Google’.
The tool will enable Windows-based legacy apps to run in Chrome or as a web app without requiring full virtual desktops, a big step for ChromeOS, which, despite proving popular in the education sector, has often been shunned due to its incompatibility with traditional software.
Product manager Rob Beard explained that Cameyo by Google will help organizations migrate from Windows to ChromeOS more easily, and for good reason.
Google wants to help you run apps on ChromeOS
The blog post describes the rising popularity of ChromeOS – nine out of 10 IT leaders say their end-user computing (EUC) strategy is web-based, but 50% of apps used today are still legacy client-based apps.
Cameyo works by streaming only the necessary applications rather than virtualizing an entire desktop, meaning older Windows and Linux apps can run alongside more modern web apps. Users can also choose to use browser apps or Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) for a more native experience.
“For the user, the experience is seamless and context-switch-free by managing a separate virtual desktop environment. For IT, the complexity is eliminated,” Beard wrote.
Google also noted that deploying apps with Cameyo instead of using traditional virtualization technologies is both safer and faster.
Beard also used the post to plug Chrome Enterprise Premium, which combined with Cameyo offers security across modern web apps and legacy client-based apps in one. “These legacy applications that previously lived on a desktop now run under the secure browser’s sole security context.”
“This collaboration with Cameyo has proven to be incredibly successful in helping organizations move away from cumbersome legacy applications, improve security and productivity,” added ChromeOS Product Management Director Naveen Viswanatha at the acquisition last year.
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