Google aims at the enterprise with new Chromebook for Work features, $50/year subscription

[Himanshu Arora]

In an effort to attract more businesses to Chromebooks, Google has announced several new features and a new pricing scheme for enterprise Chromebook users.

To start with, Google has added a new single sign-on feature that lets you log in with the same credentials and identity provider that you use in the rest of your organization. The feature supports most of the major providers that use the SAML standard, including CA SiteMinder, Microsoft AD FS, Okta, Ping Identity, SecureAuth, and SimpleSAMLphp. The latest versions of Chrome OS also support multiple sign-ins, which makes it easy to switch between work and personal accounts.

Next, Google has improved how Chromebooks manage certificates for wireless networks. Enterprises can now provision Chromebooks with client certificates to access 802.1X EAP-TLS wireless networks and mutual TLS protected web resources. Using the Admin Console, IT administrators can pre-configure their secure networks, push certificate management extensions, and pre-select certificates to be used with certain websites and networks.

Google has also made it easy to provision new workers or contractors with web apps on Chrome, working with companies like Citrix and VMware to provide virtualization options. They have also collaborated with Nvidia and VMware to speed the delivery of graphics-heavy virtualized applications to Chromebooks, allowing to seamlessly run 3D modeling and simulation applications often associated with heftier hardware.

As for pricing, users can get access to all of Google’s Chromebook for Work features for $50 per device per year. The new pricing option is currently only available to customers in the United States and Canada, with more regions on the way.

Google now also supports licensing portability, which means that in case you lose or replace your Chromebook, you can easily apply your existing license to a new device.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/58370-google-chromebook-work.html

 

[Guest]

Yay, more mediocrity!!!
What I don't understand though, is if you have $50 per year to spend on a laptop that's primarily cloud based, you will probably have to fork over extra cash elsewhere for more storage space, or other non included functionality, then I'm sure you could just as easily purchase a cheaper variant of the many traditional laptops available. I mean, the Chromebook is hardly a powerhouse to compare to anyway. Now especially since traditional laptops are so cheap these days, one has to seriously question why you would entertain this proposal by Google. Most companies have a 2 to 3 year, even up to 4 year, refresh cycle on hardware, so the $100 - $200 over that time frame would easily purchase a traditional laptop upfront. Since you would have options like Office365 to keep things cost effective for a company, especially in bulk, then those extra for Chromebooks you would most likely have to buy would also be offset by this reason. Now factor in the HUGE array of traditional desktop applications it could run, and you begin to see this offer for what it is. A waste of time. Especially for around the same price, maybe a smidge more, a much beefier alternative is available.

 

[aspleme]

Yay, more mediocrity!!!
What I don't understand though, is if you have $50 per year to spend on a laptop that's primarily cloud based, you will probably have to fork over extra cash elsewhere for more storage space, or other non included functionality, then I'm sure you could just as easily purchase a cheaper variant of the many traditional laptops available. I mean, the Chromebook is hardly a powerhouse to compare to anyway. Now especially since traditional laptops are so cheap these days, one has to seriously question why you would entertain this proposal by Google. Most companies have a 2 to 3 year, even up to 4 year, refresh cycle on hardware, so the $100 - $200 over that time frame would easily purchase a traditional laptop upfront. Since you would have options like Office365 to keep things cost effective for a company, especially in bulk, then those extra for Chromebooks you would most likely have to buy would also be offset by this reason. Now factor in the HUGE array of traditional desktop applications it could run, and you begin to see this offer for what it is. A waste of time. Especially for around the same price, maybe a smidge more, a much beefier alternative is available.

Where are you getting your information from? Lots of companies are only just now getting rid of machines running XP... I've also done a fair bit of price monitoring... and laptops, even cheap ones, don't come for 100-200 dollars. Google alternatives to Microsoft applications can reduce or even remove the need for Microsoft Office 365, which is a hundred a year no matter what your device is. Furthermore, especially for specific business use, companies usually don't require a HUGE array of traditional applications... and those that do are often older or outdated... and in much need of updating.

 

[aspleme]

Furthermore, a lot of business computers are required to log into the business' cloud server to access data or applications anyway. So the complaint about chromebooks being cloud based is moot.