Google Chrome Ready for the Enterprise

Google (News - Alert) Chrome has steadily risen in popularity since its debut two years ago. Recent stats from Net Applications peg its market share at around 10 percent, up from less than 5 percent a year ago. But the browser has long lacked the ability to be easily deployed throughout a company a la Internet Explorer. That changed last month.

In December, Google announced the release of Chrome for Business, which finally gives IT admins a way to create their own installation package for Chrome. The business version of the browser comes as an MSI (News - Alert) (Microsoft Windows Installer) file called GoogleChromeStandaloneEnterprise.msi. As many IT pros know, an MSI file provides a standard way of installing an application. And by using any one of a number of deployment tools -- at my former company I used a product called Wise Package Studio -- you can create your own installation package to deploy Chrome for Business via the new MSI file.

Beyond providing the MSI file, Google is now offering Group Policy templates that let you customize the various settings and options for Chrome. Available in both ADM and ADMX formats, depending on which version of Windows you run, the templates can be downloaded as a single zip file. After extracting the files, you can load the chrome.adm or chrome.admx file into your Group Policy editor and specify a variety of settings, including home page, search provider, proxy server, and password manager. From a security standpoint, you can also restrict the ability to run JavaScript, disable certain plugins, and turn off the browser history. Google provides a list of the all the available policies that can be configured and customized.

IT admins interested in deploying Chrome throughout your organizations can check out the documentation on Google’s website. Those of you who already use Google Apps for Business can also get support via phone and e-mail.

Google says that it’s tested the deployment of Chrome in the enterprise market not only internally but among such organizations as Vanguard, Boise State University, and Procter & Gamble. Based on feedback, the company is already developing additional features for Chrome’s business edition.

Microsoft (News - Alert) has long provided the ability to create a customized deployment package for Internet Explorer through its Internet Explorer Administration Kit. Mozilla (News - Alert) also offers some options for setting up Firefox in an organization. Whether you use Chrome or not, it’s good to see Google giving IT admins the means to deploy and manage its own increasingly popular browser.

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