IT leaders are facing the challenge of making progress in all three components of the triple bottom line: the planet, people and profitability. A simple change in operating system can help address these challenges and drive sustainable value for all three, says Digicloud Africa, ChromeOS reseller enablement partner in Africa.

Nick Treurnicht, Google certified professional workspace and Chrome administrator at Digicloud Africa, says: “ChromeOS is gaining traction in South Africa and around the world. What we have seen in the past few years is a growing understanding that it’s not just for ‘easy, vanilla’ deployments, it’s building an ecosystem of applications and complex problems it can solve.”

Max Wijnbladh, Google partner engineer, said: “ChromeOS has evolved over the years to offer expanded functionality for every use case – businesses can run legacy applications and integrate various apps and systems seamlessly. To really deepen the impact, ChromeOS is partnering with a broader ecosystem of solution providers. The Chrome Enterprise recommended third-party solutions programme has tried and tested solutions in different pillars, and we now have a much stronger and more robust story when talking to customers. There has been a lot happening on the Cameyo front, for example.”

Cameyo provides secure cloud desktops on ChromeOS, delivering any Windows, SaaS or internal app to ChromeOS users. “The biggest misconception we have in the market is that the switch to ChromeOS would require you to run only Google apps,” says Wijnbladh. “People can use most of the applications they are currently using on Windows/macOS on ChromeOS as well.”

Boosting sustainability with ChromeOS Flex

Wijnbladh said: “We have seen a strong increase in Chromebook sales since around 2020, when they overtook macOS device sales in the US market. Significantly, there has been a surge in adoption of ChromeOS Flex – which turns any computing device into a Chromebook.”

ChromeOS Flex for PCs and Macs is proving the easiest way to revitalise devices and obtain the ChromeOS experience without having to acquire a Chromebook. Importantly, no ransomware attack has ever been reported on a ChromeOS device, Wijnbladh noted.

Data and files are automatically backed up to the cloud and recoverable, and ChromeOS also blocks arbitrary executables – the primary way malware infiltrates traditional operating systems. System files are kept in a separate partition to ensure the OS cannot be modified by apps or extensions, and security is enhanced with Google safe browsing and automatic updates.

Wijnbladh said: “ChromeOS Flex adoption is picking up among enterprises – especially for use on shared devices, kiosks and in hybrid workforces. It is very easy for them to get started, using older hardware. Large organisations are opting to install ChromeOS Flex instead of replacing their fleets of machines, which extends the lifetime of the devices and reduces their carbon footprint.”

Because ChromeOS is lightweight and cloud-first, a PC or Mac running ChromeOS Flex could see improved performance and battery life.

Treurnicht said: “When an older device takes long to boot up, it’s the OS that is causing this. A ChromeOS device boots fast, doesn’t slow down over time and updates automatically in the background. If something goes wrong, you can just wipe it and put it back to the factory default.”

He said ChromeOS adoption is growing among start-ups and innovators as well as more established companies. Companies who are currently Google Workspace users can make the switch very easily, but the journey is simple for companies of any size, making computing sustainable, simple and secure.

About Digicloud Africa
Digicloud Africa is Google’s chosen enablement partner in Africa. Through Digicloud, Google is creating an ecosystem of Google Cloud partners across the continent. Digicloud supports its partner network by providing the necessary training, tools and resources needed to implement cloud solutions and support to their customers successfully. As customer demands for technology intensify, Digicloud is increasing its investment in supporting its partners to achieve sustainable growth. Digicloud’s partner enablement helps organisations build skills around open, advanced technologies to go to market with outcome-based solutions. Find Digicloud Africa on LinkedIn.