Google and VMWare announce partnership to give Chrome OS access to Windows applications

In a move to get Chromebooks more involved in the enterprise space, Google and VMWare have announced a partnership. The move will allow Chromebook users access to their Windows applications and desktop. Using the web and cloud solutions as the backbone, Chromebooks will now be able to use Windows — anywhere they like.

VMWare is using their Horizon DaaS technology to manage Windows remotely, via the cloud. Using their Blast HTML5 technology, VMWare wants to allow any device to access their Windows app via a mobile device. Chromebooks are the easiest option here, but not the only.

VMWare Vice President and General Maanger of End-User computing Sanjay Poonen said “VMware’s End-User Computing mission is to radically simplify IT and enable customers to run any application, anywhere, any place, and any time, so they can work at the speed of life”. Echoing that point was Google’s Amit Singh, who said “Chromebooks are designed for the way people use computers today and are a secure, easy and cost-effective solution to help organizations embrace a new way of doing business. Through our partnership with VMware, businesses can now capitalize on these advantages with access to legacy applications, data and desktops they need to keep employees productive”.

As the PC market shrinks and Chromebooks become more widely used, solutions like this will make the Chromebook attractive to a segment that is holding onto tradition: enterprise. Though it’s still Windows as a back-end solution, businesses can now utilize Chromebooks for their employees, accessing everything via VMWare.