Point to Point partners with Google to bring Windows-based business-critical applications to Chromebooks

Interest from larger businesses in the Google environment is growing as organisations consider alternatives to traditional computing platforms. According to technology analyst group, Gartner, by 2017, sales of Chromebooks are set to reach 14.4 million units. The analyst’s latest report estimates that 5.2 million Chromebooks will ship this year, and that this figure will triple by 2017.

Organisations are tempted by Chromebooks that offer all the features business users expect from a laptop – long battery life, full-sized keyboards and access to all the business applications they need – with the added bonus of easy management through Google Management Console.

A fundamental challenge, however, for many enterprises looking to adopt Chromebooks for their users is how to deliver their Windows-based business-critical line-of-business apps such as HR, finance and sales to Chrome devices.

Virtualisation delivers the best of both worlds
A Citrix partner for almost two decades Point to Point has been using its virtualisation expertise to help its customers innovate in their business, provide better employee engagement and improve customer experiences. For enterprises looking to trial Google as one element of their end user computing solution, Citrix virtualisation technology enables organisations to still utilise existing business critical legacy apps but also give them the opportunity to see how Google Chromebook devices can drive a new way of computing in the enterprise. Additionally the recent announcement around the new Citrix Receiver for Chrome, means that Chromebook users can now get very advanced user experience features.

Jon Hunt, Business Development Director at Point to Point said: “Applications remain at the core of what business users need to get their jobs done. However many are now rethinking their approach to end user computing, especially with the Windows XP end-of-life situation. With the virtualisation technology available today, Google Chromebooks are a viable alternative for organisations of all sizes and are helping enterprises to run any application, anywhere, any place, and any time.”

Kevin Bland, Senior Director, Channel and Alliances, Northern Europe, Citrix said: “Citrix has been at the forefront of enabling technologies for delivering applications securely to users regardless of their device type or location. We’ve worked with Point to Point for many years and the team’s knowledge and expertise in the virtualisation space is particularly strong. The partnership with Google as the UK’s first virtualisation partner for Google CMS is well-deserved and a reflection of the team’s pedigree in this area.”

30-Day Kick Start Programme
To help customers get a feel for the Google Chrome platform Point to Point has created the Google Kick-Start programme, a 30 day trial to road-test the Chrome Management Console alongside the virtualised environment. The trial will include (typically) Microsoft Office and one line of business for up to 10 users (devices are provided).