4 more reasons to use Chrome’s cloud-based management

Millions of organizations use Chrome every day to keep their businesses productive and secure. However, many companies aren’t actively managing the browsers they deploy.  Managing the browser is vital, because it allows you to customize it to the needs of your business, and help you protect against security risks, such as data loss and shadow IT.

Chrome Browser Cloud Management is our no-cost, cloud-based management tool that allows you to manage Chrome across operating systems and devices. Hundreds of policies and controls can be configured for Chrome, right from the cloud. It can help IT and security teams with:

• Efficiency: Manage with ease across platforms on and off network

• Security: Secure by default with even more control

• Visibility: Use insights to drive IT decision making

• Flexibility: Customize to meet company needs

For this post, let’s focus on the most recent capabilities and improvements we’ve made to Chrome Browser Cloud Management:

Get started managing quickly in the Google Admin console with new Chrome Guides

We recently launched Chrome Guide modules to help new admins get started with Chrome Browser Cloud Management - and the best part - they’re right in the Google Admin console! You can get step-by-step instructions on enrolling your first browser, setting policies and viewing reports. If you are just getting started, these are especially helpful. Stay tuned for more guides on advanced Chrome Browser Cloud Management workflows coming soon! 

View apps & extension details

Now you can get even more information about specific extensions and apps that are deployed across your organization in one easy place. Some key details include all the public information about the extension, a breakdown of the extension usage, what versions are installed, the requested permissions, and the websites an extension is permitted to run on. 

With the move to a new extension platform (Manifest v3) fast approaching, we also added manifest versions of extensions to this view. We’ll also be adding a warning icon to the Apps & Extension Usage Report for extensions that are still on Manifest v2 in early 2023 to support enterprises through this transition.  This will provide additional visibility to IT teams to have a change management plan in place for extensions that are still Manifest v2.

Increase security insights

Security is more top of mind than ever before - and Chrome Browser Cloud Management supports how your teams approach security. The security investigation tool in the Google Admin console allows you to see all Chrome events in an Audit log format and set up custom alerts triggered by events. We’ve recently allowed admins to configure alerts for Extension Requests, and more events are in development,  including extension installs and inactive browser deletions.

A newer capability we launched this year enables organizations to integrate other security solutions to get additional protections and insights on top of Chrome. This includes real-time security insights and reporting options, where enterprises can see critical security events and information from Chrome, like password breaches, unsafe visits and more, within Chrome Browser Cloud Management.

Export more data

One of the biggest benefits of Chrome Browser Cloud Management is all of the reports that are readily available to IT teams. Some customer favorites are Version Report, Apps & Extensions report and the managed browser list. We launched CSV export for these reports, which allows you to export your browser deployment data and make more data-driven decisions for your organization.  We just increased the entry pagination limit in these reports to 150,000, which is extremely helpful if you have a lot of your browser data living in Chrome Browser Cloud Management.

To see all of these capabilities and more in action and get a sneak peek at what’s coming next, register for our Chrome Insider virtual event, where Chrome experts will share tips and demos.

To learn more about how you can use Chrome Browser Cloud Management in your organization and sign up to get started, visit our website. And if you’re wondering if it’s the right solution for your business, we have this handy assessment tool that recommends management options for your team.