How Chrome is helping enterprises still using Windows 7

Editor's note: Chrome is extending support for Windows 7 until at least January 15, 2023. Learn more.

While the new year brings opportunity to rethink many aspects of business, this year, it also brings big changes for some businesses: on January 14, 2020 (just 5 days away), Microsoft will officially end support for Windows 7. If you’re like most enterprises, you’ve started the migration process and may already have a portion of your company now running on Windows 10. 

Operating system migrations are tricky (which is one reason many companies have adopted Chromebooks for parts of their workforce). IT teams want to make the move to the latest OS version quickly to take advantage of the latest security improvements and benefits, while limiting potential disruptions to user productivity. But the browser has become just as critical as the operating system for getting work done, especially when there’s major reliance on cloud and SaaS apps.

We have enterprises covered, even if they haven’t yet made the full move to Windows 10. We will continue to fully support Chrome on Windows 7 for a minimum of 18 months from Microsoft’s End of Life date, until at least July 15, 2021. So if you haven’t started your move to Windows 10 yet, or even if your organization is mid-way through migration, you can still benefit from the enterprise capabilities of Chrome.

First, a highly secure, fully updated browser

Running an OS outside of official support can leave organizations vulnerable to potential security threats. On Windows 7, Chrome will continue to provide built-in security capabilities that help keep users safe while on the web. With Safe Browsing, Site Isolation and new advanced password and phishing protections, Chrome proactively helps protect users working in the cloud. With policy management, IT teams can tighten controls as they see fit. And our fast update cycles mean better protection from vulnerabilities, especially for enterprises taking advantage of automatic updates. 

Second, a consistent browsing experience for your users

Users can work seamlessly between Windows 7 or Windows 10 because, with the help of Chrome, they’re able to pick up where they left off across operating system versions. And because your employees are already familiar with browsing in Chrome, they’ll experience less disruption once they do move to working in Windows 10. Even beyond Windows environments, employees can be productive on Chrome across different desktop and mobile platforms, without interruption. 

Lastly, unified management and visibility for IT

With Chrome Browser Cloud Management, IT teams can get browser insights and manage policies from one place, even across different Windows versions. You can also manage Chrome for Mac, Linux and Chromebooks from the same console. Prefer Group Policy? You can use the templates in our enterprise bundle (with hundreds of options for configuration). 

We understand the challenges IT teams face when migrating to a new OS. Rest assured that Chrome will give your organization the extra time you need, while still giving your IT teams a highly secure and manageable browser that people love to use at work. Check out all the tools you need on our website.