Your modernization journey starts with the endpoint. A Forrester Consulting study shows why.

In today’s digital age, endpoints are a business requirement for collaborating with coworkers, engaging with customers, and building great products. However, with a rise in cyber attacks, increased scrutiny on cost, and pressure to innovate, IT departments require a new kind of endpoint that improves user experience, simplifies management, increases security and reduces costs—which are some of the key traits of what we refer to as the modern endpoint.

We commissioned Forrester Consulting to survey 652 IT professionals to explore the meaning of a modern endpoint to IT departments, which Forrester further defines in the study as “a mix of multiple next-generation capabilities that center around artificial intelligence (AI), web-based applications, the cloud, and the integration of data.” ¹

The study found that IT leaders are “prioritizing initiatives that lead to a modern endpoint.” In particular, the study found that “IT leaders are prioritizing AI, web-based applications, and endpoint management in the cloud because these initiatives are core to a modern endpoint and will allow businesses to evolve with their employees and customers needs.”¹

Specific to AI, the study found that IT respondents' “number-one priority over the next 12 months is to enable end users to take advantage of AI on the endpoint.”¹ The study talks specifically to productivity gains for IT staff, who can use AI to “automate repetitive tasks, analyze data from endpoint devices and plan maintenance, or analyze user behavior to create more personalized computing experiences.” ¹

Businesses starting their journey to a true modern endpoint should consider adopting ChromeOS. In this blog post, we’ll visit three of the four key findings from the Forrester Consulting study “Delivering the Next-Generation endpoint,” and show how ChromeOS can help businesses realize their modern endpoint needs.

1. Endpoint security, management, and deployment are the top barriers to a modern endpoint.

In the study, Forrester consulting found that IT respondents indicated that they spent nearly half of their working hours on endpoint security (19%), management (15%), and deployment (14%).¹

ChromeOS can help IT departments reduce time securing, managing, and deploying devices. With regards to security, ChromeOS is built to be secure at every layer: at the lowest level, every ChromeOS device relies on Verified Boot which checks for tampering; second, every app and tab on ChromeOS is sandboxed, meaning each app has a clear perimeter in which it can operate; and third, by making the web the core application platform, apps are simply secure by design, with much more control over how they interact with powerful device features. This means that ransomware simply can't run on ChromeOS devices.*

The result? There has never been a successful ransomware or virus attack reported on ChromeOS devices—ever.*

ChromeOS can be centrally managed alongside your other devices via the web-based Google Admin console. From there, IT administrators gain a comprehensive view, allowing them to monitor and manage devices, track application deployments and versions, and control device policies and settings at scale, with changes applied across the fleet in seconds. Additionally, admins can revoke user access and securely wipe data from devices when necessary.

With zero-touch enrollment, it’s possible to deploy a fleet of ChromeOS devices without IT interaction. ChromeOS devices can be shipped directly to your end users, who can then get started in minutes—with policies, settings and apps all instantly applied on first boot as the user connects to the internet and signs in.

2. Web applications are the key to a modern endpoint.

While AI was identified as IT’s top priority, the study identified the second-highest priority over the next 12 months as the need to embrace more web-based applications, with 81% of respondents saying that “adopting web-based applications is part of their organization’s digital transformation goals.”¹ Forrester Consulting also found that 90% of surveyed IT respondents believe the future of end user computing is web-based and 78% of respondents indicated that companies that don’t embrace the web will be left behind.¹

The study found that IT departments perceive web-based applications not only as collaboration drivers, but as beneficial for IT departments as well. Why? Quoted from the study, “When the majority of applications that employees use are web-based, it makes all other elements of endpoint management easier to achieve, from simplifying management and improving security to unlocking the power of AI.”¹ In addition to the security benefits mentioned previously, the web helps businesses streamline ecosystem support, access, and deployment.

With progressive web apps, key software partnerships featured in Chrome Enterprise Recommended, simple application management, and more, ChromeOS can be the catalyst for businesses to realize the benefits of the web.

3. Achieving a modern endpoint benefits the business.

Finally, let's talk about cost. Forrester Consulting found that moving towards a modern endpoint would reduce costs to the IT department by roughly 19%, with 57% believing it will help reduce costs for the IT department.¹ Modern endpoints help IT departments save beyond the endpoint—including infrastructure costs, security software, support costs, and more.

ChromeOS devices can help streamline IT, slashing overall costs beyond the hardware, saving businesses $463 per device on average according to IDC.² These savings carry over even when deploying Chromebook Plus, a category of high performance laptops with powerful AI capabilities, and greater hardware specs at a greater value. Chromebook Plus comes with 10 years of automatic updates, staying secure and usable for even longer.

Embracing a modern endpoint strategy with ChromeOS can solve the most pressing IT challenges faced today. Check out the Forrester Consulting Study to learn more about the modern endpoint, or contact one of our team members to learn more about ChromeOS.

^{1 Forrester Consulting 2024 Modern Endpoint Research, sponsored by Google, April 2024}

^{2 IDC Business Value Paper, sponsored by Google, The Business Value of ChromeOS, doc #49920522, March 2024}

^{*As of May 2024 there has been no evidence of any documented, successful virus attack or ransomware attack on ChromeOS. Data based on ChromeOS monitoring of various national and internal databases.}