Google has found great success with Chrome OS in education given the affordability, easy management, and simplicity. In parallel, the company is continuing to push G Suite adoption in the enterprise market. The latest effort involves a Chromebook loaner program that companies can set up internally for employees named “Grab n Go.”
This new Chrome Enterprise program launching today is aimed at addressing device failures at work, and the costs related to that.
Devices are more than tools; they’re the home base where your employees go to connect, collaborate, and get their work done. So when an employee’s device is not working, the impact goes beyond the cost of replacement. There are the hours employees devote to troubleshooting devices instead of completing projects. Then there’s the time your IT team spends on repair and replacement when they could be focusing on more strategic initiatives. In fact, IHS estimates that IT downtime costs a large enterprise $60 million a year.
Google’s solution to get employees quickly up and running again involves “centrally-located racks with fully-charged Chromebooks” in the workplace that are available 24/7. Once an issue arises, workers can get a device, log in through their existing corporate account, and continue their day.
This model first originated within Google, with a Grab n Go program available in many of its offices around the world. In the past year, Google has seen more than 30,000 unique users and over 100,000 loans.
Besides device downtime, Google imagines that the Grab n Go model is also ideal for several other employee types:
- Frontline workers who only need devices for short periods of time—such as for training or sending emails.
- Shift workers in workplaces with shared devices, such as healthcare and call centers and can use virtualization solutions through Citrix and VmWare to access legacy apps.
- Remote workers who travel between office locations, or frequently work outside the office and need both a work and home device.
Upon sign-in, employees will get an email detailing how and when to return the device, as well as instructions to extend the loan.
No reset or set up is required for the next user, while all of a company’s management policies are immediately applied on start-up to ensure security, access to intranets, emails, and documents. Users will also have all bookmarks, passwords, extensions, browsing history, and personal settings loaded.
This program is launching as an Early Access Program, with interested companies able to register.
Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments