There are a few constants in life that we count on: sunrises, sunsets, and device refresh cycles. In fact, due to the changing security landscape, it’s recommended that employees’ devices should be replaced at least every four years. This is not only a massive capital expense and time sink, but a substantial expense to the planet as well. With an estimated +40 million tons of e-waste generated per year, that’s like throwing away 800 laptops per second!

To improve those refresh cycles, increase endpoint security, reduce costs, and provide a more sustainable hybrid work solution, we encourage you to consider Citrix with ChromeOS Flex!

ChromeOS Flex is a FREE security upgrade from Google that allows you to turn your existing fleet of PCs, Macs, or thin clients into modern, secure, and fast ChromeOS devices. Entirely compatible with Citrix DaaS, this solution is a game-changer for your endpoint device strategy.

Make Ransomware Threats a Thing of the Past

Ransomware attacks on your PCs are certainly something to fear — with an average total cost of $4.62 million per attack in 2021. And with 37 percent of global organizations falling victim to some form of ransomware attack last year, it’s not really a question of if your organization will be hit, but when.

That is, unless you are leveraging ChromeOS devices across your organization. By converting your old PCs, Macs, or thin client with ChromeOS Flex, you can easily move to an operating system that has never had a reported ransomware attack — ever. Combined with 500+ additional security policies available with Chrome Enterprise Upgrade, automatic and proactive security updates, remote wipe capabilities, and the ability to keep all sensitive data off the physical device with Citrix DaaS, you can rest a little easier knowing that Citrix and Google are providing you with the most secure hybrid work solution yet.

Unify Device Management and Deployment

With the ability to convert all your existing PCs, Macs, and thin clients to ChromeOS (again, at no cost!), you can now unify your device management strategy with the Chrome Enterprise Upgrade — a management license that allows IT to control ALL ChromeOS devices (both converted ChromeOS Flex devices and new Chromebooks or Chromeboxes) easily from the cloud.

Plus, with Citrix’s integration in the Google Admin console, IT can easily configure user credentials and devices with their custom app and desktop workspaces provided by Citrix DaaS, further streamlining administrative management and reducing provisioning times.

Provide Consistent, Customized Experiences for Your Users

The beauty of the Citrix Workspace app is consistency — providing users with the same experience and tools no matter what device they use — including PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, and now even converted ChromeOS Flex devices. This means that for your current Citrix users, not only will they have the advantage of familiarity to keep using the same device they’ve used for years, but once that device is converted with ChromeOS Flex (or even upgraded to a new Chromebook down the road), their Citrix Workspace user experience remains entirely consistent, as well.

Of course, Citrix also helps to bridge that gap for new users who still need to use or have grown accustomed to using a Windows or Linux desktop. Citrix DaaS provides access to full-featured Windows and Linux apps and desktops on ChromeOS devices, so employee productivity is never sacrificed during the device conversion or refresh process.

Significantly Reduce Costs and Maximize Existing Investments

So, what’s better than being able to delay spending thousands or millions of dollars on new devices while actually upgrading to a more secure operating system for free? Honestly, it’s hard to beat that, but the additional savings in administrative time and operational costs does make a strong case, as well. Not only did 41 percent of organizations say that reduced IT operational expenses was their No. 1 benefit realized by using VDI/DaaS, but an ESG study estimated that by moving to a ChromeOS device strategy with Chrome Enterprise Upgrade, organizations could realize 63 percent lower administrative costs when compared to managing a fleet of PCs.

Achieve Your Sustainability Goals

Upgrading and extending the life of existing hardware certainly reduces e-waste and saves your organization significant costs on your device refresh budget, but did you know you can also save on energy costs, as well? A recent customer study found that old devices converted with ChromeOS Flex reduced electricity consumption and associated emissions by an average of 19 percent. Plus, when your organization is ready to introduce new Chromebooks, you (and the environment) can benefit from even more efficiencies and power management capabilities, utilizing 46 percent less energy consumption than comparable competitor devices.

Citrix Ready-Validated Solutions for Healthcare and Contact Centers

With the healthcare sector proving to be the leading target of ransomware attacks, it’s no surprise that the ransomware-free track record that the joint Citrix and ChromeOS solution boasts has been quickly gaining momentum across the industry. In an effort to streamline integrations of Citrix and ChromeOS Flex with existing healthcare technology investments, such as Imprivata badge scanners or Honeywell barcode scanners, we have tested and validated a variety of apps, devices and peripherals on ChromeOS and Citrix DaaS. These products can be combined in any combination so the “bundle” works out-of-the-box which improves deployment time and the overall experience for end-users.

Similarly, we also have  Citrix Ready-validated solutions for Contact Centers with apps like RingCentral and peripherals like Poly Headsets, to provide you with a seamless deployment of Citrix DaaS and ChromeOS across your distributed call center agents.

Getting Started

Installing ChromeOS Flex couldn’t be easier — simply download it to a USB drive to try it out or install on your device of choice. For mass conversions of hundreds or thousands of devices, the ChromeOS team has supplied several network deployment options to choose from. For a list of devices already certified for ChromeOS Flex, check out this document.

To learn more about the benefits of Citrix and ChromeOS Flex, check out this webinar and solution brief. If you have additional questions on ChromeOS Flex, reach out to citrixready@citrix.com.