Washington, June 7: Google has acquired Cameyo, the maker of an alternative to Citrix for virtual application delivery, to make legacy applications easier to access and manage on ChromeOS based devices like Chromebook.The two companies have worked together before, but ownership will enhance Google’s ability to offer a better experience for virtual applications and positions Chromebooks as a more attractive option for businesses that still rely on legacy applications.
“By bringing the Cameyo team’s expertise in-house, we are doubling down on our commitment to delivering a streamlined experience for virtualized applications,” Google’s head of product management for ChromeOS, Naveen Viswanatha, wrote in a blog post announcing the acquisition.
For businesses that have specific apps that run only on Windows moving to a new platform or a device such as a Chromebook that does not support Windows can be a challenge, despite Chromebooks offering significant advantages including cost for some.
Traditionally, businesses have used virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to operate legacy applications without having to install them on the new device. However, this approach has its challenges, including the need for specialized skill sets to manage and secure it and, from the end users’ point of view, latency in application response.
Another approach, the one taken by Cameyo, is virtual application delivery (VAD), which also runs the application on a remote server, but in a self-contained environment, isolated from the underlying operating system.
“This innovative approach to virtualization streamlines the delivery of legacy applications to any device, eliminating the need for a full desktop environment. VAD significantly simplifies application management, making it easier for IT teams to keep software up-to-date and secure, all while improving the end-user experience by making all apps accessible without needing to sign in to a separate virtual desktop environment first. With VAD, users have seamless access to both web-based and legacy apps side-by-side without having to change their behavior,” the blog post said.