Why the enterprise browser is the missing piece in your cloud evolution journey.
Most businesses today have made significant progress on their digital transformation journeys. As business leaders, many of us have been on this path for so long now that we’re already forgetting some of the significant developments we’ve tackled along the way.
Think about implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool. That used to be a massive on-prem project, involving thousands of consultants and an outrageous expense. Then, a couple of progressive ERPs appeared in the cloud, allowing businesses to configure them, rather than implement them. For many businesses, this shift was the first taste of not owning their own infrastructure.
Over time, even more cost-effective and robust networks have come on the scene, allowing businesses to publish directly into their environments without worrying about traffic management. We’ve shifted our applications and data centers to the cloud, managing and running our networks from those same locations.
Some of us ran blissfully into the cloud, and some others had to be dragged, kicking and screaming. But we’re here now. And the cloud has delivered on many promises, driving better end-user experience, better availability, and better security.
However, something fundamental is still lagging behind. Workloads, apps, and data have all made the cloud journey. But when it comes to endpoints – including the browsers we use to execute our work, every single day – we are still behaving in the same way we were pre-cloud.
Think about it: What the average consumer browser does today is no different than 10 years ago. The network, infrastructure, end user, and tools have all changed, but the browser has not.
But with this transformation to the cloud, businesses also need something new from their web browser. The enterprise browser is the modern keystone to enhancing and completing this cloud journey while ensuring a win-win-win between line of business, security, and end users.
Securing web browsers for the cloud era
In terms of the security, visibility, and control needed in today’s corporate environment, consumer browsers are no longer cutting it.
Initially, web browsers were just flat file readers. Then we realized we might visit unsafe sites, which led to web filtering and malware scanning. Then, as we started to move important applications to the web, we also had to find ways to govern the data we interact with.
Traditionally, organizations have addressed these emerging challenges by layering on security technologies outside the browser. We’ve been forcing the browser to behave without making it a collaborative member of the cloud journey.
The result is a frustrating tradeoff between security and innovation. For instance, while business leaders are eager to use generative AI to stay competitive, cautious security teams often pull back. This clash has given rise to “Shadow IT,” where business teams bypass security to push forward with their projects.
For example, imagine using Excel or writing a loan document without the capability to copy and paste because it’s been completely turned off for security reasons. This binary approach to security is no longer tenable. Organizations want to empower their employees to be able to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. And to do that safely, they need a more flexible way to govern how and when it is done.
With the enterprise browser, this vision becomes a reality.
The enterprise browser empowers organizations to safeguard users and data precisely where those users engage with SaaS and internal web applications — protecting operations such as printing, copy, paste, downloads, uploads, and extensions; more advanced security requirements such as data redaction, watermarking, and adding multi-factor authentication where not previously supported; as well as built-in safe browsing, web filtering, exploit prevention, and zero trust network access.
By embedding security controls and integrating them into existing ones with the dexterity to run various policies and controls, the enterprise browser becomes a collaborative member of the estate, benefiting line of business, security, and user experience. It’s not just a secure browser or an automation tool, but a modern browser built for business.
Moving beyond virtual desktop infrastructure
And the enterprise browser’s benefits go well beyond security.
Let’s talk about one of the primary compromises we made along this digital transformation journey: virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). Originally, these technologies were meant to push fat apps to the edge and help users access them from anywhere.
VDI became increasingly common with the growth in bring-your-own-device (BYOD), involving a device the business doesn’t own and a worker who often has high accessibility. Traditional approaches to BYOD involve complex configurations, VDI, VPNs, and mobile device management systems (MDMs), which often lead to ownership and cost issues.
But today, businesses and users alike have had it with the shortcomings of VDI and their ilk. Users click on their desktop to interact with a server far away, which then backhauls the traffic to a scanning location and back to the application. This process involves numerous steps and hurdles. Where VDI was once a work facilitator, it is now a data barrier – not to mention a security risk and an enormous cost outlay for organizations with lots of contractors or a highly dispersed workforce.
What we’ve now realized is that we’re still asking VDI to do things that it doesn’t need to do for reasons it wasn’t built for. The result is a painful, expensive process with speed bumps that most businesses are eager to eliminate.
Plus, we’ve moved past the days when our endpoints were undersized. Ten years ago, my laptop would be hot to the touch at the end of a video chat session. Today, my machine is completely over-scoped for how I use it. But as a result of these endpoints becoming more robust, they also enable a better, more cost-effective, and secure end-user experience.
It’s time to let VDI get back to doing what it does best – and let our modern endpoints handle security and user experience natively. And we can do that with an enterprise browser.
In contrast to VDI and other cloud journey compromises, the enterprise browser offers a familiar user experience that lets contractors, remote workers, and new hires login and start working right away, without risking data. There’s no need to wait for corporate devices or IT setup. Not only is it a cheaper solution, but it also allows for customizations tailored to each employee’s role and the company’s brand and culture. And best of all, the enterprise browser can connect from anywhere – lag free.
Facilitating the cloud journey with the enterprise browser
It’s undeniable that we’re now in a cloud-first world. And at this point in the digital transformation journey, all signs are pointing to the enterprise browser.
The enterprise browser simplifies security, improves visibility and compliance, and enhances the user experience by delivering what app makers designed without unnecessary lags or layers of abstraction. It is fundamentally transforming how businesses interact with their critical applications, ensuring security, efficiency, and a superior end-user experience.
As we all push further into the cloud, it’s clear that the enterprise browser is a key component in modernizing endpoints and completing the digital transformation journey.
See all the ways CIOs are realizing full cloud potential with the enterprise browser.
