Why Chromebooks do have a role in your enterprise

Reaction to Google’s Chromebook announcement this week has ranged from wildly positive to, shall we say, less than positive. Regarding naysayers, I’m reminded of Clayton Christensen’s writings on sustaining versus disruptive innovation. Chromebook is a disruptive innovation, and it will play a growing role in tomorrow’s IT department. I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it now: Plan ahead to use Chrome OS and Chromebooks in your enterprise.

ZDnet’s Ed Bott isn’t sold on the value or success potential of Chromebooks. He came up with five reasons why Chromebook isn’t a Windows killer. I’d like to respond to Bott’s five points.

[ InfoWorld’s Galen Gruman has been beta-testing Chrome OS since December: Read his take on its fit. | Get the key insights on open source news and trends from InfoWorld’s Technology: Open Source newsletter. ]

1. Google’s pricing strategy is a step toward IT as a service

Bott says that the price ($349 to $469 if you buy one outright, or $28 per month to rent from Google) is too high “for a glorified netbook.” However, Bott is focusing on the acquisition cost, not the total cost of ownership.

Back in 2008, Gartner estimated the total cost of a $1,500 notebook over a four-year period could range between $5,033 and $9,900. The ongoing cost far outweighed the initial cost by between 236 and 560 percent.

Google bundles the hardware, OS, maintenance, and some administration cost into that $28 per user per month. Companies can opt to pay $50 per user per year separately for Google Apps, an alternative to Microsoft Office and Microsoft Exchange. On a monthly basis, these two prices net out to under $35 per user per month.

Another point to consider is that the monthly fee, versus an upfront hardware cost, allows companies to plan their IT budgets more effectively. Some may see the pricing as allowing companies to move dollars from capital expenditures to operational expenses.

2. Automatic updates don’t have to be a nightmare

Google claims that automatic updates enable a continuously improving system. However, Bott says that pushing updates to users can sometimes break things, and he calls them a nightmare.

The key difference between Chromebooks versus Windows PCs or Macs is there is only an operating system (really a browser) to update on a Chromebook. The apps are all Web apps, which don’t reside on the Chromebook. Google and Chrome OS app providers can update their applications on their servers; they’re no pushing out the changed application. Users connect to the Web and always run the most current version of the application.

3. All apps that some users need can run in a browser

Bott rightly calls into question whether a Chromebook is appropriate for everyone in your enterprise. A Chromebook isn’t going to be relevant for your programmers or graphic designers, as Bott calls out, but could your knowledge workers — or some portion of them — use a Chromebook? Absolutely.

Bott also calls into question the value of using a desktop virtualization technology, like Citrix, to provide access to native applications that a Chromebook can’t support. However, the ability to use Citrix reads to me like a simple way for Google to deflect IT check-off questions versus something that a typical Chromebook adopter would actually do. A Chromebook is for using the Web, not running Office over a tunneled connection.

4. Universal connectivity and offline access are not a pipe dream

Bott asks, “Do you really want to bet the productivity of your entire workforce on having reliable, fast Internet access everywhere?” But most knowledge workers spend considerable time at the office, coffee shops, or home — all places where an Internet connection is readily available.

Additionally, Google had already announced that offline access to Google Apps is forthcoming. It’s only a matter of time before other Web applications use HTML5’s local storage capability to offer offline functionality.

Bott also mentions the issue of a user needing access to documents stored on a server somewhere, when they are unable to find an Internet connection. The ability to store, say, the last 50 documents viewed in Google Apps on the 16GB of a Chromebook’s local storage would be a sensible response from Google to that need.

5. Understand the security implications of using Chromebooks

Google claims that its sandboxing, encryption, and recovery capabilities provide a higher degree of security than current PC environments, but Bott asks whether you’re ready to bet your company on Google’s security feature claims. He also questions whether you want your company’s business data stored on Google’s servers.

These are valid concerns. However, these concerns apply to any corporate use of a Web-based technology, be it Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, or Amazon EC2.

Not ever company is willing to trust its data to Google. But it might trust some information to Google — or to other Web app providers or even its own data center, from which it may offer its own Web apps. First, decide which users would be the best targets for a Chromebook, then consider the data they access, create, and store before making your trust decision on security — treating it as an all-or-nothing proposition is a false choice.

Evaluate Chromebooks with a long-term view

Consider Chromebooks as a way to make your IT environment more flexible and responsive to users. Don’t ignore Chromebooks because they’re not the right solution for each and every user in your company. Pick a set of users whose needs align with the benefits of Chromebooks and consider a trial rollout. After all, isn’t that what IT is supposed to do with any new technology?

Follow me on Twitter at SavioRodrigues. I should state: “The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies, or opinions.”

This article, “Why Chromebooks do have a role in your enterprise,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Savio Rodrigues’s Open Sources blog and follow the latest developments in open source at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.