Google beefs up Chromebook business functionality

Google has updated its Chrome operating system to include several enterprise-friendly features, such as VPN and secure Wi-Fi support.

The updated Chrome OS, announced in a blog post on Wednesday by Chrome for Business group product manager Rajen Sheth, also allows Chromebook users to access virtualised desktop applications such as Photoshop, thanks to a tie-in with Citrix.

"Over the last few months we've gotten great feedback from many of our Chromebooks for Business and Education customers, and we're excited that this week's latest stable release of Chrome OS includes their top feature requests," Sheth wrote.

VPN support lets Chromebook users remotely access internal systems, while secure Wi-Fi introduces an authentication requirement for access to wireless networks and systems.

Also on Wednesday, Citrix put a technology preview of Citrix Receiver for Chrome OS into the Chrome Web Store. The use of this web app means Citrix customers can use their Chromebooks to access apps that usually require much heftier hardware, Adobe's Photoshop being Sheth's stated example.

"Also in this week's release, Chromebooks resume even more quickly — 32 percent faster in most cases," Sheth wrote, adding that Google Cloud Print's Print to Docs feature had also been added.

Although Chrome OS had been trailed for a while beforehand, Google only properly unveiled its Chromebook devices in May.

The network-centric mini-laptops offer very quick start-up times and are comparable in price to netbooks. Their key distinguishing feature, though, is their reliance on web apps and other cloud-based services.