Google LLC today announced that it’s strengthening the security of its Chrome Enterprise operating system for business users with a bunch of new features and partnerships aimed at protecting devices in the far reaches of the cloud.

Google launched Chrome Enterprise last August as a solution for businesses managing large deployments of devices running Chrome OS, the operating system that powers Google Chromebooks and other devices. Chrome Enterprise is a specially crafted subscription service for larger enterprises that comes with management options for information technology administrators, allowing them to control different devices and ensure better uniformity.

At the time it was launched, many saw Chrome Enterprise as a way for Google to target businesses with its Chromebooks, which have already made a big impact in the education sector thanks to their affordability and ease of use and management.

Now Google seems to be trying to ramp up the appeal of its Chromebooks for business users even more. In a blog post today, the company reeled off a list of new partnerships around enterprise mobility management. Google said that with hardware, firmware, browsers, apps, and networks to protect, admins now face more risks than ever, while managing more devices than ever.

The partnerships build on Google’s original alliance with VMware Inc.’s AirWatch, which was the first third-party service capable of managing Chrome OS. Now, Google is offering expanded options with four new EMM partner platforms, including Cisco Systems Inc.’s Meraki and ZenMobile, IBM Corp.’s MaaS360 with Watson and Zoho Corp.’s customer relationship management platform.

There’s also a bunch of new security features for admins to play with. The main update is an enhancement to Chrome Enterprise’s Active Directory integration, which is designed to help admins manage Chrome OS devices alongside older infrastructure. These enhancements include the ability to configure managed extensions directly through Group Policy Objects, as well as support for common enterprise Active Directory setups like multiple domain scenarios.

The rest of the updates provide admins with more options for managing user permissions. New controls added to Chrome Enterprise include per-permission extension blacklisting, which allow admins to restrict the use of extensions based on the permissions they require, such as the ability to access a user’s webcam. A second new feature is the ability to disable sign-ins from outdated versions of Chrome OS, forcing users to keep their OS up to date with the latest security upgrades.

Additional updates include devicewide certificates that ensure only managed devices can connect to corporate servers, plus support for automatic forced re-enrollment, which enables devices that have had their data wiped to re-enroll with the corporate domain without the need for admin credentials.

Holger Mueller, vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research Inc., said it was good news for enterprises to see Google investing in its Chrome Enterprise efforts. By doing so, he said, Google is intensifying competition with its main rival Microsoft Corp., and that is always a good thing for customers.

“Partnerships like these are key to make it easier for enterprises to use Chrome Enterprise, as they need reliable, secure browser to run their next-generation applications,” Mueller said.

Image: Google