With the new Chrome OS Flex from Google, you can turn your crappy old Windows PC or Mac into a Chromebook workhorse and help save the planet. And it isn't only for schools with aging PC’s. Nordic Choice has decided to “Chrome-ify” their whole PC fleet. Who will be next to follow?
In 2020, Google acquired Neverware, a New York City -based software company that made CloudReady, an application that allows you to convert a PC into a device that runs Chrome OS.
Under the Google umbrella, CloudReady has been rebranded to Chrome OS Flex, but the product has the same promise: It will turn a crappy old, slow and insecure Windows PC into a full-fledged Chromebook.
So who will benefit the most from usingChrome OS Flex?
In particular those that have a large fleet of old PCs and very limited budgets. That is rarely uncommon, but something that is seen more often in the public sector and not the least in schools.
But also, many privately held companies should consider Chrome OS Flex. There is a lot to be gained not only on the economic side, but also with regards to the environment, and not the least on the security side.
With Chrome OS Flex, you can:
- Reduce your company's carbon footprint and environmental impact. By making the most out of your existing hardware and extending its lifespan, you will reduce e-waste and the negative impacts from e-waste handling and new hardware production. Chrome OS Flex is also more energy-efficient and reduces carbon emissions by utilizing computing power from green data centers.
- Lower the IT spend. By extending the life of your existing hardware, you lower the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Chrome OS Flex is also easier to manage and requires less operating personnel, so that you can move more of your IT spend from keeping the lights on to digitalization and innovation.
- Make your employees, pupils, or students happy (again). Chrome OS Flex provides you with a fast, modern work experience from anywhere. Slow computers are making their users unproductive and unhappy. Over time, a bad inflexible work experience demotivates your pupils, students, or workers. With Chrome OS Flex, you and your colleagues will enjoy devices that start up faster, don’t slow down over time, and updates in the background, reducing device downtime. You get fast access to a virtual desktop and web apps in an intuitive, clutter-free, and reliable experience.
- Proactive security. We're constantly reading news about companies that have suffered heavy losses due to cybercrime. In recent years, IT security has become a hot topic as never before, and consequences from such crime can put your business out of business. With Chrome OS Flex, blocked executables and sandboxing technology eliminates the need for antivirus software. IT controls prevent data loss on lost or stolen devices.
Nordic Choice paves the way for Chrome Os Flex
In December 2021, a big virus attack affected systems and computers at Nordic Choice, one of the largest hotel groups in the Nordic region, with more than 200 hotels and 17,000 employees in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
The attack was by an aggressive ransomware virus, which meant all the affected computers were encrypted and effectively unusable. Nordic Choice desperately needed to renew their computer fleet. But instead of buying new hardware, existing PCs were converted to Chrome OS Flex.
In less than 24 hours, the first hotel was operating in the Chrome OS ecosystem from Google. And in the following two days, 2000 more computers were converted all over the company.
The bottom line: Nordic Choice saves millions, avoids tons of electronics waste, gets happier employees and extends their computer’s lifespan, while increasing security at the same time.
Both financially and environmentally, the savings are jaw-dropping. By changing software instead of hardware, Nordic Choice Hotels claim themselves that they will save more than 60 million NOK (6.1 mill. EUR) and save the planet at least 1,750 tons of CO2 emissions! And that comes in addition to the estimated 25% lower electricity consumption from computers running Google’s OS.
Nordic Choice Hotels will convert around 4,000 computers in total. In addition to saving the planet's climate gas emissions from producing and transporting new hardware, the company also avoids 4 tons of electronics waste. The computers are estimated to get an extended lifespan of around 60 percent from the conversion.
– This is the perfect project. It will also ease the working day for our employees when they don’t have to spend their time and frustration on outdated computers. The company is already working with cloud computing, so it was an easy decision to make when we learned how much we would save financially and greenhouse gas emissions by cooperating with Google on the conversion, says Torgeir Silseth, CEO at Nordic Choice Hotels in a press release.
I urge you to try out the cloud-first, fast, easy-to-manage and secure Chrome OS for PCs and Mac’s. Chrome OS Flex is a free and sustainable way to modernize devices you already own. It’s easy to deploy across your fleet, and even easier to try for yourself to see what a cloud-first OS has to offer. The Cloud People can help both small companies and large enterprises with adopting Chrome OS Flex.