MS Office apps coming to Chrome OS enterprise devices thanks to deal with Parallels

Chrome OS has become increasingly capable in recent times but unless you work in a company that is fully committed to Google’s cloud-first G Suite of Office productivity solutions, choosing Chrome OS-based devices instead of Windows PC or Mac isn’t going to cut it. Things are, however, about to change. Google has teamed with Parallels to bring Microsoft’s Office applications and other legacy business focused software to Chrome for Enterprise devices.

Google has previously partnered with Parallels to bring this type of compatibility to Chrome OS devices in the past, but it has been served through the Parallels Remote Application Server. Parallels virtualization software will now be baked directly into Chrome OS for Enterprise machines by this fall allowing users to run Microsoft’s Office applications directly on a Chromebook through emulation. With Chrome OS deployed on devices running relatively recent Intel Core processors, the experience should prove reasonably seamless.

In a related blog post on the subject, Google says that the initiative has been spurred through the accelerated adoption of working remotely as a result of COVID-19. With more people likely to be going mobile with their work devices rather than being pinned to a desktop computer, Google clearly senses there is an opportunity to tap into what will be a new round of business investment. With compatibility with Microsoft’s Office suite baked into Chrome OS, it could persuade IT administrators to change horses.