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Drilling Down on Browser Data: Analyzing Browser Versions and Extensions with Browser Insights
June 25, 2025

Drilling Down on Browser Data: Analyzing Browser Versions and Extensions with Browser Insights

As organizations explore the shift to cloud-based operating systems, such as ChromeOS, gaining visibility into existing browser and extension usage is a critical first step. Understanding how employees interact with web environments helps IT teams and organizations make informed decisions and ensures a seamless and secure transition.

The ChromeOS Readiness Tool is a comprehensive compatibility assessment solution that evaluates application usage, device compatibility, and peripheral integration. One of its key features, Browser Insights, provides in-depth visibility into your organization’s web environment.

What is Browser Insights?

Browser Insights offers a centralized view of browser and extension usage across all managed devices. This feature equips IT teams with the insights needed to evaluate current browser setups and assess compatibility with ChromeOS and the Chrome Enterprise Browser.

Unpacking the Data: Browser Versions and Extension Details

Browser Insights captures detailed information about:

  • Browser Usage Statistics View usage trends for popular browsers such as Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi, and Brave.

  • Browser Version Data Understand which browser versions are deployed across devices, helping identify outdated browsers that may pose security or compatibility risks.

  • Extension Details Obtain a comprehensive list of extensions used across your organization, including details about each extension and the devices on which they are installed.

Key Benefits for Your Organization

  • Centralized Visibility All browser and extension data is aggregated in one place, simplifying web environment monitoring.

  • Improved Security Posture Retrieve extension details to identify unauthorized, unsecured, or outdated browser extensions, enabling proactive threat management and enforcement of safer browsing practices. 

  • Operational Efficiency Streamline browser management and policy enforcement, making IT decision-making more effective.

  • Enhanced Transition Readiness Evaluate web compatibility, identify browser risks, and enable a secure, seamless transition to ChromeOS with Chrome Enterprise.

Secure and Accessible Insights

Browser data collection is disabled by default and can only be enabled with explicit admin approval during installation, ensuring a compliant and controlled deployment process. Browser Insights are accessible only via the ChromeOS Readiness Tool’s web dashboard. Pro users can view this data directly, while Partner users may access it through their partner dashboards upon entering the specific private key. These insights appear alongside device and application readiness data, giving a complete picture of organizational compatibility.

By leveraging Browser Insights, organizations gain visibility into browser usage patterns, extension details, and identify potential security risks. This empowers IT teams to make informed, data-driven decisions and a clearer path towards a secure, optimized transition to ChromeOS.

Blog Editors Team

ChromeOS Readiness Tool

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Leveraging Raw Data: Unlocking Deeper Insights with ChromeOS Readiness Tool Reports in Looker, Tableau, and PowerBI
July 2, 2025

Leveraging Raw Data: Unlocking Deeper Insights with ChromeOS Readiness Tool Reports in Looker, Tableau, and PowerBI

In an era where data-driven strategies are essential to operational success, having full visibility into your IT environment is more critical than ever. For organizations planning a transition to ChromeOS, understanding compatibility at a deeper level is key. The ChromeOS Readiness Tool offers a robust solution for assessing ChromeOS readiness and its true analytical power is amplified when paired with external business intelligence tools like Looker, Tableau, or PowerBI through raw data exports.

The Power of Raw Data Export

The ChromeOS Readiness Tool’s web dashboard provides a high-level readiness score, breakdowns by compatibility, real-time device assessments, and peripheral insights. Beyond this dashboard view, the tool allows administrators to download raw data reports in Excel format. These downloadable reports offer two key overviews:

  • Overview of device readiness in an organization: A detailed analysis of device readiness and usage within the environment.

  • Overview of peripherals in an organization: An assessment of peripheral device compatibility across the organization.

Why Go Beyond the Dashboard? The Benefits of External Visualization

While the built-in dashboard offers valuable summaries, exporting raw data into BI tools like Looker, Tableau, or PowerBI unlocks even more powerful insights:

  • Enhanced Customization and Flexibility These Excel sheets can be imported into tools such as Looker, Tableau, or PowerBI to create tailored charts, graphs, and dashboards. This allows IT teams to present data based on their unique organizational structure and reporting needs, going far beyond default visualization capabilities.

  • Granular Insight and Targeted Action Raw data enables deeper analysis, whether it's focusing on devices with readiness issues, isolating applications marked as "Blocker" or "Possibly Ready," or exploring peripheral compatibility concerns. This level of detail supports targeted remediation planning.

  • Integration with Existing BI Ecosystems Many enterprises already utilize BI platforms to support various departments. Integrating ChromeOS readiness data with these systems provides a unified, enterprise-wide view, aligning IT planning with broader business strategies.

How to Create Your Visualizations

The process of transforming raw data into actionable dashboards is straightforward:

  1. Download the Reports Navigate to the “history reports section” in the ChromeOS Readiness Tool’s administrative interface and download the Excel-formatted raw data reports.

  2. Import into BI Tool Upload the Excel files into your BI platform of choice such as Looker, Tableau, or PowerBI, all of which support seamless integration with spreadsheet-based data sources.

  3. Design Your Visualizations Use the BI tool to create customized visuals. Examples include:

    • Interactive dashboards that highlight device and application readiness trends.

    • Reports focusing on high-risk areas like "Blocked from Switching" devices or heavily used “Blocker” applications.

    • Compatibility analyses of peripherals by device model or department.

    • Custom views that combine ChromeOS readiness data with HR, financial, or operational data for deeper context.

Driving Strategic Decisions with Data-Driven Insights

Visualizing ChromeOS Readiness Tool data externally provides the clarity required to support key business decisions:

  • Informed Migration Planning Identify user groups or departments "Ready to Switch" to pilot migrations, or focus efforts on addressing "Blocker" areas first ensuring a phased and manageable rollout.

  • Optimized Resource Allocation Determine where hardware upgrades, software licensing, or training efforts will yield the greatest returns.

  • Proactive Risk Mitigation Spot potential challenges early and develop mitigation plans before disruptions occur, ensuring smoother operations during the transition.

  • Business Justification Well-structured visual reports strengthen your case to leadership by clearly showing readiness, potential blockers, and expected ROI from ChromeOS adoption.

By pairing the raw data capabilities of the ChromeOS Readiness Tool with advanced BI platforms, organizations move from simple assessment to a strategic, data-driven migration journey. This powerful combination enables informed decision-making, reduces risk, and ensures your transition to ChromeOS is both smooth and future-focused.

Staying Ahead: Why Enabling Notifications for the ChromeOS Readiness Tool Is Essential for Your Migration Journey
July 1, 2025

Staying Ahead: Why Enabling Notifications for the ChromeOS Readiness Tool Is Essential for Your Migration Journey

In today’s emerging digital landscape, IT solutions must continuously evolve to address emerging challenges and support innovation. For organizations planning a transition to ChromeOS, the ChromeOS Readiness Tool plays a critical role in compatibility assessment and strategic decision-making. To fully leverage this tool and ensure a seamless migration experience, it is essential to stay informed about its latest updates, features, and expert insights.

The Tool’s Commitment to Continuous Enhancement

The ChromeOS Readiness Tool is designed to be dynamic and constantly evolving through ongoing development efforts. The tool’s database is regularly updated with new compatibility data and solutions, directly improving the accuracy of its assessments. For example, these updates help resolve “Unknown” application statuses, reducing ambiguity and enabling better planning.

By remaining agile and up to date, the tool ensures that your organization receives the most relevant, accurate, and actionable insights during your migration journey.

Key Benefits of Staying Updated

Enabling notifications and staying current with the ChromeOS Readiness Tool offers several key advantages:

  • Access to the Latest Features Regular enhancements introduce new capabilities to streamline the migration process. A recent update, for instance, added a Virtualization section to the Partner and Pro dashboards, along with a Cameyo Recommendation feature. These features assist teams in identifying which “Possibly Ready” or “Blocker” applications can be virtualized ensuring business continuity during the transition.

  • Improved Assessment Accuracy As the tool’s compatibility database expands, assessment accuracy increases. This leads to more precise application categorizations (ChromeOS-ready, Possibly ready, Blocker, Unknown) and clearer device readiness statuses (Ready to Switch, Ready with Verification, Blocked from Switching), equipping IT teams with reliable data to guide migration planning.

  • Enhanced Guidance and Expert Tips With each update, users gain access to expert recommendations, insights, and practical tips based on real-world use cases and trends. These insights are instrumental in solving common challenges and refining migration strategies.

  • A Smoother Transition Experience Staying current with tool enhancements ensures you are well-prepared to navigate the migration process efficiently. Real-time access to updates enables quicker decision-making, reduces risks, and helps prevent avoidable delays or issues.

How to Stay Informed

The ChromeOS Readiness Tool provides several options to ensure users remain up to date:

  • Enable Notifications The easiest and most direct way to stay informed is to allow notifications. These keep you informed of the latest product improvements, newly added features, and expert guidance.

  • Visit the “What’s New” Section The tool’s product page features a dedicated “What’s New” section, which highlights recent releases, enhancements, and updates. Checking this regularly ensures you’re aware of the most recent changes.

  • Track Version Releases Each release is marked by a specific version number (e.g., Version 1.11.2). Keeping track of the latest version allows you to confirm that your organization is benefiting from the most recent improvements.

Final Thoughts

By proactively enabling notifications and staying aligned with the latest updates, your organization can maximize the benefits of the ChromeOS Readiness Tool. You gain access to richer insights, improved compatibility assessments, and new capabilities that simplify migration to ChromeOS.

This ongoing commitment to learning and adaptation is crucial for ensuring a strategic, efficient, and future-ready migration process. Let the ChromeOS Readiness Tool evolve with your organization, stay informed, stay ahead!

Unlocking Application Compatibility: Cameyo Virtualization in the ChromeOS Readiness Tool
June 30, 2025

Unlocking Application Compatibility: Cameyo Virtualization in the ChromeOS Readiness Tool

Ensuring application compatibility is one of the most critical factors in a successful operating system migration, especially when moving from legacy systems to a cloud-first solution like ChromeOS. For many organizations, the challenge lies not in the benefits of ChromeOS, but in making sure that core business applications remain accessible and functioning correctly after the transition. The ChromeOS Readiness Tool was developed to bridge this gap by assessing application compatibility and now includes powerful virtualization recommendations via Cameyo, along with new tooltip features to guide IT teams with greater precision.

Navigating Application Compatibility: "Possibly Ready" and "Blocker" Apps

The ChromeOS Readiness Tool categorizes all identified Windows applications into specific readiness statuses:

  • ChromeOS-Ready: Fully compatible and expected to work seamlessly.

  • Possibly Ready: May work, but could require additional testing or adjustments.

  • Blocker apps: Not compatible due to significant issues that prevent functionality on ChromeOS.

For applications that fall under "Possibly Ready" or "Blocker", the tool introduces virtualization as a strategic solution, ensuring those applications remain accessible without disrupting workflows.

Introducing the Cameyo Virtualization Solution

To support this effort, the tool features a dedicated Virtualization section on both Partner and Pro dashboards, with Cameyo positioned as the recommended solution for virtualizing incompatible applications.

This integration allows organizations to quickly:

  • Identify applications that may require virtualization.

  • Filter and prioritize those applications based on actual usage and compatibility.

  • Receive direct guidance on how Cameyo can be used to bridge functionality gaps.

How does the Cameyo Feature Works on the Dashboard?

Within the Virtualization section of the dashboard, IT teams can access detailed insights for each "Possibly Ready" and "Blocker" application. Key functionalities include:

  • Filtering by usage level 

  • Dropdown selections to mark or explore Cameyo compatibility for each application.

  • Search functionality to locate specific apps in large environments.

This enables a targeted and efficient approach to virtualizing only the necessary applications, making plan and resource allocation more effective.

Clarity Through Tooltips: Knowing Your Cameyo Compatibility Status

A helpful addition to this feature is the use of tooltips that appear under two specific circumstances:

  • If an application is not compatible with Cameyo.

  • If an application is still under review for Cameyo compatibility.

These tooltips provide instant clarity so that IT teams don’t need to leave the dashboard or perform additional research to understand the compatibility status of each application. This reduces decision-making delays and increases confidence in migration planning.

Benefits of Enhanced Virtualization Insights

The new virtualization insights in the ChromeOS Readiness Tool deliver a range of benefits:

Ensures Business Continuity Minimizes disruption by enabling continued access to essential apps via virtualization.

Streamlines Migration Planning Simplifies the task of determining app readiness by offering clear, contextual recommendations.

Reduces Uncertainty Tooltips eliminate ambiguity, improving planning accuracy and reducing risk.

Optimizes Resource Allocation- By highlighting only the applications that need action,the tool streamlines resource allocation ,ensuring teams invest effort and budget where it matters most by maximizing operational efficiency.

Final Thoughts

With the addition of Cameyo recommendations and tooltip-driven clarity, the ChromeOS Readiness Tool takes a significant leap forward in supporting enterprise migrations. IT teams now have a clearer, faster, and more reliable way to identify and virtualize non-compatible apps, ensuring a seamless experience as they transition to a cloud-first, secure, and efficient ChromeOS environment.

These features not only simplify the migration process but also empower teams to proactively resolve compatibility barriers, setting the stage for a truly modern digital workspace.

Submitting Feedback: How to Improve the ChromeOS Readiness Tool
June 29, 2025

Submitting feedback: How to improve the ChromeOS Readiness Tool

In today’s fast-paced IT environment, a tool’s true value lies in its ability to evolve and meet the changing needs of users. The ChromeOS Readiness Tool is built with this adaptability in mind, and its ongoing improvements are largely driven by user feedback. Your insights are not just appreciated, they play a vital role in refining the tool’s capabilities and shaping its future.

What Type of Feedback is Valuable?

The ChromeOS Readiness Tool team welcomes all forms of feedback, particularly in the following areas:

  • Issues Encountered: Reports on bugs, glitches, or unexpected behavior during tool usage help the team identify and resolve problems quickly, improving overall stability.

  • Suggestions for Improvement: Ideas for new features, design enhancements, or workflow optimizations guide development priorities based on real-world user needs.

  • User Experience Insights: Descriptions of how the tool is performing in your environment and how it could be improved offer valuable context for refining both functionality and user satisfaction.

How to Submit Feedback

Submitting feedback is easy and is integrated directly into the tool. Users can share their experiences and report issues either through the Report Generator application, the Pro dashboard, or, for partners, the Partner dashboard.

For more detailed input or to resolve complex queries, you can also reach out to the support team.

Reviewing Feedback and Status Updates

Feedback submission isn’t a one-way street. Once submitted, your feedback can be tracked and reviewed through the feedback status section available on the Partner Dashboard, Pro Dashboard, or Report Generator.

This feature allows you to:

  • See the status of your submitted feedback.

  • Track updates and progress based on submission dates.

  • View feedback provided by the customers. (Only applicable in the Partner Dashboard)

This transparent process fosters accountability and keeps you informed about how your input is being handled.

The Impact of Your Contributions

Every contribution you make plays a direct role in enhancing the ChromeOS Readiness Tool. Your input enables the development team to:

  • Improve Compatibility Accuracy Your feedback helps fine-tune compatibility checks, especially in resolving applications marked as "Unknown."

  • Enhance the User Experience Design suggestions and workflow feedback lead to more intuitive, efficient interfaces for all users.

  • Inspire New Features Many new capabilities stem directly from user-driven ideas and needs.

  • Increase System Reliability Bug reports and error insights ensure the tool continues to perform smoothly across diverse IT environments.

Stay Engaged and Up to Date

The ChromeOS Readiness Tool is built as a dynamic, evolving platform. To get the most from it, we encourage you to enable notifications to receive updates on new features, expert guidance, and important announcements.

By contributing feedback, you’re not only improving your own migration journey, but you’re also helping the broader ecosystem adopt ChromeOS more confidently and effectively.

Your voice matters. Help shape the future of ChromeOS migration.