Yesterday, members of the ChromeOS Customer Community rallied to hear about one of our most exciting recent launches: Cameyo by Google.
The session featured Cameyo subject matter expert and Customer Engineer Jordan Pusey, confirming that Cameyo is now officially in General Availability (GA). This virtual application delivery product is designed to virtualize those essential Windows applications and present them seamlessly within a browser, supporting your journey toward a web-first strategy.
Cameyo’s Four Pillars: Simple, Secure, Cost-Effective, and Flexible
Four key features that set Cameyo apart in the virtualization world:
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Simplicity:
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For End Users: Applications can be easily consumed from a web browser, as a Progressive Web App (PWA), or directly from a ChromeOS device.
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For IT Admins: Applications can be rapidly deployed, often being a matter of a simple install and quick publishing.
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Security:
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Cameyo is built on a zero-trust foundation, verifying connections before brokering them to your infrastructure.
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It operates securely without requiring a VPN.
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Cost-Effectiveness:
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It helps reduce the overall cost and effort of supporting legacy applications within a Chrome or browser environment.
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This approach contributes to infrastructure modernization, allowing for the adoption of new elements like ChromeOS.
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Flexibility:
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Cameyo supports various hosting options, including Google Cloud Platform (GCP), other cloud providers, or even on-premise data centers.
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It offers flexible authentication, integrating with multiple SSO providers.
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Because it’s browser-compatible, it supports any endpoint with an HTML5 browser.
Key Technical Details
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Deployment Methods: Admins can deploy applications to end-users in three ways: through the tiled Cameyo portal view, as a Progressive Web App (PWA) via the Google Admin console (allowing for force install and pinning to the taskbar), or through a direct link.
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Data Saving: Data from applications can be saved to integrated services like Google Drive or OneDrive. IT administrators can enable or disable these saving functions.
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Infrastructure Management: For cloud hosting (GCP and Azure), Cameyo uses elastic clusters—a "set and forget" feature that automatically grows and shrinks the server array to handle loading capacity and optimize cost.
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User Profiles: Cameyo uses temporary user profiles for a stateless session but offers solutions for persistence, such as local data persistence coupled with session sync for application state information.
The session concluded with an engaging Q&A, covering topics ranging from availability to licensing:
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Licensing and Pricing: Cameyo is offered on a named user license. Pricing is flexible based on volume and terms (e.g., 12 or 36 months). Bundling offers are available, particularly with Chrome Enterprise Premium and ChromeOS, to make the price more competitive.
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Product Evolution: Since the Google acquisition, initial changes were largely backend improvements focused on security review and migration to GCP. Future rolling releases are expected to bring new features, including deeper integration with the Google Admin and GCP consoles.
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Patch Management: For applications, admins must log into the persistence server, update the application, and then redeploy the cluster. Windows updates are automatic in GCP, but the admin's responsibility for self-hosted deployments.
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Peripherals: Local printing is supported using a Cameyo virtual printer driver. While Web USB enables common peripherals like keyboards and mice, support for encrypted technology (such as passes and badges) is a known area for future development.
What's Next?
Check out the ChromeOS Customer Community events page for further dedicated sessions on Cameyo in the coming weeks and months! And please post any questions or comments on Cameyo in our general discussion board. Also check out the Cameyo Help Center.
