Google launches easy Chrome installer for enterprises — another challenge to Microsoft

Google has launched an installer for companies that automatically loads the Chrome web browser on all of a server’s managed users and includes a suite of security and privacy options for administrators — an area long dominated by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

The enterprise deployment package is yet another salvo in the quasi-rivalry that has emerged between Google and Microsoft. Lots of enterprises already use Internet Explorer, the primary web browser included with Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

The show has been quite fun to watch. Microsoft took its chance to jump in bed with Facebook by adding office document support after Google and Facebook began sparring over contact uploads. Microsoft also recently jumped on the bandwagon that is condemning Google for its acquisition of flight-data provider ITA.

It also shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that this launch comes hot on the heels of the official launch of Google’s portable operating system, Chrome OS. It seems Google is hoping the new installer might spur adoption of the Chrome operating system in the enterprise — the search giant said part of the reasoning behind the launch was to help businesses test “mission-critical web applications.”

Along with allowing companies to to install the browser on multiple accounts, Google is including a set of tools that let administrators manage privacy settings and security. Google also has a plug-in for Internet Explorer that essentially turns it into a Chrome browser but reverts back to Internet Explorer rendering for applications that are too old and aren’t supported by Chrome.

Google’s Chrome Internet browser is already pretty popular with the consumer sector. It has around 120 million users, up 200 percent from a year ago when it had only 40 million users.