After buying Cameyo in June 2024, Google has rolled it back out under a new name: Cameyo by Google. The refreshed tool focuses on Virtual App Delivery and is designed to help Windows-based legacy apps run directly in Chrome or as standalone web apps. This is a big step forward for ChromeOS, which has grown steadily in schools but has often been overlooked by businesses because of poor compatibility with traditional software.
Helping Organizations Move to ChromeOS
According to Product Manager Rob Beard, Cameyo by Google will make it much easier for companies to shift from Windows to ChromeOS. And Google clearly sees the value in that.
The company shared that ChromeOS adoption is rising, with nine in 10 IT leaders now saying their end-user computing strategy is web-based. Despite this shift, half of the apps people use every day are still older, client-based software that doesn’t naturally fit into a cloud-first workflow.
How Cameyo Makes Legacy Apps Work on ChromeOS
Instead of creating an entire virtual desktop environment, Cameyo only streams the apps users actually need. This lets older Windows and Linux applications run right alongside modern web apps. Users can open them in the browser or even install them as Progressive Web Apps for a more native feel.
“For the user, the experience is seamless and free from the context-switching of managing a separate virtual desktop environment. For IT, the complexity is eliminated,” Beard wrote.
Google also pointed out that Cameyo deployments are faster and more secure compared to traditional virtualization setups.
Better Together With Chrome Enterprise Premium
Beard highlighted that pairing Cameyo with Chrome Enterprise Premium brings unified security to both modern web apps and older client-based ones. “Those legacy applications, which previously lived on a desktop, now run under the single security context of the secure browser.”
ChromeOS Product Management Director Naveen Viswanatha also praised the partnership. “This collaboration with Cameyo has proven incredibly successful in helping organizations transition away from cumbersome legacy applications, improving security and productivity,” he said when the acquisition was first announced.
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