Hey You
For some I’m going to be like a broken record discussing a very sensitive subject for probably the millionth time about now: Microsoft Edge vs Google Chrome.
I have discussed this topic with friends, colleagues and even on my podcast the Workplace Dudes but if you have never heard me rant about the 2 browsers, today I will be ending this discussion once and for all.
Disclaimer
This blog is a technical blog and mostly about the workplace environment. What you use in your own private laptop/desktop/server is for you to decide. I will be laying down the best choice for a system engineer within the workplace environment.
Ground rules
What defines the best browser to use in a workplace environment? Well… there are some aspects in an application which needs to be more than “Hey… it works”. For a system engineer a application needs to fulfill some elements which are:
- Can you secure the application?
- Can you easily deploy the application?
- Is the application compatible with other applications?
1. Can you secure the application?
In a workplace environment the biggest tool you have to maintain a workstation is the Group Policy Object Management (GPO). Within the GPO you can maintain almost everything that a user or a workstation can or cannot do.
You can secure Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome within GPO. Microsoft Edge however is built-in but you can add ADM or ADMX templates into your GPO to add policies for Google Chrome.
So… yes… technically you can secure both applications within your GPO however, I am not a fan of 3rd party software in a production environment. Usually the GPO is on the Domain Controller server and that is the most important server in your network. Installing 3rd party (even though it is Google) is not something I would recommend.
No… it’s not a recommendation. Never… NEVER… install 3rd party software on a Domain Controller… NEVER!!!
Point goes to Microsoft Edge
2. Can you easily deploy the application?
Not going to go into much detail here. Microsoft Edge is built-in within Microsoft Windows (which isn’t a big surprise) and Google Chrome can either be deployed by placing it in the Golden Image (for virtual machines) or by deploying it using either Microsoft Endpoint Manager or Intune.
Point goes to both
3. Is the application compatible with other applications?
Now I know what you’re thinking: It’s a web browser, it needs to open YouTube, Twitter, Pornh… I mean ProSysTech.nl and that’s it but there are a lot of software that depend on a working browser for more functionality. A lot of software creators create extensions for browsers to give the web application a little more boost and both browsers do work with extension which can be installed by their own store’s:
- Microsoft Edge: https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/
- Google Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions
As of writing Google Chrome has a lot more extension then Microsoft Edge. By a lot…
… I mean a lot
It is true that you can install the same extension on Microsoft Edge, they will work fine without any issues and it will still be awesome but they are still native Google Chrome extensions.
Point goes to Google Chrome
Conclusion
I think it’s a little to early to draw a conclusion right? I mean both browsers have 2 points… so… no conclusion but instead..
Chromium
Both browsers are the same. Yes. They both run on the ever so popular Chromium open source project. They have the same engine so really it doesn’t matter which browser you use because it’s literally THE SAME BROWSER.
So there is no advantage of using Chrome instead of using Edge.
Real conclusion
“But you said this was the battle of the ages… you said this will end the discussion on which browser is the best” you might be saying and yes I will be giving my final decision.
Even though there are no advantages of using Chrome instead of Edge on the workplace you actually do have advantages of using Edge instead of Chrome.
Let’s put aside the fact that you can maintain and secure Microsoft Edge over the network and let’s put aside the fact that Microsoft Edge is built-in within Windows and let’s put aside the fact that you can install Chrome extensions in Microsoft Edge and they will work fine and let’s put aside the fact that they are literally the same browser. Those are a lot of facts you cannot ignore.
It comes down to a personal preference but a big advantage is is that you can enable synchronization with your work account and always backup your Bookmarks, History, Saved Password and a lot more. To me, this is a big advantage. User care is very important.
You can do user synchronization with Google Chrome but you need a Google account for this and using a Google account on the workplace is not desirable.
Plus; don’t forget that Google Chrome is a 3rd party software for your Windows. The more applications you install on a user laptop/desktop the more applications you have to maintain.
Do yourself a favor and just stick with Microsoft Edge.
Thanks for reading.
Cheers,
Engin Soysal
