If you have wanted to transition a Windows or Mac PC to Google’s Chrome OS, Neverware has been among the leading choices. The company transforms PCs and Macs into a Chromebook at a software level. Until now, Neverware has used Google’s services for productivity. However, the company has now announced it is switching to Microsoft’s Office 365 suite.
Neverware’s CloudReady platform is designed to bring productivity apps to schools. Google’s various online services have covered this in the past. Now the company is switching to Office 365, which will help integrate with schools that are ingrained with other Microsoft services.
So, users now adopting CloudReady will see an unusual combination. The general platform will be Google’s Chrome OS internet-based system. But when it comes to apps, Microsoft will be running the show.
This means OneDrive will replace Google Drive as the on-board storage solution. While online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other software will take care of productivity.
It is worth mentioning that Office 365 is available online either way. In other words, CloudReady users could have used the suite before. The difference now is the Neverware has integrated the suite into CloudReady, replacing Google’s apps in the process.
What’s the Point?
It is perhaps an interesting question to ask why switch to Chrome OS at all if Microsoft’s services underpin the CloudReady experience? Well, Neverware specializes in updating aging Windows and Mac machines to the cloud-ready Chrome platform.
These machines are normally too old to be upgraded to Windows 10. Equally, it is better for schools to have a web-based system that is light and works well between machines for sharing content. Of course, we guess the ideal scenario for education and indeed businesses would be a Windows 10 cloud solution.
Clearly, most users want Microsoft’s services, so a Windows 10 cloud would certainly give Chrome OS problems.
