The average internet user has many fears concerning their data security while using the internet. Some try to be as careful as possible, but there are still fears of mistakes, and in the case of organizations, there are fears of employees visiting malicious sites. Hence, there’s often a debate on which is better between enterprise and regular browsers.
Many organizations are going for enterprise browsers due to their numerous advantages, but not many are aware of them. In this article, you will learn the definition of enterprise and standard browsers and what differentiates the two from each other.
What Are Enterprise Browsers?
Enterprise browsers are a form of browser that employs different technologies to ensure that organizations don’t have any issues when using the internet. A secure enterprise browser allows individuals and organizations to launch web apps and content in a controlled environment. This kind of lockdown browser employs browser isolation capabilities, meaning that it often uses sandboxing techniques to protect the user’s browsing activities.
One of the major aims of enterprise browsers is to ensure that users won’t stray away from secure browsing practices. Hence, any unproductive browsing behaviors and activities are often restricted. By operating as a lockdown browser, it allows for more control over program flow, and it also supports remote configuration. There’s also an option for URL white-listing, which is excellent for helping organizations keep up with their security practices.
Key Features of Enterprise Browsers
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Sandboxed Environment
Sandboxing is one of the major features of an enterprise browser that creates a form of a wall that ensures that data breaches do not extend to the endpoints. This browser isolation only allows connection from isolated points within the private and public cloud to achieve this aim. Like many browser security solutions like LayerX, enterprise browsers allow organizations to make their own security policies that prevent users from taking specific actions.
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Customization
With standard browsers such as Chrome and Firefox, users have many personalization features waiting to be implemented. However, customizations in enterprise browsers go beyond the display; it is also about the browser’s security. For instance, the customization options of a web browser allow an organization to limit some of the sites their employees visit.
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Next Level Support
Many standard browsers offer users support, but you can’t compare it to the one you get from using an enterprise browser. The developers of enterprise browsers give their users the maximum support and are always willing to help, assuming there’s any issue to rectify.
Overview of Standard Browsers
These are the typical browsers everyone is used to, such as Microsoft Edge, Safari, chrome, and many others. This is a mass general application that allows its users to get access to and share information over the internet. With these types of browsers, ideas users can view HTML pages, interact with the elements of the web pages, and share the data contained there if necessary.
The primary function of these browsers is to offer a steady pathway through which users can access the internet. In most cases, security isn’t the primary concern of these browsers; they want to allow users access to the internet for their different needs. Some of the most basic features commonly seen in these web browsers are bookmarks, history, password managers, and even incognito options.
Standard browsers aren’t only used for accessing basic web pages; they can provide access to sophisticated media such as music, videos, and images. Standard browsers are even a pathway through which many customers can access services using software as a service (SaaS).
Major Differences Between Enterprise Browsers and Standard Browsers
Staggering features and characteristics differentiate enterprise browsers from the standard ones, and we will discuss that below.
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Security
It is pretty evident that security is one of the most vital talking points for the enterprise browser, as regular browsers often come up with the barest minimum of security. The security architecture of enterprise browsers might even include additional tools such as browser-agnostic platforms like LayerX. They provide extra encryption, integrate artificial intelligence, and advanced malware-fighting technologies.
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Support Offered
Users of enterprise browsers are often entitled to a higher level of support and help from the owners of the browsing solution than standard browser users. Most enterprise browser users have a direct support link from the browser developers to report any issue. It is not only about reporting but also the speed at which they respond and change any issue.
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Management
Another significant difference between these two browsers is that the enterprise browser has a more sophisticated management system than the standard one. The IT department of organizations mainly takes care of all the creation and implementation of policies in an enterprise browser. They don’t need the parent owners of standard browsers such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple overseeing their affairs.
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Team Productivity and Collaboration
In the process of working, most employees have been found carrying out some activities which tend to harm their productivity levels. One of the things that enterprise browsers prevent is any activity that will affect employees’ productivity levels. This is something that most standard browsers can’t boast of, but that’s not all. Having expansive browser control helps organizations create policies that aid employee collaboration. It is not only about improving collaboration; this is also done in a protected environment.
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Maintenance
Maintenance simply refers to updates and other actions that improve browsers’ security overview. Many enterprise browsers still have the upper hand in this aspect, as they narrow their objectives mainly toward security.
The developers of enterprise browsers have it in mind that security updates often provide patches to vulnerabilities within a browser. Hence, they often force their user to complete maintenance and security updates before they can use the browser. But in the case of standard browsers, some people still use outdated browsers from as long as five years ago.
Conclusion
Many users often want to know the difference between enterprise and regular browsers. This primarily stems from the belief that the two have few differences, but that’s not true. The enterprise browser makes security its focal point, and organizations mainly use it to offer protection over the internet. Some differences between enterprise and standard browsers are mainly around security, management, maintenance, and support offered.