Is transitioning to Edge worth the blowback?
Posted by PossibilityOdd6466@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 352 comments
I understand what the technical transition looks like, but I’m not looking forward to the pushback, ticket increase, and general griping when “take away Chrome.” Several people have told me that Edge doesn’t work, but can’t give me an example of why they think that.
For those have gone through it—do thr benefits outweigh the blowback?
Context: I’ve been leading IT at an SMB (~100 employees) for about a year now. Staff are generally great, but they HATE change. I’m working on tightening up our Microsoft environment so, for a variety of reasons, I think sense to move the org to Edge.
rubber_galaxy@reddit
Related to this - for people that are using Edge with SSO and profiles set up via Intune, are you able to use another profile that's not your org? There are requirements at my org that people need to log in with another O365 account sometimes, and having to go through a private browser is a bit annoying everytime. But setting up a new profile automatically logs you into our org's O365 account
Unatommer@reddit
If you have a way to use admx templates a lot of the security issues with chrome can be solved by applying specific GPOs. Which I also suggest you look into for edge.
Not-Present-Y2K@reddit
You will want both. Trust me. Chrome and Edge are both easily used and fully manageable in a professional environment in similar ways. Edge does have its benefits for Chrome does a decent job of filling in the gaps.
derfmcdoogal@reddit
They were a Chrome shop when I got here. All sorts of rogue google accounts syncing profile information. Told everyone chrome would be going away. Created instructions to open Edge, import data. I then removed Chrome from everyone's computer.
The biggest whine was "Why?"... After a week nobody cared.
OinkyConfidence@reddit
Agreed! Edge is basically Chrome but with policy control!
derfmcdoogal@reddit
There's gpo templates for chrome. But seems like more work and maintenance when edge does the same thing.
5panks@reddit
There's a lot of people who complain about going with the "Microsoft solution" for everything, but Google really needs to step up if they truly want an enterprise browser.
laserdicks@reddit
We definitely cared and I left the company, naming the reason on the way out.
MappingTheTerritory@reddit
This dude is a hired Russian propagandist. Ignore any post he makes.
jake04-20@reddit
Edge is legitimately just as good if not better than Chrome anyways. I use it at work. At home I use Firefox.
PandaBonium@reddit
I tell my users to use edge. At work i use Firefox. At home I use librewolf.
Ok_Employment_5340@reddit
Amen
TipIll3652@reddit
I'm about to do this, I can't stand the rogue Google accounts. It's like the wild West where I'm at, because it's been the status quo to allow it. I just tell users I won't help them since my boss won't actually apply a policy towards it.
steaminghotshiitake@reddit
FYI, in addition to using Chrome Enterprise as others have mentioned, you can also use Google Cloud Identity's free tier to get control over work-related Google accounts (like those used for Google Analytics/Adwords for example) and lock down access to Google services that you aren't using. Set it up with SSO through Azure and force logon through the browser. It won't stop your users entirely from using rogue Google accounts but it will make it very difficult for them.
ScoobyGDSTi@reddit
Or just use Edge and archive all this and more with half the effort.
steaminghotshiitake@reddit
I did both - setup SSO with Google Cloud Identity and migrated most users to Edge. Edge shares most of the same group policy settings as Chrome anyways, so you can still configure it as needed for special deployments (e.g. for developers and marketing types).
The Google Cloud Identity integration was pretty straightforward; definitely worthwhile you have any employees working in web marketing as they have a tendency to lose access to accounts whenever a project changes hands, which inevitably ends up being thrown at IT. It also gives you strict control over use of Google services - if your users are automatically signed into Google on the free cloud tier, then they can't use any services that you have restricted access to (e.g. Gmail and Google Drive). And if you DO have some users that have an actual use case for those services, you can license them as needed, AND set up proper data controls for your organization as well.
ScoobyGDSTi@reddit
I'm not saying it's hard, and good on you for the effort, rather pointless and introduces more admin overhead for businesses.
mish_mash_mosh_@reddit
Just install the enterprise version of chrome and lick it down.
Practical-Alarm1763@reddit
Why? Why not just configure Edge instead at that point? It's Chromium, same fucking thing.
ManiacClown@reddit
I've seen things work in Chrome but not Edge. You'd think that wouldn't be the case, but Microsoft always has to have its little differences.
Practical-Alarm1763@reddit
In almost every case, when something “doesn’t work” in Edge but works in Chrome, it’s simply because the browser cache needs to be refreshed. Same applies in reverse.
If you disagree, I’d genuinely like to see an example. Give me one instance where something functions in Chrome but not in Edge. Better yet, include an example of something that works in both Edge and Chrome but doesn't in Brave or any other chromium browser.
For the record, I don’t have any particular attachment to Edge or Chrome. I hate them both equally. Browsers are just tools. I'm mentioning this so you don't get all defensive and label me and some kind of weird Edge fanboy, because I hate Edge and don't use it for personal use. But for business use!? You'd be a buffoon not to enforce it in a secure Microsoft 365 environment.
What frustrates me is seeing Sysadmins dismiss issues or fail to communicate effectively with stakeholders just to keep users happy with their preferred browser. If your org standardizes Chrome, then configure, secure, and manage Chrome properly, and restrict Edge. The same principle applies in reverse. Yes I think it's stupid to do this in a Microsoft environment , but in the end it's fine if done properly in a secure and hardened way if your org gives a shit about security.
Sysadmins have a responsibility to manage their environment with consistency and security in mind. End users aren’t your customers. I repeat END USERS ARE NOT YOUR CUSTOMERS. Your customers are the organization as a whole and its stakeholders.
Managing browsers correctly isn’t about preference, it’s about maintaining control of your attack surface and upholding secure standards. So many cowardly, negligent, and lazy sysadmins are afraid of doing the right thing because they don't want to be labeled a BOFH. In the end, as long as you recommended these changes to the stakeholders, you've done your job. But not saying anything, sweeping things under the carpet, and letting shit slide out of not wanting to deal with it is exactly how orgs get breached or Sysadmins become incompetent and are fired. You're an Administrator, start Administrating.
gadget850@reddit
Because we have clients with crap websites that require IE mode.
loguntiago@reddit
Users..
bbx1_@reddit
Management needs to grow a pair and tell users to pound salt. Edge is the only approved browser...that's it.
corree@reddit
Maybe if you’re an incompetent and lazy sys admin, sure.
Practical-Alarm1763@reddit
Ummm... No? You've got it completely backwards. Unless you replied to the wrong comment?
Lazy Sysadmins are the ones not hardening or reducing attack surfaces and just let shit slide like allowing unmanaged browsers.
daaaaave_k@reddit
Change the Edge icon to Chrome.. user problem sorted
weird_fishes_1002@reddit
This is an irritating issue for me. User puts in a ticket because something whacked happened in chrome, their bookmarks or passwords are gone (or mixed in with their personal gmail) and now it’s IT’s problem. And they get frustrated because they can’t remember their Gmail account or password.
thortgot@reddit
You can restrict the sign in time SSO only. Simple and better for the average user.
Disable the Password manager and you are in good shape
man__i__love__frogs@reddit
Chrome has had the ability to restrict the domain the browser can log into...forever.
Nu11u5@reddit
You can use policies to control which accounts can sign into the browser, and require or disable signins completely.
Scared-Target-402@reddit
You could’ve left Chrome and just slapped a GPO 🤷🏽♂️ that’s what we did at our last place using the CIS recommendations as a guideline.
derfmcdoogal@reddit
This was easier for the profile sync so I didn't have to set up Entra identity for Google. Why have one more enterprise auth that does nothing more than edge.
KimJongEeeeeew@reddit
Your experience sounds almost exactly like ours.
We also blocked Chrome’s password manager profile sync as part of a DLP push, so suddenly edge was a fully functioning alternative and all the complaints and muttering subsided.
lexbuck@reddit
What did you use to block Rose password manager and profile sync? I really need to get a handle on this as well at my office.
AllOfTheFeels@reddit
Aside from Intune profiles you can also use gpo to lock down chrome/firefox/edge as you’d like!
Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/187202?hl=en#zippy=%2Cwindows
Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/customizing-firefox-using-group-policy-windows
Edge: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/configure-microsoft-edge
They all have similar policies (force auto-updates, turn off personal profiles, etc).
You can also try to use applocker/app control (wdac) to lock down what browsers end users can use.
CptZaphodB@reddit
Ngl I initially tried supporting Firefox since I inherited a Firefox "environment", and while I got it to work, I found it to be a pain to maintain. The only reason I supported Chrome is because executives were pitching a fit for it saying their vendor only supported Chrome, and doubling down when I tell them Edge runs on the same engine as Chrome. It caused all sorts of issues, but they kept their precious browser.
lexbuck@reddit
Ah thanks for this. I’m still hybrid AD so this is probably easier
Kyp2010@reddit
Easier... heh. Smarter... heh. A sysadmin craves not these things.
(it's not too hard, the quirk is keeping your admx/adml files up to date for any releases)
SikhGamer@reddit
https://chromeenterprise.google/intl/en_uk/policies/
KimJongEeeeeew@reddit
We used Intune configuration policies for Chrome and we monitor further using MS DfB
lexbuck@reddit
Ah gotcha. I’m about to upgrade our licenses which will include intune at that time. I need to get that rolling.
I’m sorry I must be dense, what is MS DfB?
starcitsura@reddit
Defender for Business
lexbuck@reddit
Ah gotcha. Makes sense. How do you like defender for business? We run SentinelOne but it’s complicated at times and I don’t have time to really provide the attention it needs
theinternetisnice@reddit
I just pretend I’ve never heard of chrome after uninstalling it from their system
“What’s that. Is that a game? No games”
soawesomejohn@reddit
It's the one with the jumping dinosaur!
brisquet@reddit
edge:surf lol
TheIntuneGoon@reddit
ah I've gotten to love little stuff like this since the Internet started sucking. thanks
The_0rifice@reddit
Thank you, I didn't know edge had a mini game lol
cjbarone@reddit
Skifree, but on waves
rb3po@reddit
Doesn’t everyone know Edge has a game in it you can activate?
DodgeMyBlazingFurry@reddit
LOL
FlailingHose@reddit
This is the type of gaslighting I can get behind.
Hexakkord@reddit
...and then you look like an incompetent idiot who doesn't know what one of the most popular browsers is, or a smarmy jackass. It's fun to think about doing something like this, but it would be unwise and unprofessional to act like this.
timbotheny26@reddit
I feel like this would only work if you're old enough.
derfmcdoogal@reddit
LOL. I like it!
theseitz@reddit
At this point, I feel like "Chrome vs Edge" is very comparable to "ChatGPT vs Copilot" at least in a Microsoft tenant. When it comes to the why? the answer is, "this is a company computer and the company has control (not "needs to have control"). If you want to use your personal chrome on a company computer, then you're going to end up exposing yourself to the company, and nobody wants that.
WorkLurkerThrowaway@reddit
Same here. After a week no one cared
weird_fishes_1002@reddit
That’s what I suspect will happen if my org were to do this. I’ve already been telling everyone Edge is based on chromium, we can import all of their bookmarks and passwords and all of their extensions will work. Seems like it would be an easy transition. I also really like the vertical tabs.
Expensive_Plant_9530@reddit
Btw you can manage Chrome via group policy, Google provides the templates.
We use it to block account sign in/sync/password manager.
Lv_InSaNe_vL@reddit
Ah we had to actually help like 90% of my company migrate bookmarks/passwords to edge. We did write instructions but basically nobody did it and management didn't have our back on it really.
We used the whole "edge syncs your passwords and stuff to your account!" thing to sell people on it.
Capable_Tea_001@reddit
To be fair to end users, that is a sensible question to ask.
SysAdmins should have an answer to this that is clear and understandable for the end users.
SirLoremIpsum@reddit
That's me. In my personal life.
All that talking to mates about chrome blocking unlock etc and how it was gonna suck.
Week later Firefox baby
derfmcdoogal@reddit
I wish I could like Firefox. I just don't.
jonnyutah1366@reddit
Try “Brave”
theoz78@reddit
Same here I sent instructions and a 7 day deadline. I explained why and on the day I removed chrome from all pc’s. Our culture is however pretty great and not even other managers try to influence IT.
junkie-xl@reddit
Makes moving between devices seemless. "I forgot my chrome password so I'd have to reset all my passwords" is no longer a thing.
Both are chromium based, just do it.
Ok_Employment_5340@reddit
Yes, same experience
valdocs_user@reddit
Is the Google accounts thing why government IT is moving away from Chrome to Edge?
RebelDroid93@reddit
Yep, that's partly the reason for us at least (Municipal).
Another reason is we're tired of having an extra step to replacing users computers (migrating passwords for those who don't use Google sync) and complaints they are missing passwords if we don't do that.
Also, from a cyber security standpoint, the less programs you have to worry about being patched is better. Edge is always included in Windows plus we are a M365 shop so it's a no brainier to migrate from Chrome.
derfmcdoogal@reddit
I would assume more that government IT gets decent, free, or reduced pricing for M365, so why not have it all under the same identity. Sure you could use Entra as an IDP for your google accounts, I guess, but why bother.
IntraspeciesJug@reddit
We just migrated to a bigger parent domain and they have Chrome locked the eff down.
I moved to Edge and it's fine. Now that ad blockers are gone and our firewall blocks most of them.
We still have Chrome for some sites but I can see it transitioning out after our domain migration is done.
kyle-the-brown@reddit
This, give a time line, give instructions on how to export/import bookmarks, passwords, etc.
Give a reason, security is the obvious, but you need the explanation, and show proof that edge is literally built on chrome so it will continue to function the same way.
Finally make sure the time line is non negotiable - build the GPO and enable it when go live happens. Personally I love doing these on a Monday evening so the bitching starts on Tuesday morning and by the weekend is usually done.
Leveronni@reddit
They care, can't do anything about it though.
skipITjob@reddit
We only have a handful of Chrome users, it was bad few years ago, as they were sharing an account with everything syncing...
Reedy_Whisper_45@reddit
In a word - yes.
I've been a fan of Mozilla for a LONG time. Loved Chrome for several years, and I didn't like Edge at all. (No good reason - it's a MS product.)
Comes time to push out shortcuts and I love Edge no end. I can do it with Group Policy and ensure EVERYONE has the shortcuts I want them to have. This makes my instructions blindly simple - Open Edge -> Click this folder -> Click this shortcut.
The folks complaining that I'm moving them away from Firefox (This was a Firefox shop when I came here) get no traction. I'm not taking it away for a while - they're free to continue to use it on their own. But any ticket that involves Chrome or Firefox gets closed out of hand. I support one browser only.
CharlieModo@reddit
Easiest way is stop deploying chrome or allowing it to be installed on new devices. Slowly fades away. We used to have 6000+ chrome installs and now after 3/4 years we have under 200 which is people who have managed to not break their laptop and were in a sweet spot where their device supports windows 11 so have not been replaced.
skydyr@reddit
I have run into one or two websites that don't work correctly with Edge but do work with Chrome, but it is extremely rare.
For us, we still make Chrome available in the MS Company Portal for staff who want to install it, but it's locked down with policies to prevent rogue private accounts and such. Edge is the default browser, and we don't provide any user support for Chrome. If there's a ticket saying something doesn't work in Chrome, it's auto-closed with 'use edge' as the response.
0verstim@reddit
Why are people “taking away “browsers at all? Let people use what they want to use. Unless it’s horribly insecure or funneling data to China, of course. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to provide support for every browser.
We put chrome on all of our Mac and Windows systems. We make it clear that Chrome is our default supported browser; If you want to use edge or Firefox or something else, have a ball, but if you put in a support ticket, the first thing we’re going to do is ask you to try it in chrome.
aspiringgreybeard@reddit
I'm depressed at how far down I had to read in this thread to encounter this sentiment. We have a Fortune 50 client whose IT department has blanket blocked Google's entire address space.
a60v@reddit
This. Giving users access to multiple browsers is important for serveral reasons. Troubleshooting is the obvious one, but also for things like different browser plugins, testing web sites on different browsers, commonality among platforms (Windows/MacOS/Linux/etc.), maintaining separate logins on different web sites, web site compatibility, etc Why would you want to take this flexibility away?
Kuipyr@reddit
Or you could just troubleshoot one chromium clone instead of 100 different chromium clones.
thunderbird32@reddit
Yeah, maybe it's I work in higher ed and faculty are used to very wide latitude with regards to their computers, but I'd probably be public enemy number one if I took away everything but Edge. While we officially recommend Firefox, we support Chrome and Edge fully as well.
Zedilt@reddit
We do the same, but with Edge being the default supported browser. Chrome and firefox is availible as an alternative if wanted.
ZAFJB@reddit
Edge just works.
It integration with Entra sign in is great.
The only valid request for Crome that I have had is from a web developer who prefers Chromes F12 console.
tapplz@reddit
I wish it were that simple. There are still a number of websites I'll get tickets for where, indeed, it works in chrome but not edge.
I understand when it's a complicated webapp meant to replace a thick app. But there's also dumb ones, where a simple login screen won't work in anything but chrome.
Could be lazy developers not cross checking their pages, but I like to think Google wanted to make sure it's own chromium couldn't completely replace Chrome.
rybl@reddit
In almost every case like this, it is due to Edge's built in tracking prevention. It blocks known tracking scripts/cookies. A well-designed website should still load and function if their tracking scripts are blocked, but some poorly architected sites will have hard dependencies on those scripts that causes their site's functionality to break when those scripts aren't loaded.
SAugsburger@reddit
At least for my personal use I have occasionally seen a site that didn't work on Edge, but it's rare in my experience. For most users it probably wouldn't be an issue to go completely with Edge, but there are some edge cases exceptions.
Kruug@reddit
Those vendors can be dumped until they fix their shit.
Not your job to support bad development.
junon@reddit
Is Chrome's F12 console actually different from Edge's? They look basically the same to me and since they're both Chromium based, I'd assume there wouldn't be a significant difference.
nanana_catdad@reddit
Honestly web devs (I was one for about 5 years before moving to platform engineering), need access to pretty much all browsers. It’s less of a problem today but browser engines can support different standards or render slightly differently. There are tools to virtually render across different devices and browsers now but it’s much easier if you have direct access to them. That being said edge is basically chromium with MS tool integrations so the dev tools should feel the same unlike the IE days.
cluberti@reddit
It's been said that since Edge moved to Chromium, Safari is the new IE and I'm guessing that's probably somewhat accurate.
rybl@reddit
Totally true about Safari.
99% of the time, any issue that exists in Edge or Chrome will exist in the other since they are the same underlying engine, but it's still worth testing in both for that 1% of edge cases.
nanana_catdad@reddit
It’s the difference in engine… safari is WebKit which includes any browser on iOS (chrome, Firefox, safari, etc as on iOS all browser’s must use apples WebKit instead of blink (chrome) and ghecko (Firefox). Safari being the only real desktop WebKit browser… typically iOS is a major target for mobile experience but the desktop experience on WebKit can have issues if not tested fully.
nezroy@reddit
100%. Of the last 10 "this browser does it weird" bugs I've fixed, 9 of them were Safari. You can still get some Chrome/Edge/Firefox mismatches around the defaults they use for things like security restrictions, CSP headers, etc. but it's super rare now.
rybl@reddit
There's very little difference and I wouldn't fulfil that request just based on that preference. However, even with them being the same engine, I would allow web devs to have access to Chrome just for testing.
SadMayMan@reddit
And that’s why we’re not developers
ptear@reddit
Web developers have business justification to use multiple browsers, but they're not all your staff.
cluberti@reddit
A lot of that can be done in tools like Playwright and Browserstack, though, and a lot of that can be done in VMs that get separate policy and logins. But yes, totally understandable if that's not possible for some reason.
Signal_Till_933@reddit
It’s really just a preference thing.
Skyler827@reddit
It's not about the tools actually being different, a website needs to be tested in different browsers, especially the most popular browser. Edge comes from the same code base so differences should be rare but it's still irresponsible for a web developer not to test it in Chrome.
AnnoyedVelociraptor@reddit
What? They're exactly the same?
ZAFJB@reddit
My dev claims it is different. I don't use it much so I can't really tell.
Kyp2010@reddit
Devs claim anything is different/unusable/unmaintainable if it's not their personal preference.
Jnal1988@reddit
We had one refuse to use the company’s choice of Linux. The company used Ubuntu for everything including the products and user decided he wanted to use Manjaro. He was the only one who did and it was left like that until we deployed agents to all company machines. The agent wouldn’t work on Manjaro.
The dev was told to move to Ubuntu and they threatened to use his personal laptop for work instead. It took getting C Suite and legal involved to force them to Ubuntu.
Kyp2010@reddit
Yeah, "I'm going to use my personal laptop for business."
cc: legal
turbokid@reddit
Yes. Edge is a chromium browser. Its chrome with a Microsoft coat of paint on it.
PacketDropper@reddit
More specifically, both Chrome and Edge are forks of Chromium with a splashes of Google and Microsoft paint respectively.
spittlbm@reddit
One should get the knife
saltysomadmin@reddit
Bring back Netscape navigator
spittlbm@reddit
Choice is a bad thing. Just ask Microsoft.
SadMayMan@reddit
Yeah, I don’t know if personal preference is a valid reason for anything.
gakule@reddit
I think that certainly heavily depends on context.
If a user has a personal preference for something, it doesn't add reasonable security risks, it doesn't cost additional money, doesn't cause compatibility issues, and they can do their job with it - why not let them use something based purely on personal preference?
Lording over what people use doesn't really benefit you unless you just like having the power to say no because of your own personal preference.
BadSausageFactory@reddit
Personal preference really isn't a valid reason for anything, including mine. Business use case approval first, then we can talk about how to secure the app or whatever. That stops a lot of the silliness without having to be the bad guy all the time.
Chrome is a terrible example though because a second browser makes sense. Otherwise how can we ask if they tried in another browser?
gakule@reddit
I agree a second browser is necessary, but my personal preference is Firefox - I don't have a strong attachment to Chrome!
spittlbm@reddit
Stay away from my Diet Dr Pepper
blighander@reddit
We use it because there're a couple Chrome store features that integrate better with our case management systems, whereas Edge doesn't. Apart from that, I'd love to 86 Chrome out of our environment.
MrChristmas1988@reddit
Edge is Chrome and Chrome is Edge (I know that is extremely basic but it is fairly accurate). So install both and let the end users decide.
SadMayMan@reddit
Its the same gd browser.
cdubyab15@reddit
Policies are different on the GPO side for some things. For example, you can't force extensions to be run in incognito mode in Chrome, but you can in Edge.
Plenty-Wonder6092@reddit
Not from an Enterprise point of view, if you're a MS365 shop Edge is better.
KermitJFrog5916@reddit
I mean yeah, but surprisingly some things don't want to work on Edge.
The EMR software/site we use at my org for example, there are features that just don't function in edge but do fine in chrome. When we brought it up to the vendor they basically said Chrome is the preferred browser for it.
SadMayMan@reddit
Well, I mean that’s shitty software.
KermitJFrog5916@reddit
Oh I agree, unfortunately we can't move away from it for a hot minute even if we wanted to
paul_33@reddit
I’ve had this argument with people all the time. It’s the fault of sites that say “you must use chrome” simply because they can’t be arsed to test it in edge.
Creshal@reddit
I can't remember the last time I ran into one.
paul_33@reddit
It’s gotten a lot better, but we deal with some less technical agencies that just flat out say “use chrome” with no justification. They use chrome therefore so should we so they don’t have to do any troubleshooting.
Ryokurin@reddit
It's gotten better over the last 3 or so years, but it's because people are catching on and starting to complain about it.
From the early Spartan Edge to the transition to Chromium Edge, the biggest problem you'd run into are sites that were written to specifically default any Edge user agent to an IE compatible mode or just completely denied access. And 99% of the time if you changed the user agent to Chrome (even in the Spartan era) it worked fine, it was just blocked/kneecapped out of assumptions that it wouldn't work.
I think that was the big picture that Microsoft didn't think about when they kept the same E look during the transition. A generation is going to assume it's not going to be a good experience and that included developers.
PossibilityOdd6466@reddit (OP)
I’ve thought about trying to find a way to just change the icons to say Chrome… 100% sure no one would notice
notHooptieJ@reddit
make sure you change the default start page too..
that right-wing-rag shit msn start page is a dead give away.
Make it default to google search, and google .com as a home page, or bing will out you when it returns all the good porn sites for their searches.
ResponsibleLawyer196@reddit
Under the hood, yes. In terms of overall features, Edge wins by a mile.
I don't even like most MSFT but Edge is great
peldor@reddit
I'm not really sure why supporting Chrome would be a problem for most environments.
Out of the box, both Chrome and Edge are disasters if you keep everything on default settings. It's a few minutes of Configuration Policy / Group Policy to make things sane.
You can lock down if accounts can sync, what domain those accounts are from, what sort of data can sync, what extensions can be installed, block password storage, etc. This is all effectively the same settings for both browsers.
Assuming your Windows patch management doesn't suck, blocking Chrome won't save you from any headache. If your patch management does suck (i.e. it's just Intune), then you have bigger problems. lol
colinpuk@reddit
We got rid of Chrome as part of our windows 11 push, i cant recall a single time a user has asked for it back
0xDesecrator@reddit
Only reason we hang into Firefox is because of browser containers.
sinkab@reddit
Can you just use different Edge profiles or is there something I'm missing?
Recent_Carpenter8644@reddit
I use multiple Edge profiles for this. It means an Edge window per profile, but I think Firefox can do it with tabs. Haven't used it for a long time.
guterz@reddit
Exactly having containers allows for multiple individual tab sessions. I use it exclusively at work to have multiple open AWS accounts at once. I don’t want to have to filter thru multiple windows to manage AWS accounts.
guterz@reddit
If work with multiple AWS accounts this is a lifesaver of a feature.
Fatality@reddit
New devices only come with Edge, Chrome is in the company portal but most don't bother with it.
nerdynotpurdy@reddit
Yes, yes it is. When a user signs into their PC for the first time and their MS work account is automatically signed in, their browser tabs synced over, and extensions are ready to go, and SSO starts passing them through to apps, it makes a big difference. The biggest advantage imo besides SSO is blocking personal accounts from signing into Edge. One browser across the org means one update channel, one admin portal, one GUI for support to learn, etc. It’s worth it.
VexingRaven@reddit
You can do pretty much all of this with Chrome too. We dumped Chrome too, but not because of any of this... Just because we were sick of getting security tasks to update Chrome. One browser is enough, thanks!
Matt_NZ@reddit
It's the auto syncing to the user's Entra account that is the biggest seller. You can't do that with chrome, unless you have an enterprise Google setup - it doesn't make a lot of sense to set that up just for Chrome
Black_Patriot@reddit
Can't you use the Windows Login extension for Chrome to get it to pass through the SSO? That's how we were trialling it when we were looking at Intune device compliance, as it'll also pass that through to the login session. Native Edge would certainly be easier, but we did get it working with Chrome and Firefox.
Matt_NZ@reddit
SSO is fine, but it's keeping all the user data synced that makes Edge a much nicer experience. When the user moves to a new machine, their favourites, browsing history, etc is all loaded back into Edge from Entra without having to involve IT.
VexingRaven@reddit
Fair enough, although you could definitely just sync Chrome profiles however you sync the rest of the user's profile.
Matt_NZ@reddit
I experimented with redirecting Chromes profile to people's OneDrive but it ended up adding complications and weirdness.
bbx1_@reddit
Configure Chrome GPO to stay at a version or to auto update?
VexingRaven@reddit
Auto updates are great when they work but it doesn't always happen fast enough for my security team when a big one drops, or there's that few % that didn't update for some reason that we have to figure out. "It'll auto update, don't worry about it" doesn't work when they are looking at scan data telling them that 300 computers have a vulnerable version of Chrome, and then we have to either figure out why auto update didn't work on 300 computers or we need to package up an update for Chrome and deploy it via SCCM.
fedroxx@reddit
Thank goodness no one in our systems management would be stupid enough to go this route.
Legitimately no reason to block personal accounts from syncing bookmarks.
nerdynotpurdy@reddit
disagrees with random internet commenter talking about IT strategy that doesn’t pertain to them at all
immediately devolves to insults alright then.
If a user wants to perform work tasks, they’re done from their work account. If a user is using a corporate device, only corporate accounts are signed in. Full stop.
fedroxx@reddit
How many major corps that you know of issue mobile devices to their employees? Honestly? Do you work with or for any of the fortune 100?
I can't name a single one, and my company provides the tools that manage half of their assets.
nerdynotpurdy@reddit
Sure, which is why you enforce personal device MDM enrollment/MAM policies with work profiles. No one, including me, is advocating for anti-BYOD policies. As I stated above, if a user wants to perform work tasks, they do so from their work account; that doesn’t change if they’re on a personal device.
SillyPuttyGizmo@reddit
Backed up by policy
punyversalengineer@reddit
Depending on jurisdiction there can also be tax implications if you allow personal accounts on devices. In Finland, as an example, if the employer allows personal calls and accounts on a mobile device it becomes a (typically) 20 € taxable benefit. AFAIK this doesn't affect laptops, only phones and tablets.
This is mostly a thing because phones used to cost a lot and some people only used their work phone, cancelling their own phone plan to save some money. Alternatively they never had a phone to begin with, before the employer provided one. Personally I'd never want to do that, especially since I don't want my number to change.
AllOfTheFeels@reddit
Except that using personal accounts within a business environment introduces new attack vectors. Like when Okta went through a breach where the TAs were able to exfil data because an employee was signed into their business computer with a personal account: https://sec.okta.com/articles/2023/11/unauthorized-access-oktas-support-case-management-system-root-cause/
fedroxx@reddit
...which doesn't even remotely contradict my statement.
The best method to prevent this type of attack would literally not fly at most companies today. Issuing mobile devices to employees? I could name on one hand the number of companies that do that. Most of our partners and vendors don't even do it. They, instead, force employees to use their mobile devices and reimburse them a fixed amount.
accidental-poet@reddit
The SSO is the biggest benefit as far as I'm concerned. For instance, prior to rolling this out, one of our clients had Bitwarden with individual vault passwords. As you can imagine, there was plenty of trouble with this.
Now the user signs in, opens Edge, clicks the Bitwarden extension icon which opens a new tab and signs them in automatically. People love it.
nerdynotpurdy@reddit
We’re doing the same with 1Password. Huge improvement.
hurtstolurk@reddit
I don’t love edge and prefer chrome over it personally but this is the way. Front loading the work and dealing with the complaining and ironing out the issues will in the long run save so much time effort and tickets once everything syncs and you just need to mange one app verse 2.
We do have chrome still for use, but a thin app so it resets basically anytime they open it and doesn’t save anything. Could be a good way to transition over and people will eventually see edge is better day to day because of SSO.
Everyone can still use their google apps in edge too which some people will need to learn and understand.
daganner@reddit
We did this about 2 years ago, for our sanity. We expected pushback, but we mostly avoided it by communicating the policy change way in advance.
Edge is basically the same as chrome these days so there should be no reason to complain, and it’s much easier for IT to manage only one browser, I’d be telling your staff to suck it up…
DrewonIT@reddit
Fought this battle... there's only one team I'm aware of that had an issue in Edge that they didn't experience in chrome. Aside from that the biggest roadblock was actually vendor related "we recommend chrome".
Why?
"...we don't know we just do."
I just told staff to use Edge and if there was a legitimate reason to have chrome it would be permitted on a case by case basis.
fedroxx@reddit
We don't use Edge at all. Engineering (which I head) hate working with it. Garbage browser.
~4,000 employees / $8B in revenue.
tHeiR1sH@reddit
Chromium Edge or MS Edge?
rthonpm@reddit
Yet it's the exact same engine as Chrome, go figure...
mish_mash_mosh_@reddit
Edge is pants. It lost a large amount of users this summer and is going the way of internet explorer.
https://www.techradar.com/computing/edge/microsoft-is-literally-losing-its-edge-as-browser-reportedly-sheds-a-quarter-of-its-users-in-six-months-but-im-not-surprised
Practical-Alarm1763@reddit
Ah yes, brilliant plan! If the users want Dropbox, I’ll just drop everything and proceed to a full Dropbox Enterprise deployment, SSO, permissions, compliance review, security assessments, the works, because obviously that’s what IT exists for right!? To cater to every user’s personal preference!
While I’m at it, I’ll tell management we’re adding a new line item to the budget because “users like it better than OneDrive.” Fantastic idea. Just phenomenal. Truly a groundbreaking use of time and resources.
And since we’re on a roll, let’s not stop there, some users like Slack or even Discord better than Teams! Guess I’ll just deploy Slack for Business and Discord for Legal, because who cares about PII, compliance, or data governance alor.any of this GRC shit!? I mean, as long as Karen from Accounting can send cat GIFs wherever she wants, we’re basically a model of modern IT governance, right?
What a fucking wonderful idea. Let's all do what the users want and not what the organization needs. We're after all here just as genie catering wizards for each and all users!
mish_mash_mosh_@reddit
They are not adding anything, but taking something away
New_Shallot8580@reddit
For better or worse we allow users to pick from Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. If I had my choice we'd just pick one and stick with it, like Edge
Motor_Line_5640@reddit
We just told everyone it is Chrome - rebadged. Had no issues.
jewdai@reddit
What kind of vendor support do you need for a web browse? . It's a web browser for christ sake. In the rare instance it doesn't work there go to the next one.
VWBug5000@reddit
We support both chrome and edge in a 30k user environment. There really isn’t any need for both unless there is an extension that they absolutely need in chrome. We push edge over chrome and most people are fine
jewdai@reddit
What about Firefox?
VWBug5000@reddit
Chrome and edge are the only approved browsers where I work
jewdai@reddit
Ugh so feeding those datasucking platforms. Wouldn't you rather an Open source one whose vulnerabilities are easily found and just as quickly fixed in a transparent way?
VWBug5000@reddit
Open source products generally also mean no (or limited) vendor support. It’s also hard to offload legal liability on a vendor when it is open source.
What you want doesn’t scale well when maintaining policies. Edge and chrome are extremely well documented and both provide methods for enterprise level controls that are easily understood by lower level admins - which is key, because, I don’t care how high-speed-low-drag something is, if it’s too complicated or obscure for today’s entry level techs who have never seen a command prompt before, then it means I’d be the one owning support for all of that niche nonsense.
That being said, we’re definitely not opposed to a third party secure browser solution, but that’s still likely to end up being some flavor of chromium anyways
jewdai@reddit
I'm a Firefox user. I do not ever under any circumstances want my browsing history directly tied to any user account. No I don't want to log into my browser not under any circumstance.
Also ad blocker works better on Firefox than chrome or edge.
SikhGamer@reddit
Depends on the shop, if you have any kind of SWE going on then you are on a power trip. We need Chrome, Edge, IE, Firefox, and shit sometimes even Safari.
IDGAF if you think Edge and Chrome are the same (yes they both are Chromium based). I've seen tonnes of crazy divergent buggy behaviour in both.
oni06@reddit
You know you can still have an Edge as primary browser policy AND an exception for SWE to also have all the other browsers they need for dev/tst.
The two aren’t mutually exclusive.
SikhGamer@reddit
You and I know that, but many sysadmins on this sub don't.
See evidence of "Do SWE need local admin?".
PossibilityOdd6466@reddit (OP)
No SWE, just end users browsing and using popular web apps.
tapwater86@reddit
Push edge but change the icon to chrome. Problem solved.
Recent_Carpenter8644@reddit
Hey, all my favourites and extensions have gone!
LoveTechHateTech@reddit
When I started working at a school nearly 20 years ago, the person before me had done this with Firefox using the IE.
pickled-pilot@reddit
Edge not working is based on the old IE mode version of Edge. Microsoft retired that and is 100% Chromium now. Anything that works on Chrome will work on Edge.
The Entra ID integration is pretty great too. Saves all favorites and passwords making migration between computers seamless. Getting users to sign in on the other hand…
Recent_Carpenter8644@reddit
A lot of people still have "Edge doesn't work properly” still in their heads.
chiperino1@reddit
There's a gpo called implicit sign in or something that helps with that
SleepyD7@reddit
Edge is a lot better memories used to. I chose to use it instead of chrome at my workplace.
mindtrix@reddit
Use a webfiltering app and block accounts.google.com and a couple others subdomains. You can still use the browser without any user fckery.
panzerbjrn@reddit
Genuine question: What's the point in enforcing just one browser?
It seems to me to be more trouble than it's worth.
Just set whatever security settings you need/want and install Chrome & FF. Staff will use what they prefer and there will be no blowback...
boli99@reddit
my main concern would be that when they install browser2, browser2 asks 'would you like me to set myself as default browser, slurp up all your bookmarks and passwords and then offer to sync/save them to a cloud service over which your IT dept has no control' - and user enthusiastically clicks the 'hell yes' button.
...so now you've got private data starting to spread around the internet because browser2 thinks its the be-all and end-all of browsers
...and when you try do do something simple like deploy a shortcut to some new corpo-app ... the shortcut ends up in browser1 ... which the user is no longer using
and if you allow one extra browser because 'its only Chrome, come on' ... then you're bound to find someone that prefers Safari .... because they use it on their Mac at home
and then someone else who uses Opera, or X, or Y or Z
...and so on. and it escalates.
panzerbjrn@reddit
None of this is a problem. Especially if you had bothered to read what I wrote. But I guess that's to hard...
boli99@reddit
i read it all. its a simplistic view. it doesnt take into account anything other than Chrome and FF
and if you dont think that users arbitrarily migrating lots of secure information offsite at a whim is a problem - then i wish you and those that you work with the very best of luck.
panzerbjrn@reddit
Oh lol 🤦
Rude_Strawberry@reddit
Eh?
If you're a Microsoft stop you can't sign into chrome or Firefox with your Microsoft account, meaning your employees will be signing into these browsers mostly likely with a personal email address, which then stores all that stuff on a personal account, unmanaged by IT.
It's not that difficult to grasp.
JonMiller724@reddit
Simple answer, yes
Landscape4737@reddit
Edge will be the new IE, did you not learn about IE?
Rude_Strawberry@reddit
But it's.... Chrome......
Landscape4737@reddit
But it has bits that are not Chrome, it will get a lot more bits that aren’t Chrome, until you can only use Edge. Edge will become the new IE.
shizakapayou@reddit
Chrome and Firefox can both be configured to support M365 SSO and pass device compliance. They also can be set to auto update through GPO. In the end, I don’t really care and support them all, sometimes there are legitimate needs. On the flip side, I always tell people Edge and Chrome are both Chromium and nearly identical, including the policies, and in general it should be fine to remove Chrome.
LarryBrownNC@reddit
Would it not accomplish the same goal to sign up for a free Google Workspace Cloud Identity plan, set up SSO w/ 365, and use GPO/Intune to force only Workspace controlled profiles? It’s a little bit of work but it saves the bad taste from forcing Edge.
Rude_Strawberry@reddit
I swear you can't have free users on Google workspace
Long_Start_3142@reddit
Just tell em it's chrome with a Microsoft skin which is damn near true and move on. Remember you're 90% IT dept and 10% psychology dept
Mangoloton@reddit
I tried the same as you, it's impossible You can uninstall all Chrome and put Edge on them, make it mandatory, whatever you want At some point someone will come to you who needs Chrome because otherwise a disgusting website won't work. Constantly uninstall people don't use something that could disappear tomorrow
Every company should have decided on the 2 allowed browsers it will support.
Nova_Nightmare@reddit
I'm doing this soon as well. We have the benefit of "Government Regulations" to wave around as a magic wand.
First it will become default and shortly after Chrome will start disappearing from devices automatically. Use it at home, but too many people signed into personal accounts and syncing whatever.
UnexpectedAnomaly@reddit
Oh are people using services you told them not to. It would be a real shame if somebody limited the bandwidth to Google drives IPs on the firewall making it virtually unusable, but technically still working.
YesterEve@reddit
I wish my company would allow Edge over Chrome. Vertical Tabs is way more productive for me, and they are supported natively in Edge/Firefox, but you need an extension in Chrome, and my company doesn't allow those.
jahayhurst@reddit
You can use chrome's GPO controls to do about everything you want to do to get it on par with edge's - as long as you have org google accounts.
But also, most of the discussion shouldn't be "chrome vs edge" or anything like that. Or your preferences as a sysadmin of which you like better, or which is easier to manage. Those are like reasons 3+ on the list.
Your first determination should be how technically skilled your users are, and your second should be how locked down you want the computers at your company to be.
If you're running a banking group and want to runa severance type office, lock everything down. Full blown windows is too far, edge is pretty freeing, consider kisoks. You don't want to have to fix their machines, better to bend ppl out of shape and make them adapt to your mis-fitting tools and make them less efficient.
If you're managing programmers or tech support staff, it may make more sense to let them put their own distros on, and instead enforce gsuite / o365 accounts and policies. Better to not be the reason a project is behind schedule, and let ppl work as productively as possible.
enolja@reddit
Why remove Chrome? I let my users have whatever browser they want w8thin reason and just lock them down with GPOs
daven1985@reddit
When I ran IT (in a different role now) I mandated via Intune Edge only and can only sign in with your corporate account.
I had a few blow backs but I started it from a Cyber Security uplift with Board/Executive approval and we did them first.
Best way to start is get approval from the start that with an executive approval and order so any blow back is then not handled by IT but by the Executive.
flummox1234@reddit
IMO Edge is Chrome TBH. The big difference is all the telemetrics go to MS instead of Google.
Overdraft4706@reddit
People complained and said their site didnt work. We can get someone from Digital will come and see you in person. Then you can show us the site not working. Never had anyone take us up on the offer.
Some people where crafty, and said the site does not list Edge as a valid browser for the site i need to use. So we asked them for the URL. Then emailed the support of who ever it was, and asked them does the site work in Edge. When the support came back and said yes Edge works. We just send on the email from the vendor to the user and advised the site works. At that point the user does not have a leg to stand on. Also get buy in from senior managers in Digital. So when the email starts coming in. They will get a firm no you cannot have it etc. We didnt want to manage 2 browsers. I think we enabled the auto import to bring over the chrome bookmarks into Edge. People complained for a week and a half, and when they where reminded its not actually their own computers, its provided to you by your work place to do your job. Then most people shut up. Fun times.
Imaginary_Staff2270@reddit
Everyone says edge doesn’t work with some critical website but the moment you ask them to prove it, it just magically works that one time, but they swear it never works all the rest of the time.
That said, no absolutely not worth the headache to stop people from using Chrome. Just manage both browsers instead.
bbx1_@reddit
So take ok the headache of managing two browsers because the user's can't adapt?
Who is running the show?
sybrwookie@reddit
Haven't really had a headache. Set up policies for them, set them both to patch, and...that was the end of it.
We don't promise everything will work equally in both and users know if they call the help desk, they might be told to try the other browser for some things.
Imaginary_Staff2270@reddit
The c-suite? Board of directors? Shareholders?
Sure as shit isn’t the sysadmin running the business.
PossibilityOdd6466@reddit (OP)
There was a LOT of work to do when I joined. Moving to Edge was pretty far down the list. Not a question of support, more timing and prioritization…
VexingRaven@reddit
We did this for a while until we got sick of having to update both browsers. Yes, I know, they auto update... Tell that to my security team when they're coming at us because 5% of systems still have an old Chrome version the day after a zero day dropped. Not worth it. One browser only.
Kuipyr@reddit
Probably only tried Microsoft's sad attempt at making edge before Microsoft gave up and just used chromium.
DasaniFresh@reddit
This is what I did. The default is Edge but we allow them to have enterprise managed Chrome from Company Portal. I don’t spend a lot of time configuring the Chrome policies so the understanding is we’ll only do best effort support on it.
whiskeytab@reddit
yeah that's what we do, just create the same policies for Chrome through enterprise management and stop caring which one people use
man__i__love__frogs@reddit
Chrome policies mostly mirror Edge, so it's not hard for us to maintain in that way.
maggotses@reddit
They are both very similar
Maro1947@reddit
Just make sure you fix the always open in new tab setting
I'm a contractor and IT in all the companies I work at seem to overlook that
It's beyond irritating
Not_Rod@reddit
We made the jump from firefox to edge in 2020 i think. Few people whined but it was the few chrome users.
Reason was mostly the same as other comments: SSO with a Microsoft shop and easily managed updates via existing products (wufb)
GraemMcduff@reddit
Just deploy a desktop shortcut to edge that has the chrome icon. Most users won't notice the difference
JJ2B@reddit
Similar sized company and I’ve implemented a change of primary browser to Edge here are a few benefits I’ve seen.
Hope that helps!
PossibilityOdd6466@reddit (OP)
Yes to all of this, especially 4. I started testing Edge a couple of months ago. Initially had reservations because of previous experience with MS browsers and… it’s great. I wouldn’t push anything I wasn’t using. Now I just need to find a non-technical way to explain that they’re both built on Chromium.
BackSapperr@reddit
Agree with point 4 100%. When they announced Edge Chromium with the IE mode built in, I ran Edge as my primary browser at home and work for six months then forced my users to Edge. The IE mode integration years ago was seamless and worth it for so many of our staff that couldn't differentiate from IE and.
So many company acquisitions I've gone through with users screaming they need Chrome, it's fun to humble them.
Asleep_Spray274@reddit
Why the push to edge? Is there a particular issue you are trying to solve?
trollymcc@reddit
it's usually a control and power play on the sysadmin.
Let the people have their browser of preference especially when it's in the top 3/4 used.
PossibilityOdd6466@reddit (OP)
We’re a very small team and the overhead of supporting multiple browsers isn’t nothing. We’re also using InTune, which gives some additional functionality and efficiency for edge over other browsers.
junon@reddit
It's a lot easier to manage Edge in a full Entra joined Intune environment.
LGP214@reddit
Try hardening and patching and performing IR on 3 browsers.
voxnemo@reddit
I can tell you why we made the change:
User upgrades are easier, their SSO, extensions, bookmarks, and everything just migrate right over. No extra steps as they sync with their MS Entra profile
Easier patch managment, extension managment, and integration with company apps that need to be able to launch or authenicate through a browser. We had a few issues with people installing bad/ sketchy addons that lead to issues and security concerns.
DLP protection, can block personal accounts, and a lot of other DLP risks either company wide or with those groups that have higher security requirements.
Simplified support, we support one browser and one browser only. You could do that with Google but then you have to solve SSO, ADMX, and other issues that are eliminated with MS Edge.
For those that require it you can still support Internet Explorer (may cuthulu have mercy on you if you fall in this like we do) and you can limit what sites open it and and it is in the browser they ues ever day.
There are many other positives and some negatives but overall the big thing is the end user negative effect on business needs is low to zero and the gains are big.
Mental-Paramedic-422@reddit
The benefits outweigh the blowback if you stage it right and make Edge feel already set up on day one. Do a 2–3 week pilot with vocal users from each department and build an app/site compatibility list; add IE mode via an Enterprise Site List where needed. Use Intune or GPO to force work sign-in, enable sync, and auto-import Chrome bookmarks/passwords/extensions on first run. Set an extension allowlist and blocklist, make Edge the default for http/https/PDF, and pin it to the taskbar. Leave Chrome installed for 60–90 days as an escape hatch, but default links to Edge and log exceptions so you can chase real issues. Block personal accounts and apply stricter DLP to HR/Finance. Share a 10‑minute Loom and a one‑pager, plus a couple office hours the first week. We used Intune and Azure AD App Proxy to secure SSO and publish internal tools; adding DreamFactory later let us generate REST APIs from legacy SQL so those tools worked smoothly in Edge without extra middleware. Do it this way and the pushback is small while the gains are real.
Asleep_Spray274@reddit
I agree with everything here. I asked the question as the op gave nothing to go on. I take the stance of not caring about user blowback. We are not here to make you happy, you are here to provide a service to the business and we provide the tools to help you do that. Edge all the way with others blocked. End of.
AiminJay@reddit
I’ve never seen one single VERIFIED instance where Chrome works and Edge doesn’t. I’ve had people claim so but never have any proof. Usually what doesn’t work is user error.
lacrosse1991@reddit
Aren’t you able apply restrictions in chrome on an organizational level to prevent issues? I know they do it where I work at least
Kemaro@reddit
Edge and Chrome are the same browser engine, so it really comes down to features and familiarity. If you are already a Microsoft shop then using Edge is a no-brainer. If you aren’t heavily integrated with Microsoft, then I would say it depends on what you are trying to accomplish by switching to Edge.
lumpkin2013@reddit
You could say it's worth it just for not having to deal with chrome security mitigation pestering from your security team.
Just have your InTune update ecosystem running and you don't have to worry about it.
HowdyBallBag@reddit
Been on it gor 2 plus years imo its better than chrome.
brownhotdogwater@reddit
I went only edge so I could use intune policy’s and control it better. People bitched for a little then nothing after.
jake04-20@reddit
Intune can't manage Chrome? That's another -1 for intune for me (which are starting to stack up) if so. At least with firefox and chrome you can just download ADMX templates for GPO.
brownhotdogwater@reddit
It can manage chrome a little. Just not as complete
Raymich@reddit
You need Edge on Mac and Ubuntu for Compliance CA policies to work. Also it’s a reskinned and improved Chromium browser.
We ditched Chrome company wide last year, no issues at all. Devs are allowed to use Chrome, but I ramped up its security settings to max so it’s not fun to use.
sylarrrrr@reddit
Edge is easier when your intune etc you can just roll it out how you like and have it auto sync bookmarks and history , it’s Basicly chrome anyway since they changed it to chromium based, we just cut off chrome on TL and they couldn’t open anymore lol
GeekgirlOtt@reddit
fr*kn 80% of those who will complain don't even know there was a new Edge. Tried the old one in lieu of IE and hated it compared to Chrome or it was glitchy. Never tried again.
robbgg@reddit
As an end user that got transitioned over to edge my main gripe was that the process of importing bookmarks and passwords from Chrome to edge wasn't obvious and I had to jump through some hoops to get the passwords transfered across as you can't do it directly within the browser (had tk export passwords as csv file from Chrome before importing to edge).
I have no significant gripes with edge itself but that transition was far more involved than it needed to be and I can imagine less technical end users being even more irritated by it.
Bishy_Bob@reddit
I'm so glad to find others here pushing Edge in an enterprise environment and moving away from Chrome.
Now how to convince management...
fatDaddy21@reddit
friends don't let friends (or coworkers) use chrome. just do it, blowback be damned.
Datruyugo@reddit
Could you explain this? Edge is basically chrome under the hood…?
Mean_Git_@reddit
We are a 365 house and use Edge to make hot dealing and rebuilds easier. No tickets for “where are my bookmarks” any more as we log into edge using their 365 account and sync.
brent20@reddit
Given that Edge is using the same engine, agreed from a technical standpoint it’s likely a non-issue, but definitely get setup in the enterprise management console for Chrome and at the very least, you can still fully manage Chrome and do anything you need to do.
For me, moving to edge fully gives the ability for users to sync/backup their bookmarks to their Entra identity and allows us to use Intune for all of the management (one less tool) but the bookmark syncing is great for when you need to swap out a computer- that feels like the only gain to me besides one less application to patch.
(We employe PatchMyPC so both Chrome and Edge are handled for us automatically, worth every penny)
Symbolis@reddit
What are the benefits to the user over using Edge over Chrome?
Tout those.
Arudinne@reddit
We're still working on a couple of things that are being problematic in edge, but for 98% of our users it works perfectly fine and it's one less additional application to manage since it comes with Windows.
doubleUsee@reddit
I've done Chrome to Edge at my last job, Firefox to Edge at my current. At the prior we gave lots of advance notice, automatic export of bookmarks and shit, lots of guides. At my current we informed them a week in advance 'export your bookmarks, here's a guide on how to import them, good luck folks'
both transitions were forgotten about within a week by all but one or two users but caused me lots of convenience for years to come afterwards.
Imbrex@reddit
Man I get that o365 is a great suite for an smb but sometimes this sub reads like Microsoft porpaganda
3dGrabber@reddit
I think for most the reason is not o365 but AD/Entra/Intune and the ability to centrally manage stuff with it. “Edge is easier to manage..” of course it is! MS is actively discouraging the use of chrome (have you tried edge?). It will agressively advertise security issues of chrome, and make it seem that they do not exist on edge even though both browsers use the same code base!
MS makes it easy to move everything to their products (“save file to onedrive”) and difficult to use “insecure” software from their competitors. Most sysadmins will go that easy route laid out before them (nobody ever got fired for chosing MS), becoming effectively MS’s vasalls. For many sysadmins, MS products are all there is in their job. They are trained in them since the start of their career, they have invested years of training.
EmptyOblivion@reddit
There shouldn't be any blowback in an ideal world. Would be great if you could just create an shortcut to edge and replace Chrome.exe with it, change the icon, so that people could think they still have Chrome :)
i-took-my-meds@reddit
It's hard because Edge and Chrome are both forks of the open source Chromium browser, so they are 99% compatible, but, in the 1% of cases that Chrome works but not Edge, people will use that to beat you over the head as to why "no take away Chrome >:(".
My org forces Edge as the default, but still allows Chrome for that 1% "just in case".
bjc1960@reddit
For me, no. Acrobat, Outlook and Chrome are the boomer/genx trinity of apps you don't change. I was able to add 500 other security controls, one at a time, by avoiding the these three. The way to become a billionaire is to make a flying car that is controlled by Outlook where people print out their trip on Acrobat and physically sign it and scan it back into the car.
Most people can't grasp that Edge, Chrome and Brave all come from Chromium. Edge does have different settings, as does Brave.
We use SquareX as an extension to Brave, FireFox, Chrome and Edge, and force configs through Intune.
I am usually an ass in my communication, I write stuff like "and for those that like to be tracked and prefer the personalized experience of YouTube adds, use Chrome"
shrimp_blowdryer@reddit
How much do you pay for square x? Is it per user or per computer? Thanks in advance. Just did a demo of harmony browse and defensx so curious how it compares
bjc1960@reddit
Per user, ... i can't share pricing, but it is reasonable. We bought it back in Feb, before many got into the space. We had to tune it a bit. One thing I do is block copying of commands from websites such as poweshell.exe, etc.
Rdavey228@reddit
People kick up a fuss because earlier versions of edge used to be crap. Those in tech don’t realise the current iteration of edge is basically built on the chrome engine that chrome also runs on.
Edge integrates with your MS account far better than chrome ever did.
Collaboration tools in the browser, bookmarks and passwords backed up to your ms account.
We literally just removed chrome from all of our employees. Couple people moaned but after they changed over they didn’t even notice a difference.
Sent round a guide in batches of 50 at a time. Gave them two weeks to do it with reminders every few days.
Users were instructed to email me once they had migrated and id cross them off a list. Anyone who didn’t respond by the deadline would either be assumed as completing the process or just chose to ignore it. Either way, chrome got removed. They were warned that any bookmarks or passwords lost would be un recoverable.
Kept doing that on loop till I got through all 500 employees.
Removal was automated by dropping them in an azure ad group and intune did the uninstall for me.
snorkel42@reddit
I hen I writes at my current company I just made the decision that new systems would be deployed with Edge only and any request for an alternative browser had to come with a specific business reason beyond “I prefer it”. So basically web developer/testers can have other browsers. Everyone else has edge.
Didn’t feel the need to fight to take Chrome off of systems where it was already installed, but it should be pretty much gone from our environment within a couple years.
clubfungus@reddit
It is Chrome. Just with Microsoft's branding.
Also it integrates with 365 the best.
We had a few whiners at first, but after a short time people realized it works fine.
darkwyrm42@reddit
If you're in a Microsoft-based environment, yeah. Browser sync for me has meant a lot fewer headaches at refresh time.
npab19@reddit
I started making chrome more difficult to use and edge easier to use. Just disabling chrome sign in and having edge sign in automatically really helped the move.
Hibbiee@reddit
I'll never understand the browser fandom, the difference is so minimal, edge just has the professional features worked out. Like others said, announce it, pitch it, then just force it.
Gopher246@reddit
We done this, blowback wasn't even that bad. Just make sure you configure it to show things like home button and bookmarks bar. Change the homepage to whatever you use and switch the search engine and new tab to Google. Its a doddle to import bookmarks. Ublock still works fine in it, if you use it. Most users barely noticed.
Most people think of edge like the explorer browser which was dreadful. Edge is fine now though. Just do it, works better with entra and not having chrome means one less thing to manage.
Echo-On@reddit
This was the right answer. Edge is Chromium based, there are no compatibility considerations, it it works with Chrome it will work with Edge.
OP's thinking is bang on, removing Chrome makes sense in M365 environments now that Edge is Chromium based.
By leaving Chrome in the equation you're knowingly exposing password cache and bookmarks to possible data loss. Moving to Edge sees this data protected.
I've done this multiple times and the blowback is minimal so long as you set Google as the default search provider, and the home screen and new tabs to Google also using the respective Edge Policies.
abyssea@reddit
When moving endpoints to Intune, Edge is the default. We do provide Chrome as available in Company Portal but that's it. We have so many different departments that want different browsers and they all think you need to be an expert on it.
iansaul@reddit
If you asked me a year ago if I'd be using Edge as my daily driver - I would've said you are obviously crazy/foolish.
After reading a few recommendations from other SysAdmins, I actually looked into it from a security perspective... And realized that because Microsoft forcibly shoves it down every admins throat from startup - we (at least I) had a terrible distaste and never gave it a shot.
The security profile is clearly superior to Chrome or Firefox, and is absolutely the best option for the average user.
itguy9013@reddit
We made the decision this week to stop supporting Chrome. Edge does everything and integrates way better into our environment.
If people want to use it, they can, but all troubleshooting is in Edge.
dmaynor@reddit
What prompted this decision?
itguy9013@reddit
There's little benefit in supporting two browsers in our environment. We're finishing up our Win11 project and taking the opportunity to not install Chrome on all new installs.
We're a heavy Microsoft shop and Edge does 99% of what we need.
Edge is also more efficient. It uses less resources. IMHO it's a better browsing experience overall.
dmaynor@reddit
Thank you!
progenyofeniac@reddit
I moved from Chrome to Firefox personally. Used FF at a job, loved it.
Switched jobs to one that almost required Edge and got used to it and now have zero complaints. It just works, and as someone else said its integration with Entra sign-ons is really solid.
Identify any true needs for Chrome but overall you should be fine moving to Edge.
loguntiago@reddit
Do you already use Chrome Enterprise? Better safe Chrome than/then trying to banish it.
lordjedi@reddit
There shouldn't be any blowback. It's the same engine under the hood. The only difference is really the skin.
If they can't give you even one example of why "Edge doesn't work" then they're just saying stuff to keep from having to use it.
We have use cases where FireFox is needed because Chrome and Edge don't work (this is mostly in accounting). The accountants can absolutely show that Chrome doesn't work. Everyone else is just whining.
Rockz1152@reddit
I despise Edge in it's out-of-box state, spamming co-pilot everywhere. But if you put the effort into setting up it's policy settings, which it does better than any browser I've seen, it can be pretty good.
sammy5678@reddit
I've got a handful of cloud platforms that just don't work in Edge.
Hell, the management tools for m365 work better in Chrome from my experience.
CCTV platform has better performance in Chrome.
There are enough that I had to make both available.
Edge is more widely supported now, but the handful of exceptions make it a necessity for me.
j0nquest@reddit
Edge and Chrome use the exact same rendering and JavaScript engines. If one works and another does not perhaps is because of differences in basic browser settings or extensions but it’s highly unlikely it’s because of a fundamental difference in the web rendering and JavaScript technology.
The biggest gripe I personally have with edge is the bullshit tacked on to. Bing, shopping, copilot, screenshotting your activity and probably plenty of other garbage I’m forgetting. When it (the chromium version) first came out it was pretty great but Microsoft doing what Microsoft does has really made it hard to love. Now it’s an exercise in constantly turning shit off.
Shaidreas@reddit
Yes, it is 100% worth it. The strongest argument to convince difficult people is that Edge is a Chromium based browser. It is literally Google Chrome built for Microsoft centric organizations.
Chrome is a major PITA in terms of rogue accounts etc. We haven't done away with Chrome completely, but we have blocked sign-in to Chrome to avoid passwords and company data being synced to personal accounts.
PAXICHEN@reddit
I don’t know. I prefer Edge at work - even on my Mac.
External-Okra3723@reddit
My company switched from google to Microsoft for email and with that everything changed over.
From google sheets to excel, OneDrive, teams.. etc.
So edge for a Microsoft environment is pretty nice. I particularly like that my home button takes me to the admin portal I think by default since I don’t remember setting it.
Also copilot in built into the side panel
doubleknocktwice@reddit
We locked down Chrome to the point they had no choice but to switch to Edge to get the best user experience.
dirtyredog@reddit
I use edge in linux it works well
Maggsymoo@reddit
we have lots of users complaining that edge is shite and doesn't work but can never demonstrate it. we politely tell them they are now the same behind the name and look. They're free to use chrome if they want to, but we are clear: WE DO NOT SUPPORT CHROME. The first question we ask to a web related ticket "what browser are you using". not edge? use edge everything works.
lost your chrome bookmarks when you changed computer? we don't support chromee! edge bookmarks are synced to your account like you were told.
we also make sure we claim any google accounts created using our domain names so that we can control and remove them as part of our leavers process.
so far we have not had a single thing that actually needs something other than edge.
Practical-Alarm1763@reddit
Just do it. After the first 3 months, staff will forget chrome ever existed. It's definitely worth it for defender integration, Entra, smart screen, and higher and easier compatibility with Intune config profiles. Unmanaged browsers are dangerous in this day and age. Convenience is not worth the risk. Just submit why and the risks associated to all critical stakeholders for approval and decision making. Remember you're not making the decision, they are. You're just recommending it.
kona420@reddit
Yeah if you are on 365 its a no brainer to have users bookmarks synced. There is little practical difference other than having to disable all the MSN news junk.
Maleficent_Bar5012@reddit
I have had plenty of things that dont work as well in Edge. Keep in mind, while it's chromium under the covers, it has Microsoft all over it. If the desire is to get rid of Google Chrome because of all the tracking, etc. Edge is no different. You dont get rid of big brother, you just get a different big brother.
Consider going Chromium. I switched a couple months ago and have no regretted it since.
anklebiter000@reddit
Yes! Just be sure to spend some time configuring edge policy. Blocking personal accounts, notifications, first launch windows, and others are worth killing before you try to force users to make the switch. You can get quite a bit of buy-in with advance notice and "security" as your reason.
We've had the most success using application control software to block third party browsers. This prevents calls for unsupported browsers.
brisquet@reddit
My org has been threatening this for a bit and my argument is that one of our banks sites for ACH transfers only works in Chrome and not Edge. I know they are both built on Chromium but for whatever reason, it just doesn’t work. So I say, are you going to tell the CEO we can’t deposit that $5 mil check because you wanted to go single browser for security?
So my advice is, if you go through with it, please please please, make an exception group.
Oh and team Firefox ✊
wholesaleworldwide@reddit
My company let their user decide what browser they want you m to use. Chrome, Edge, Brave... whatever.
saracor@reddit
Edge and Chrome behaving much the same. We only push out Edge by default. That is what everyone uses but we don't stop other browsers from being installed and are moving to setup packages in our company store for them so we can control the updates.
I get that some apps work better with different browsers but control in the business is the most important. Staff has to put up with policies and while you can be accommodating, if there are good reasons for something, than that is what they have to deal with.
theHonkiforium@reddit
The only problem we run into is vendors who pull shit like "use chrome" as their "fix" to any problem.
TheBigBeardedGeek@reddit
I actually would recommend a secure browser/VPN replacement over edge. We're in the process of that with Island, which is basically just Chrome anyway.
But if not, Edge is the way to go. If anyone complains, remind them it's just Chrome with extra security for businesses, and it all gets synced to your company account.
Jmoste@reddit
I've seriously considered making a shortcut look like chrome that opens edge and just having a script that moves their favorites over.
Shad0wguy@reddit
I've been using edge exclusively since it was rebooted running on chromium and have had very few issues. There has been the very rare occasion something wouldn't work that would work fine in chrome, but that is incredibly rare.
F7xWr@reddit
chrome sucks
Amdaxiom@reddit
Maybe you remember the horrors of trying to get users onto Office 2013. Or going to Windows 7 from Windows XP. Surprisingly going to Edge was a much simpler process, comparatively.
AdmRL_@reddit
Only thing that matters is SLT/Exec buy in.
As long as you have that everything else is just noise, format a canned response and tell SD any complaints re the swap should have that sent. Users will soon get the message that it's non-negotiable.
Alternatively, assuming limited/no buy-in from on high. Start with a transitionary period where you allow both browsers, but mandate Chrome must use the Microsoft Account plug in. After a few months everyone will naturally migrate to edge because that things a pain in the arse vs Edge Profiles.
touchytypist@reddit
Just tell them you’re switching to “Microsoft Chrome”, but they call it Edge for short.
I really wish they rebranded the name when they changed to a Chromium based browser from their proprietary Edge browser. Legacy Edge left such a bad impression for most people they still associate it with “Edge”.
FlyDino@reddit
Edge is chromium based. It is basically Crome under the hood.
antiduh@reddit
You know that Chrome supports a wealth of GPO? You can turn off nearly whatever you want. Block whatever you want to block.
Defense contractors with layers of layers of security still allow users to use Chrome and Edge.
davy_crockett_slayer@reddit
You can enforce login and profile sync for Chrome and Firefox.
TimetravellingElf@reddit
Literally fine through this process. Lots of warning, documentation to help move bookmarks etc over. Took about 2 months and there was very little pushback. We now just have an 'allow' list of staff that do require chrome for some reason or another. Bit going from 800ish installs to 15 much more manageable for management on a technical and user level. And blocking chrome installer through applocker considering they allow non admin installs which is really stupid
Evs91@reddit
Its sometimes helpful to keep in mind that most users think of the experience of that weird version of Edge before they switched to the Chromium engine. A few VP's that we had some pushback from were asked to use Edge for a day and see if the things that they thought would be issues actually were. No one commented or even noticed.
I suppose the "evil version" of this is to put the Chrome icon on the Edge shortcut and see if anyone even comments.
The benefits for a Microsoft centered org are very large. The integration with the DLP engine, the SSO, and other "Microsoft first" features are helpful.
egoomega@reddit
It used to suck, that’s why. Now it’s just fine imo, no real big diff between it and chrome, and edge is built on chrome framework. If you’re in a mostly Microsoft or azure environment this is just one less thing you have to manage through another system then.
night_filter@reddit
Judgements about what’s “worth it” are highly dependent on what you care about.
Edge and Chrome are functionally not much different. The last time I switched a company, there were all kinds of complaints from people complaining that Edge sucked and didn’t work. We went ahead anyway because Security wanted us to control browser security settings through Intune, and it was the easiest way, so we had backing from the CIO.
Our messaging out to the company was basically, “We know you like your browser, so we’ll give you a month with both whatever browser you have now and Edge. Please use Edge, and if anything doesn’t work, open a ticket and we’ll fix it, but in the meantime you’ll still have your old browser to fall back on.”
We got a bunch more complaints that Edge sucked and didn’t work, and it would keep people from being productive. We reiterated that they’d have both browsers for a month, and if they had any problems, they just needed to open a ticket. Still, lots of grumbling that they’d talk to the CIO.
The CIO kept backing us, and we went ahead with the plan. We got less than 5 tickets for a company with more than 500 people. As far as I can remember, none of the tickets were from real issues. They were things like, “Edge can’t load this site.” Turned out the site was just down, and couldn’t be loaded at all. Or maybe something like, “Edge isn’t letting me enter plaintext credentials in this site,” which was one of the settings that security had us configure, one of the reasons they wanted us to control browser settings more strictly.
No real problems, but it was still 4 months of a bunch of little dictators being pissy.
Disastrous_Time2674@reddit
There are MDM/MAM settings for Chrome if you use Intune. Also a lot of rules/settings for Edge, to your point though, no there shouldn’t be a difference because they both use chromium.
notHooptieJ@reddit
if you pasted the chrome icon on and change the start page to google they'll never know the difference.
seriously.
the only functional difference is the branding.
and TBH Edge handles multiple profiles a little better (once you turn off the auto-switcher-bullshit)
Kyp2010@reddit
I mean, all things considered, if Microsoft didn't try to beta Edge with the public it probably wouldn't have the reputation it does. It was for sure clunky and broken when first released, pre-chromium.
hardingd@reddit
We support both. We implemented the GPO settings for managed Chrome along with the settings for Single Sign On to work with Entra.
We force updating of the client for both edge and chrome.
FarmboyJustice@reddit
Yes, some sites will act differently in specific browsers, but the problem is, there's no one browser that works everywhere. I've found multiple examples of Chrome not working on a site where Edge, Vivaldi and Firefox all worked fine.
But the thing is, these issues are transitory. All the browser are releasing new versions very frequently, and most websites are either super-agile innovative cloud startups with nightly builds or elderly inflexible code bases run by conservative corporations, so usually when you encounter a problem, you just wait a couple of months and suddenly it goes away.
Kind_Ability3218@reddit
doesn't chrome have group policies you can deploy?
whatifyoutry@reddit
We switched to Edge from Chrome and while there were complaints, it was mostly superficial. None of the users seemed to care once it completed. This is a case of being against the process rather than the result
kero_sys@reddit
We have 8k users. No chrome installed. Edge only.
sunkeeper101@reddit
Most people at our organisation don't know exactly, which browser they are using. So we switched to Edge as standard Web browser two years ago, but let Chrome and Firefox installed on the machines. No backlash. Heavy users could stay with their favorite browsers and the rest is happy, that in Edge favorites are transferred, when they get a new laptop, as everything is connected to their M365 ID.
DueBreadfruit2638@reddit
We preinstall Edge, Chrome, and Firefox--but advertise that we only officially support Edge. Policy is enforced across all three. We disable profile sign-ins in Chrome and Firefox.
sparkyboomguy@reddit
Honestly Edge works great for a MS365 shop. We don’t enforce it, but 90% of our users use it. Including everyone in IT
Masam10@reddit
Why do you need to takeaway Chrome? Just set it to auto update and let people use it - that way you’re covered from a security perspective and also the users are happy.
If you’re worried about release control and stuff breaking with auto update in Chrome, then clearly you shouldn’t be removing it anyway.
I manage a ~10k users estate, we allow all Browsers but Edge is our preferred where we deploy bookmarks etc.
sysadmin_dot_py@reddit
It's not about updates.
binaryhextechdude@reddit
Edge is default in my org and Chrome is blocked apart from the very specific few that need it for dev work. We hear the occasional grumble but no one as you say has been able to pinpoint what the issues are.
haamfish@reddit
I’ve been planting the seed that other browsers will go away soon and some have switched voluntarily 😇
swimmer385@reddit
Not sure if you have devs on your team, but if they do web-development, and they can't use firefox and safari to test, there is no guarantee their code will work on those browsers. They both aren't based on chromium.
advanceyourself@reddit
Sell them on the advantages. Make sure you have SSO set up for everything possible. Set up the my app screen and set it up has the default. Make sure you have a well-established edge policy that still sets Google as the default search engine and a dress bar engine. If you make it look feel and seem like Chrome while playing out the advantages, you'll start to get staff buy in. Perhaps try it out in a department or with a few users as a test group, that way they can help "sell" it for you if you want to take a slower approach.
Ok-Double-7982@reddit
It's just people complaining.
Please provide screenshots and website URLs of the issues you are experiencing.
Crickets. I guarantee.
aisop1297@reddit
We prefer everyone use edge, however we allow Firefox because it handles memory much better than edge do certain websites that we used. Edge was actually an easy sell since it has more features than chrome from a business standpoint.
Absolute_Bob@reddit
Shed out an email saying Chrome is getting an updated shortcut on new work PC's then make an edge shortcut in their desktops that say Chrome underneath. They'll never know the difference.
Brad_from_Wisconsin@reddit
Allow them to use either but only support Edge. If they choose to use Chrome, it must be the latest update and if the latest update breaks their app, use edge.
ks724@reddit
Bring over their favorites and no one will care after a few days.
sakatan@reddit
They remember Edge from a few years ago - and that's that. They don't know that it's a completely different browser now and shit on it.
We're completely Edge in our org now and wouldn't go back. Way easier to manage out of the box & doesn't need an additional cloud account (that may or may not be their business mail) because they're already logged into M365 anyway.
The day security signed off on activating cloud sync in Edge was the day a lot of relieved sighing was heard by support.
Original-Locksmith58@reddit
Switching to Edge was one of the best decisions my org made
rao_wcgw@reddit
We moved to edge a few years back. There was some pushback but we've had no issues
PowerShellGenius@reddit
Syncing bookmarks is a key part of making devices trivially replaceable, such that users won't have issues if you give them a spare when theirs breaks down. The fewer things are stored only locally, the better.
If you use Edge, it can auto sign in and sync more seamlessly once they have MFA'ed into any other app that auths with Entra. If using WHfB it is 100% seamless as well.
If you want to ensure browser sync with Chrome, you cannot have it auto sign in. You could force them to sign in in order to use it + limit sign-in to your managed domain (would need to spin up a Cloud Identity Free tenant if you don't have Workspace). Then federate Google sign-in for your domain to Entra and it would be pretty seamless. But not quite zero interaction like having Edge sign itself in.
If you don't have Workspace and don't want to manage Google Cloud Identity Free either - then there is no managed account to sync to. You don't want people syncing to unmanaged accounts for security, and you don't want people not syncing at all since that hurts laptop replaceability and makes re-imaging or swaps matter to the user. I would not support Chrome if there are no managed Google Accounts.
canadian_sysadmin@reddit
Edge and Chrome are so similar now. For a lot of things I actually prefer edge.
You need management buy-in for stuff like this. Explain why you're making the change, and the benefits to the business.
If you don't have buy-in, people will just complain to their boss, or their boss' boss, and it's all over.
If it's for security reasons (MAM), great, but again that has to be explained with the proper buy in.
LBishop28@reddit
Yes, it’s worth it. Haven’t used Chrome in years.
cablethrowaway2@reddit
If you run Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, there is a deeper integration with edge that allows you to block full URL paths instead of just at the domain level
whatsforsupa@reddit
I've been thinking about this lately, as we've been diving deeper into the 365 ecosystem.
It's SO nice that everything just syncs with your Entra profile. Edge is Chromium based so it doesn't feel "that" different, and configuration wise, their GPOs are just as matured as Chrome.
Tenshigure@reddit
Prior to Edge being Chromium based and justifying the switch, we had four different GPO bundles for the four different browsers people were using (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari). Now, we’ve removed all but Edge and severely restrict access to Chrome for special cases (one of our software extensions inexplicably only launches via Chrome and they refuse to update the code to support Edge, guessing it refers to Google folders or something).
We had several complaints from users the first few weeks, but like every other change over time it became accepted and people moved on (especially when they realized they’ve got their profiles automatically synced no matter which system they’re logged into). Wasn’t the first major change I’ve done for users in the past, and compared to others it was actually one of the least painful ones to go through.
At the end of the day, the biggest thing to soften this blow (for yourself) is to get senior management buy-in. That way if they complain, tell them to take it up with the directors/CEO. WAY less pushback when someone with real authority has their signature on it.
ITjoeschmo@reddit
People are just afraid of the name Edge because it was originally Internet Explorer 2.0. That's not the case anymore, since Microsoft abandoned Internet Explorer and listened to customers clear preference for chrome. Edge is built off of chromium -- Edge is basically just Chrome with native Microsoft integration at this point. They even use the same plugins/extensions, and file structure, etc. You definitely used to be able to just copy the chrome app data files over and get bookmarks/etc. Not sure that's still 100% the same but yeah there really isn't much of a transition between them IMO
BeyondBreakFix@reddit
Edge only works fine, unless you have a specific need for a certain browser. E.g. some things do run better in Firefox or you may want to run an app in kiosk mode etc, but barring that edge will work for 90% of use cases.
super-six-four@reddit
We were supporting both and keeping GPOs identical.
We discontinued chrome when the Defender Smart Screen plugin became unsupported.
Users didn't like it for a week and then realised it was the same.
Edge has been great for intune management, entra sign in, syncing of bookmarks and passwords with their normal 365 account, defender, Smart screen etc. glad we did it.
Together with one drive, autopilot etc it means that they can just sign in with one account and instantly get all their stuff on a new machine.
No regrets.
Appropriate-Border-8@reddit
Ugh, now I have to stop saying "bookmark" and start saying "favorite/favourite"... 🤣
nickdetullio@reddit
We switched over last year. There was some pushback initially, but there are zero complaints now
ibor132@reddit
I won't try to speak to whether it's worth it, but I stopped using Chrome 100% not long after Edge came out (Firefox as daily driver and Edge for anything that absolutely won't work in Gecko). Zero problems with anything, other than a couple of very specific edge cases with situations that needed Chrome specific add-ons.
NoOrdinaryRabbit@reddit
We have gone the route of managing both Edge and Chrome for security reasons, but we only support Edge for access to corporate and M365 apps. We are a Microsoft shop and don’t have the cycles for troubleshooting non-MS browsers when “use Edge” fixes the problems. Chrome can still be used for interfacing with 3rd-parties if really (probably not) needed.
Unlikely you’ll get legitimate issues with switching, mostly just change resistance as you say.
ABlankwindow@reddit
it caused some headaches for the first couple of weeks but silence very quickly once the growing pains were dealt with.
g-rocklobster@reddit
I use both daily - Chrome for personal and Edge for work. While not necessily the "standard," my users are about half Edge and half Chrome with a few Firefox users thrown in. I have not had any complaints about Edge not working.
I agree with u/Imaginary_Staff2270 that when pressed to show what's not working, they can't - it's just the aversion to change.
BidAccomplished4641@reddit
We took away Chrome and all other browsers over a year ago. Everyone was fine after about a week.