Google has announced two major updates to its Chrome for Business suite of tools including a cloud-based management system for IT teams.

The cloud platform is designed to let firms running Google’s suite of business apps put access control policies in place, with over 100 different settings available, so staff can access their accounts from either work or personal devices.

Senior product manager for Chrome for Business, Cyrus Mistry said in a blog post the updates would help meet the needs of the increasing numbers of firms with mobile workforces.

“Now, whether employees are working from the company’s desktop or their personal laptop, they will be able to access default applications, custom themes, or a curated app web store when they sign-in to Chrome with their work account,” he said.

“With cloud-based management, IT administrators can customise more than 100 Chrome policies and preferences for their employees from the Google Admin panel.”

The second update, Legacy Browser Support, targets firms running older apps that do not run in Chrome. 

This means if an employee tries to access a legacy app still in use, it can be automatically opened in a browser that will run the app, as defined by IT.

With Legacy Browser Support, employees on Chrome are automatically switched to a legacy browser when they begin using an older app,” said Mistry.

“IT managers simply define which sites should launch from Chrome into an alternate browser, and then set this Chrome policy for all employees.”

Google recently improved the search and sharing features for its Chrome browser running on Apple’s iOS smartphone and tablet platform. Chrome’s update includes features that allow users to share web pages via email, messages and Facebook.