By Steve Whiter, director at Appurity
For years, law firms have depended on Citrix and other virtual desktop environments to deliver business-critical applications like Lexis Visualfiles. That approach made sense when firms were tied to centralised offices and uniform hardware. But as hybrid working has become routine and costs have continued to climb, the balance between control, performance, and manageability has grown harder to maintain.
At Appurity, we’re seeing more firms re-examining how they deliver their core applications. Many want to keep the same standards of security and compliance they’ve always relied on, while easing the operational load that comes with traditional virtual desktop infrastructure. ChromeOS has started to feature more often in those conversations, largely because it provides a different way to achieve the same goals – secure, reliable access without the complexity.
Making better use of what’s already there
Most firms have now completed their Windows 11 migrations and standardised on compliant hardware. That transition, though largely finished, has prompted a wider rethink about how devices are managed over time. The last refresh cycle showed how much cost and disruption can sit behind operating system upgrades, particularly when hardware is replaced before its performance life has ended.
This is where many legal IT leaders are doing something different: looking not at operating systems but at operational models. ChromeOS Flex has been one of the more interesting outcomes of that thinking. Instead of buying new hardware or funding extended licences, IT teams can take, for example, Windows 10 devices and give them a second life under a managed, hardened OS.
Firms are also looking more closely at cost – not just at the point of procurement but across the full lifecycle of their endpoint estate. Once hardware reuse is factored in, the next question is how software and licensing models contribute to overall spend. Many firms still issue full Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 licences by default, even for users whose daily workloads sit almost entirely in browser-based tools or web-delivered case management systems. Supplying those users with enterprise-level licences and heavily managed Windows devices adds expense without improving productivity or compliance.
We’re seeing IT teams reserving the full Microsoft stack and heavier infrastructure for roles that genuinely need it while equipping support staff, contractors and temporary fee-earners with secure, centrally governed Chrome devices. The result is the same level of oversight and data protection, delivered at a fraction of the cost, and without the maintenance burden that drives so much hidden spend in legal IT.
There’s an environmental benefit here too. Firms reduce refresh cycles and cut energy consumption without compromising user experience. For some, that’s now part of their ESG reporting; for others, it’s simply a way to stop spending enterprise-grade budgets on workloads that no longer justify it.
How legal workflows are changing
The way legal professionals use technology hasn’t changed overnight. Most firms still rely on core applications such as Visualfiles, iManage, and other bespoke case management systems that have evolved over time rather than being rebuilt for the cloud. What has changed is the expectation around how those systems are accessed. Hybrid work is now standard practice, yet many of the delivery methods still carry the weight of older virtual desktop infrastructure.
That model continues to work, but it’s expensive to maintain and difficult to scale. Many IT leaders are now looking at lighter, browser-based ways of delivering those same applications securely – removing the dependency on VPNs or full desktop sessions while keeping data locked within the firm’s environment. The user experience is faster and more consistent. The operational burden is lighter on IT teams.
This approach also changes how firms think about access and confidentiality. In shared environments like client interview rooms, courts, or temporary workspaces, a device that resets between users prevents data from being left behind. Each session begins and ends cleanly, without relying on end-user behaviour to enforce data privacy and confidentiality standards.
ChromeOS handles much of the security work automatically. Verified boot ensures that the device starts from a trusted state each time. Sandboxing isolates every process, so even if one is compromised, it can’t affect another. Regular updates happen in the background, closing vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. This consistency matters most in mixed estates – where remote, mobile, and shared devices have the potential to fall out of line with firmwide policies.
Frameworks such as ISO 27001 depend on demonstrable consistency. Because ChromeOS devices operate from a single managed baseline and log activity centrally, audit evidence is built into the system. Endpoint configuration, patch status, and access records can be surfaced directly, reducing the manual effort of preparing for audits or client security reviews.
That built-in control has proved highly resilient. To date, there have been no reported ransomware attacks on ChromeOS devices.
No legal IT leader expects a single platform to do it all. Windows is still essential for many core applications, but ChromeOS is increasingly used where mobility, cost control, and rapid deployment matter most.
At Appurity, we’re seeing this hybrid approach take shape first-hand. Firms are assigning Chrome devices to support teams, fee-earners in temporary roles, and staff working across multiple offices or client sites. Others are using ChromeOS Flex to bring older hardware back into service, reducing both capital spend and the environmental impact of early refresh cycles. What these deployments share is a common goal: consistent governance across a diverse estate without the overhead of constant maintenance.
The more predictable the endpoint environment becomes, the easier it is to evidence compliance, support audits, and maintain client confidence. In turn, security teams spend less time managing exceptions, IT budgets stretch further, and users experience fewer disruptions.
For an industry that depends on trust, predictability is often the strongest form of security. ChromeOS gives legal IT teams a way to achieve that.
To learn more about Appurity visit https://appurity.co.uk/
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