Why enterprise browsers will unlock productivity, improve user experience

Keith Shaw: You may not think so, but is it time to update your browser? New technologies and business functionality might be on the horizon, which means it’s time to rethink how you view the web and the internet.

We’re going to chat about browsers — yes, browsers — on this episode of Today in Tech.

Keith: Hi everybody, welcome to Today in Tech. I'm Keith Shaw. Joining me on the show today is Bradon Rogers. He is the Chief Customer Officer at Island. Welcome to the show, Bradon. Bradon Rogers: Keith, good to see you again. Thanks for having me.

Keith: I'll tell you what — when you pitched me this topic, I thought, "Browsers? Really? We're going to talk about browsers?" So let’s start off: What’s wrong with the browsers we're using today? Is it just that one size doesn’t fit all anymore, or is there something deeper?

And I really want to go back and talk about the history of browsers — for people who might not remember the browser wars from 20 or 30 years ago. Bradon: Yeah, happy to. So, to your question — what’s wrong with the browsers we have today? Honestly, nothing.

They're great pieces of technology. In fact, it’s probably one of the most ubiquitous interfaces in tech. Even the least technical person on the planet knows how to use a web browser.

But if you think about it, the way we position the browser for success today is a bit misguided. Historically, we used browsers to consume information — news, sports — and then we began shopping online. The browser evolved.

Eventually, someone came up with a clever idea: "Why not use the browser to deliver applications?" So we stopped building separate front ends and thick clients and started leveraging this already ubiquitous interface.

What happened, though, is the browser remained a consumer-grade piece of technology, while the way organizations used it began to shift. The creators of browsers had one mission: serve billions of people. But enterprises had different needs — cybersecurity, performance, regulatory compliance. The missions became misaligned.

So now, we’re rethinking: If the enterprise wants to use the browser to deliver apps, does the one-size-fits-all approach still make sense? What if we took that familiar interface, leveraged users’ existing knowledge, and built something specifically for enterprise needs?

It’s not that traditional browsers are bad — they’re just built for a different purpose. That’s why we invented the enterprise browser: to transform it into an application delivery platform.

Keith: Is it fair to say this shift started with the web app movement? Like this call we’re doing now — it’s through a browser-based app. Before, that would've been a separate program. Bradon: Correct. Before, it would have been a stand-alone thick client that required installation and user training.

You might have had to manage separate credentials and deployment logistics. But the world converged on the browser as that ubiquitous interface. It just made sense. And once the browser became that front-end experience, we saw an opportunity.

What if we could build services directly into that experience — like identity awareness, device posture checks, geolocation, application tenancy, and other contextual clues? The browser sits at the intersection where the user engages. What if we used that position to our advantage?

It was always there, but the industry largely missed it. Thankfully, our founders recognized the opportunity, and now enterprise browsers are being used by millions of people around the world. Keith: Is this shift mainly driven by cybersecurity needs? Bradon: Often, yes.

In cybersecurity, we typically assert control through endpoint agents or the network stack — via secure service edge, SaaS, proxies, DLP, malware inspection. But that creates complexity. We end up inserting tools between the user and the application — breaking open traffic, intercepting SSL, etc.

Instead, what we did was take that consumer browsing experience and make it cooperative. We wrapped technology around it — adding security and automation — without interfering with the natural flow. The user still launches their browser and accesses their app, just like they would at home.

But under the hood, we’ve built in security and control in the browser itself. Keith: So you're not stripping features out of a consumer browser — you’re adding functionality around it? Bradon: Exactly.

The control point now lives post-SSL termination and pre-render, giving us full fidelity without tampering with encrypted traffic. That way, you avoid things like quantum-proof cryptography hurdles or certificate interception. It’s clean and powerful.

Before the Chromium open-source project, every browser vendor had to build their own rendering engines and plugin ecosystems from scratch. That meant testing against the entire internet to ensure compatibility. Chromium changed all that. Now, we build our enterprise browser on Chromium — just like Chrome, Edge, Brave, and others.

We support all standard extensions and rendering logic. But instead of focusing on ad targeting or content delivery, we build natively for enterprise needs. Keith: So is this aimed at securing a specific app or multiple apps? Bradon: Both.

A company with 10,000 users might start with 100 who need secure access to two sensitive apps. We can enforce browser usage only at specific times — just like how a Zoom link opens the Zoom client.

When users try to access a privileged app via Chrome or Edge, we gracefully redirect them to the enterprise browser, which becomes the exclusive gateway. Many organizations start small and then expand to thousands of users once they see the value.

Keith: It sounds like we may need to redefine what we mean by "browser." It’s no longer just what you use on a desktop — it can be on phones, kiosks, thin clients... Bradon: Absolutely. That’s why we adopted the term enterprise browser.

It’s not just a browser — it’s a purpose-built platform that meets both the practitioner’s and the user’s needs. That’s what category creation is about: defining something new and evangelizing it. Keith: We usually avoid the word “enterprise” because it's overused.

Was there ever any consideration for something like “business browser”? Bradon: We discussed it. One rejected option was "secure browser" — but that term was tainted by bad virtualized browser experiences from a decade ago.

Also, our product empowers more than just cybersecurity — it enables productivity, simplifies infrastructure, and replaces tools like VPNs or password managers. We wanted to appeal to all those audiences. Keith: What about something like “smart browser”? Bradon: [Laughs] That came up too!

But we went with “enterprise browser” and it seems to have stuck — with customers and analysts alike.

Keith: You mentioned generative AI earlier. Are you seeing that integrated into browsers too? Bradon: It's actually more of an accelerant than a disruption. Browsers are still the front-end interface for humans — whether you're using ChatGPT or a workflow tool.

For example, imagine a call center agent who spends 60 seconds copying data between apps. With browser-based AI automation, we can reduce that to six seconds. Now multiply hat across hundreds of agents. That’s massive productivity. Also, companies are entering multi-model AI environments. Different apps might call different models.

The browser can serve as the orchestration layer — knowing which model to invoke based on context, while keeping everything secure. Keith: So instead of layering AI on top of apps, we build it directly into the browser? Bradon: Exactly.

The browser sees all apps and front-ends, and can plug into enterprise models. It’s the perfect intersection point.

Keith: Are there specific industries adopting enterprise browsers more quickly? Bradon: We’ve seen broad cross-industry adoption. Financial services were early adopters — they pressure-test everything, from red teams to compliance. Now we’re seeing traction in healthcare, with providers and EMR vendors integrating directly. What’s interesting is that it’s cross-size too.

A small bank with 200 employees once told me, “This gives me the power of a full security stack without the cost.” For large organizations, it simplifies and collapses infrastructure.

Keith: Any favorite use cases — beyond security? Bradon: A great one is resiliency. During cyber events or outages, organizations need a way to restore access fast. One of our customers onboarded 6,000 users in two days during an incident — just to restore communication and basic cloud app access.

Another use case: business continuity planning. We recently ran a “war game” with a healthcare provider to model how to restore services during an emergency — nothing to do with cyber, just operational resilience.

Keith: Is there a learning curve for end users? Bradon: Virtually none. Because we’re built on Chromium, the interface looks and feels exactly like Chrome or Edge. We’ve had deployments over 200,000 users, and nobody needed training.

Users just see their apps — Salesforce, Teams, internal tools — and launch them like they would on a phone. Keith: Can users access personal Gmail or browse freely? Bradon: That’s the beauty of it. We support a “say yes” philosophy.

Organizations can allow personal Gmail or ChatGPT without risking data leakage. The browser keeps corporate and personal data separate. You can enable flexibility without compromising control.

Keith: So you’re saying this could reduce shadow IT? Bradon: Yes — and it also addresses why shadow IT exists. Often it’s because employees can’t get the tools they need. We help organizations offer sanctioned alternatives that meet user needs.

And if someone tries to access the wrong AI tenant, we redirect them to the correct one.

Keith: So does this become the default browser in five or 10 years? Bradon: Yes. Within five years, every major organization will have some enterprise browser footprint. In five to 10 years, it’ll feel strange not to use one.

Adoption is growing rapidly — and now that it's a recognized category, other players are entering the space too. That just validates the need. Keith: Will consumer browser vendors try to copy this?

Bradon: They may try to add enterprise features — but their business is built on search and ad revenue. We're not a threat to them, and vice versa. What we’ve built took five years; it’s not something you can bolt on overnight.

Keith: Bradon Rogers, great stuff. Thanks again for joining the show and walking us through the world of enterprise browsers. Bradon: Thank you, Keith. Great to be here. Keith: That’s going to do it for this week’s episode.

Be sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and leave your thoughts below if you’re watching on YouTube. Join us every week for new episodes of Today in Tech. I’m Keith Shaw — thanks for watching!