Since the release of the updated version of Edge, I’ve been a passionate fan of it. As for me, it has everything that a browser should have now. Additionally, has several advantages that the Microsoft ecosystem gives. Let’s start with what makes the new Edge browser simply good.
I should immediately explain at the beginning why I do not use Google Chrome. Chrome has for me two basic disadvantages that disqualify for me. Firstly, Google, in addition to being a browser, is also an analytical tool which provides a range of data to Google. And this, with all my paranoia and respect for privacy and security, is a disqualifying factor. For a long time, I don’t like what Google does when it comes to your online privacy. Yes, I know that something like this does not exist but still I try to do as much as possible in this regard.
Why Microsoft Edge?
Edge is a browser which just works for me now. In addition to the standard options like synchronization between devices, stability and speed also has a few things that are particularly important to me.
The first option that I would like to draw attention to is Microsoft Editor. Recently if someone needed a tool to check grammar and spelling did not really have many choices and for most of us the obvious choice was Grammarly. Of course, people says that Grammarly is better, but to get all features you need paid version. And it’s not cheap.
But for people like me who do occasional writing, the features offered by Microsoft Editor will be quite sufficient. What’s more, these options can be found not only in Edge. They also appear in Word and other Microsoft products. I can see that Microsoft do constantly improvements to the tool, so it’s just a matter of time when it will become “must have” addon.
The second option that finally allowed me to 100% switch to Edge is profile functionality. This is especially true when you work on multiple Office 365 tenants and each of them has its own credentials. The ability to create a profile for each of them finally gives us the opportunity to easily switch between environments. In the previous version it wasn’t simple and required a large west and did not really work as it should. It is worth mentioning that Edge is also available on Mac OS and synchronization works ok.
And that’s it. It’s just works for me. But if you are in cloud environment and you manage multiple devices there is another big game changer…
Administration in Intune just rocks
Sometime ago browser management with Intune wasn’t easy to do. You must configure it with ADMX profile and Chrome for example is still configure in this way. Which is painful as from time to time it’s doesn’t work and it’s difficult to find out what’s the problem. In case of Microsoft Edge, it has been solved in a different way. Right now, I will just do brief description, and soon I will create dedicated post how to manage the Edge with Intune.
Edge Installation with Intune
If you want to deploy new Edge with Intune, you have dedicated profile. So, you don’t need to search for installation packaged or correct version. In this case you will just go to apps, add proper app type and you are ready to go.
Security
Another significant improvement is Microsoft Edge security baseline. What is security baseline? It’s a group of predefined settings which Microsoft recommends making your devices secure. It’s a good idea to follow them and use instead of default settings. For example, you defined Minimum SSL version or Configure Microsoft Defender SmartScreen.
General configuration
The last point which I would like to mention is Edge configuration itself. Normally you will work with ADMX, but in this case Microsoft made us a favour and create Administrative Templates. What’s it? You have access to all Edge settings in one place. What does it mean for us? Instead configuring computer by computer, you will configure all browser settings, for example starting page, tabs behaviour, etc. So, if you want to set up your SharePoint site or Yammer as starting page it’s good place to start.
What next?
This is just a brief description why you should think more about Edge. I know that a browser from Microsoft is not an excellent choice for historical reasons for some of you. But If you check different reports, you will find out that Microsoft Edge is just a good browser. And if you combine it with Intune you life can be just easier.
