Introduction

As a rule, the IT department is responsible for determining the standard desktop configuration and web browser for the organization. In the past, most IT groups opted to use Internet Explorer for its flexibility in management as well as IE having been included with Windows. As the web has evolved, pressures have been put on the IT group to offer more browser choice to their users. The challenge of offering choice was complicated by the need for IT to properly manage the alternate browser offerings.

Browsium Catalyst is designed to help IT organizations to address these challenges and offer a selection of browser choice to end users — all without losing management functionality. Catalyst provides the ability to deliver browser change and still ensure business process remains uninterrupted.

Catalyst is more than just about controlling browser behavior. Catalyst is designed to solve IT challenges around legacy web application compatibility issues, challenges around embracing emerging technologies and reducing support costs. Lastly, Catalyst provides the bridge needed for IT to address consumerization in the workplace.

Browsium Catalyst Explained

Browsium Catalyst is the first multi-browser redirection and management tool of its kind. Unlike other browser redirection engine solutions which have been designed and implemented as part of a vendor specific solution, Catalyst is platform and browser agnostic. By removing any reliance on a specific vendor technology, Catalyst enables an IT organization to be in complete control regardless of how they want to implement the solution.

Catalyst provides the ability to safely deploy multiple browsers to end users and still control which browser can be used for a given website or web application. In delivering this level of control, IT organizations finally have a toolset to enable browser choice. Now IT can deliver a multi-browser solution in a manner that makes sense for the organization. Business needs and end user choice are decoupled from web application contingencies, giving IT the flexibility to meet multi-browser requests with confidence.

Catalyst makes sense to the user since they to do nothing special or different; the add-ons do all the switching automatically. The solution is seamless. The end user can focus on doing their work and avoiding problems or downtime.

Catalyst is controlled by a hierarchical system of rules, defined using the Catalyst Configuration Manager. Understanding this system is the key to understanding Catalyst. The Configuration Manager provides tools to define criteria by which web applications are loaded in a desired browser. In addition to simply specifying a website to open in a given browser, Catalyst offers the ability to control the user experience when being redirected.

For example, some web applications not only need to be opened in a specific browser, but the application requirements are to open each link in a new session. Catalyst can do that with ease. If the requirement is to open content in a new tab, no problem. Catalyst can even block requests entirely, helping provide an extra layer of immediate protection when a security advisory is issued for an exploit on a given browser.

Catalyst is designed to keep users where IT wants them to go — while not getting in the way when IT hasn’t set a policy for a given location. Catalyst enables IT administrators to ensure the right browser is used for the right application, but undefined applications can be accessed with the browser of choice for the user.

Catalyst is built on an opt-in basis. In other words, Catalyst intervenes when — and only when — it is instructed to act.

Browsium Catalyst Configuration Manager and Client

The Catalyst Configuration Manager is the main interaction point for IT administrators using Catalyst. Catalyst has been designed to work in a traditional IT setting and deploy using existing technology systems in use at your organization.

The basic design of the Catalyst Configuration Manager is such that it easily matches the architecture and needs of your organization. Using a distributed solutions approach, web application owners, business units or the IT organization use the Catalyst Configuration Manager to create rules and configurations for their specific needs; alternatively, a single administrator can manage all the rules and settings.

Browsium Client, a lightweight, unified client agent that works with all modules in the Browsium browser management suite, includes extensions for four browsers — Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge (Legacy and Chromium versions), Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. Catalyst also supports the ability to redirect directly into Edge Internet Explorer Mode in Microsoft Edge (Chromium). In addition, Catalyst supports the ability to define and configure additional custom browsers — either additional versions of Chrome or Firefox, or an arbitrary browser to set as a target for redirection. Once Browsium Client has been installed on a system, the Browsium Controller process will load at user logon and read the Catalyst configuration from the system.

Catalyst supports both local and Group Policy managed settings to provide the most flexibility and truly deliver an enterprise-ready solution. Once the configuration is loaded, the browser extensions monitor the navigation process for each browser and communicate with the Controller to ensure the correct rule is followed and the appropriate browser is invoked.

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Section Two

Installation

In this section, you will learn:

• About the Browsium Catalyst components

• Software requirements for Browsium Catalyst

• How to install Browsium Catalyst