Ignite 2024: Transform your workday with the latest Edge for Business features

Today’s work environment doesn’t look the same as it did a few years ago. You’re supporting flexible work patterns, with remote users who are often using personal devices. Cybersecurity threats are more sophisticated, complicating the task of protecting sensitive information. And seemingly overnight, the responsibility of stopping unauthorized AI use is falling on your shoulders as IT and security professionals. Combine all this with the fact that today’s work relies heavily on software as a service (SaaS), and you’ll see that the web browser is crucial to accessing corporate resources and AI. This makes it an endpoint you simply cannot afford to overlook. You need a secure, business-ready browser.

The challenge is that not all browsers can meet that bar. And some solutions meet security requirements only to get in the way of productivity. This is where Microsoft Edge for Business aims to help: to calm the chaos by addressing this mix of needs holistically, and give you control without adding to the noise—or your costs.

In this blog, you’ll learn how Edge for Business as a secure enterprise browser can help you, as well as new innovations to make the workday better for you and your users.

Jump to the following sections to learn more:

Or watch the video to see all these features in action:

Microsoft Edge for Business is your secure enterprise browser

With the growing use of SaaS and cloud services, the browser is the most used app on a PC. And with this single app, you need to meet the wide range of use cases in your organization, including elevated security and data control scenarios. The good news is that you already have the right browser ready to go, pre-installed on Windows. Edge for Business is a secure enterprise browser optimized for AI that can help meet the security and productivity needs of your entire organization, as a single browser. It supports advanced security features such as data loss prevention, unmanaged device support, and even generative AI controls. With Edge for Business, you get more security without the hassle of a ton of extensions, since it extends the enterprise-grade protections from your Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 licenses, at no additional cost. This security is backed by Microsoft, a leader in security, compliance, identity, and endpoint management.

Management made simple

To configure your secure enterprise browser, you need a robust management solution. If you’re a pro at policy management or are an enterprise customer, you likely use Microsoft Intune to configure policies, and you can manage Edge for Business there too. For browser specialists, small or medium sized businesses, or those that want a guided experience, we recommend the Edge management service in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Customers love its easy-to-use UI, AI controls, and organizational branding features, and now it’s even better with the added capability to set Intune policies. This enables you to deploy both browser policies in the cloud and Intune policies from a single pane, making it easy to keep users safe and your browser workflow streamlined.

The ability to deploy Intune policies in the Edge management service is now in preview.

Safely introduce and control AI in your organization

AI is a big productivity accelerator, yet it also presents a big challenge with unsanctioned AI use. The Edge management service offers a comprehensive solution for overseeing AI in Edge for Business. You can restrict access to public AI services that may not meet your organization’s compliance requirements, as well as exert precise control over Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft’s AI chat for the web and work. Edge for Business offers an integrated Copilot experience with enterprise data protection that addresses data leakage and other AI security concerns. Not all browsers offer integrated AI chat with enterprise-grade data protection, and at no additional cost. You also have the power to manage the browser’s AI features that are independent of Copilot, such as text prediction and AI-generated themes.

Managing Copilot and other AI usage in the Edge management service is generally available, and you can learn more here.

Deploy encrypted shared passwords with ease

There’s a known security gap that you may have been tolerating out of necessity—a common password shared across a set of users. Whether it’s a team accessing the same data repository or managing common social media accounts, passwords are often passed around in emails, chats, and even on paper. This risky practice can lead to unapproved users gaining access and serious downstream consequences.

Secure password deployment in the Edge management service can help put an end to this. It enables you to deploy encrypted shared passwords to a set of users, allowing them to log into websites seamlessly without ever seeing the actual passwords, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and enhancing your organization’s overall security posture.

Secure password deployment will be available in preview in the coming months for Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, and E5 subscriptions.

Keep your estate up-to-date

Keeping all browser instances up-to-date is crucial to protect against threats. The Edge management service offers a single view of all managed Edge instances with their update status and possible actions to take. For out-of-date devices, you can easily schedule updates or notify users to update their browser to avoid workflow interruptions.

This feature is now in public preview.

Protect your Microsoft Office documents on the web

Managing sensitive Microsoft Office documents on the web has traditionally posed significant challenges due to insufficient leak controls in the browser. Edge for Business now respects usage rights restrictions on sensitive Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, such as blocking screen captures. It leverages Microsoft Purview Information Protection settings that were previously only for desktop Office apps, enhancing protections for editing, printing, and copying on the web. This protection is native and exclusive to Edge for Business.

Microsoft Purview Information Protection for online Microsoft 365 documents is currently in preview and will be generally available by the end of the year. To prevent unintentional sharing of sensitive information, we strongly recommend disabling other browsers that lack adequate document protection, so users do not accidentally expose content through security loopholes.

Support any device, anywhere

Managing data security across personal and unmanaged devices has become a new norm with hybrid work. With Microsoft Intune’s Mobile Application Management (MAM), you can help ensure that your organization’s data remains secure even on these devices, without requiring device enrollment. By leveraging Intune’s app protection policies, you can help safeguard sensitive information, enforce compliance, and provide a seamless user experience across Windows 10, Windows 11, and mobile devices. Whether your employees are using company-owned or personal devices, MAM helps ensure that your organization’s data is protected, enabling secure and productive work environments.

Unmanaged device support using Intune MAM is currently available. Learn more about Intune MAM and how to use it for mobile devices.

Detect scams in real time with scareware blocker

Online scams have become increasingly sophisticated, to the point where you may feel it’s out of your control to protect yourself and your users—even those who are technologically savvy. One particular type of scam is “scareware”. It takes over the entire browser screen, creating a sense of urgency and panic that pressures people to act quickly, potentially leading them to disclose sensitive information. These scams appear and vanish within hours—often before any preventative action can be taken.

To combat such scams, Edge is introducing new, no-cost capabilities to help identify scareware in real-time to help make the internet a safer place both inside and outside of work. Scareware blocker uses machine learning (ML) to identify these scams. Upon finding a potential danger, it displays a warning to alert users. If the user identifies the website as safe, they are still in control and can continue to the page.

For organizations, using scareware blocker prevents attackers from exploiting system vulnerabilities that can grant remote access. This helps to protect your network and your employees.

Scareware blocker will be in public preview in the coming months.

Management for partners is getting easier with new policies in Microsoft 365 Lighthouse

For partners, Microsoft 365 Lighthouse is a game-changer. It provides Managed Service Providers (MSPs) with a powerful tool to manage customers at scale. Lighthouse facilitates multi-tenant management, giving you a clear view and control over all your customers. You can quickly set up security settings for Microsoft Edge for Business, so that policies are consistently applied across all your customers, saving you time while enhancing security. We’re excited to announce that additional Edge for Business policies will be coming to Lighthouse, making it even easier for partners to manage and secure their customers’ web browsers.

These new policies include customization abilities, such as adding organization branding; enhanced security features, such as password monitoring and generation; and other configurations, such as allowing Copilot to access page content and allowing single sign-on. These policies will be available in Lighthouse in public preview in the coming months. Learn more here.

Calm tab chaos with just a few clicks

We know security is a top concern, but you also want to drive productivity for your organization. Edge for Business comes packed with useful tools that help your users stay organized and tame the chaos.

If you’re someone who constantly has a ton of tabs open, you probably know how chaotic it can be to locate the specific tab you need. With vertical tabs, you can more easily read the page titles by displaying the tabs on the side rather than horizontally on top.

Furthermore, you can group your tabs together with a name and color, so they are even more organized. If you don’t have time to group your tabs individually, Edge for Business can do it for you. AI detects the common themes across your tabs and groups them together for instant organization. And, you can easily adjust the groupings to suit your preferences. These tab groups remain synced across your devices, ensuring you stay organized regardless of your location.

When you’re working on multiple projects, it’s easy for project tabs to get mixed together, wasting your time as you search for the right one. But what if all your tabs for each project were separated into their own neatly organized windows? Edge workspaces do just that. Workspaces let you open a group of tabs together, so you can bring up a whole project’s tabs in one go. You can also share the workspace with others, so your team can access all the project resources with just one link. Workspaces allow you to switch between projects quickly, and you can close out of your workspace with all your tabs auto-saved to come back to it later. Between tab groups and workspaces, using Edge for Business makes it easier to manage your work and projects. To get started with these, download and share the tip sheet.

Vertical tabs, tab groups, and Workspaces are currently available. Learn more here.

Learn more

As a secure enterprise browser optimized for AI, Edge for Business is flexible to meet the needs of users across your entire organization. Tap into the security investments you’ve already made with Microsoft 365 and extend protections into the browser, at no additional cost.

Watch this secure enterprise browser explainer video