What browser research tells us about the app landscape
New Omdia research reveals Windows apps still outnumber browser apps in organizations, while unmanaged browsers like Safari and Firefox create potential security blind spots.
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Published: 18 May 2026
I recently conducted research into browser management and security with my network security and zero trust counterpart, John Grady, and there were some fascinating takeaways.
John and I both look at browsers from different angles. For me, the browser is an application that now accesses dozens of other apps and extensions. For John, the browser is a secure access platform that's tightly aligned with organizational zero-trust initiatives. John will likely have his own things to say about the research, so stay tuned to his work, too.
From my perspective, one of the top things that stood out was ecosystem diversity. Although I always kind of knew that it was crazy out there, it's nice to be able to quantify it. So, in this post, I'll go over a few of the key findings from the app ecosystem.
On average, Windows apps browser apps
It's understandable to think that the world is comprised of browser apps today, so one of the first areas I wanted to address was the prevalence of both Windows and browser-based apps (sometimes called "SaaS" apps, but SaaS is a license model, so we went with "browser-based"). On average, organizations report roughly 126 Windows-based applications in use, compared to about 109 browser-based applications. I had to double-check the math, but it's correct. Among the IT and cybersecurity respondents to this research, they estimate that Windows apps still outnumber browser apps. Even for an old Windows guy like me, that was surprising.
64% of respondents said their users spend more than half their day in the browser, which works out to an average 56% of the day spent in the browser.
Things became a bit clearer when we asked how much time the typical knowledge worker spends using a web browser each day. 64% of respondents said their users spend more than half their day in the browser, which works out to an average 56% of the day spent in the browser. So Windows apps persist, but browsers are used more.
What we found anecdotally in conversations after conducting the research is that browser usage versus locally installed app usage is very dependent on the use case and persona. I'm a creator in an organization that's largely Microsoft Office-dependent, and I couldn't do my job without locally installed apps. I'd put myself at 75-80% in locally installed applications. But other people are nearly 100% browser-based.
So, we finally answered that question. Too bad it doesn't matter, because we're still stuck delivering, managing and securing all of these. It's good to know where to look, though.
Unmanaged browsers could be an evolving blind spot
When we asked about organizational browser support, it was no surprise that Chrome and Edge came out on top with 88% and 84% of organizations, respectively. The more interesting takeaway is that Safari and Firefox are in widespread, often unsupported use. While Safari is formally supported by 46% and Firefox by 43%, there's an awful lot of unsupported usage of both -- 26% for Safari and 32% for Firefox. This could indicate a browser management and security blind spot, and it's potentially troubling for a few reasons:
Lack of awareness or visibility. If you're not aware of the browsers, it's difficult to ensure they get updates and maintain a strong security posture. Sure, there are ways to mitigate this, but knowing where to look is always helpful.
Extensions. Without getting too far off track, browser extensions and their management are a bit of a mixed bag. Extensions can be very powerful, but they can also expand the risk profile of a device or browser. Unmanaged browsers lead to unmanaged extensions, which, again, come back to visibility.
Shadow IT and shadow AI. Unmanaged browsers might just be in use because, for example, the organization standardized on Chrome while the user has a MacBook that defaults to Safari. But multiple browsers -- and unsupported browser usage -- can enable activities that IT perhaps would rather tamp down.
To be clear, I'm not saying the house is on fire. But this kind of fragmentation, coupled with browser app usage numbers and some of the data on how browsers and extensions are managed, makes me think we should pay a bit more attention to this space. As we become more dependent on the browser as the primary interface to apps during the day, we should try to make sure we have a complete picture of what these apps are, what they're accessing and what else can see them (extensions).
We also asked about AI browsers. Given that this research was fielded between December 2025 and January 2026, AI browsers were still relatively new to the market. We got some mixed signals that suggest excitement but some overconfidence in their enterprise readiness. Whether that takes the shape of purpose-built browsers like Comet or Atlas, or AI features embedded into Chrome and Edge, remains to be seen. I'd place my bets on the latter.
VDI and DaaS usage
I often hear an anti-VDI story from modern secure browsing vendors, so I wanted to specifically ask about the VDI and DaaS environments in use. What I learned should not be surprising to anyone who relies on VDI and DaaS.
Very few VDI and DaaS environments are used primarily for delivering browser-based applications. Overall, 52% of respondents surveyed said they use VDI or DaaS to deliver browser apps. Of those, 53% described their environment as a balanced mix of Windows apps, desktops and browser-based applications. 28% said they deployed mostly Windows desktops or apps as opposed to browsers.
Just 18% said they deployed "mostly browser-based applications," and only 1% said they solely used VDI/DaaS to deliver browser apps.
This leaves me with two main perspectives to share:
To the vendors: VDI and DaaS environments are complex and extremely Windows-oriented. While there might be an opportunity to reduce VDI footprints by offloading browser apps, the process of extricating a workload from those environments might not be worth it to the customer, who is also often heavily invested in their existing infrastructure and licensing. Be willing to work with customers and remember that all it takes is one Windows app to mess up a "replace your VDI" story.
To the organizations: There are good alternatives if you find yourself hanging on to VDI just to deliver browser apps, or if parts of your environment are solely dedicated to browser apps. But it's also OK to leave well enough alone, especially if cost and complexity aren't your sole motivator. Still, there is a lot that can be done to get out in front of the abundance of browsers and browser apps in use across the organization. If you haven't started paying attention, the time is now.
Conclusion
While browser apps have certainly displaced several Windows apps, there's a roughly even mix of Windows and browser-based apps deployed in organizations. The reality is the same as ever: If you could have moved your Windows apps to browser-based apps by now, you probably would have, so the Windows apps that you have today are probably stuck with you for a while. AI might change some of that by making it easier to convert Windows apps to browser-based apps (especially those internally-developed monsters), but it's also possible we'll see a resurgence of local app usage if AI inference moves closer to endpoint devices.
Regardless of which app type is used more, each of these apps needs to be managed and secured. A key consideration is that the management and security model for browser-based apps is different. The browser itself is an app that's used to access many other apps and services. In that way, it's a bit like an OS, which makes extensions a bit like apps of their own.
In a future post, we'll look at how browsers and extensions are managed, but for now, I'll leave you with this: The research shows there's still a pretty wide spectrum of apps in use, and app usage appears to differ greatly between user personas. A newer organization might be more browser-dependent. An older organization might be more Windows-dependent. It is, and will continue to be, a mixed bag.
Gabe Knuth is the principal analyst covering end-user computing for Omdia.
Omdia is a division of Informa TechTarget. Its analysts have business relationships with technology vendors.
