Many of our long-term Workplace customers have chosen to transition to Venn's Blue Border™ software. While you will still use Workplace to access work applications, your experience using Venn's Blue Border will differ from your experience using an older version of Workplace in some key ways.

If your company is transitioning from an older version of Workplace to Venn's Blue Border, this guide will walk you through key differences that you will notice when you start using Blue Border.

Accessing Workplace

In the past, you accessed your work applications from the Workplace web application.

With Venn’s Blue Border, you will use Venn’s Workplace desktop app to access your work apps, websites, and files.

Local, Not Hosted, Applications

Historically, most or all of the applications that you accessed from Workplace were hosted, meaning that Workplace allowed your computer to view and control an application that was installed and running on a secure remote computer server. To launch hosted applications, Workplace uses a solution called Citrix XenApp to launch the Citrix Receiver, a secure gateway through which hosted applications appear on your device.

When you start using Venn's Blue Border, most or all of the applications that you access from Workplace will be local applications, meaning that they will be installed and running on your device.  Venn's Blue Border is able to ensure that your work data is secure while you're accessing applications locally, eliminating the need to host most work applications on a remote computer server.

Apps that you will access locally will no longer have a gray cloud on the app icon in Workplace. (The cloud icons indicate that an app is hosted.)

Installing and Configuring Apps

Previously, the hosted applications that you accessed from Workplace were installed and running on a computer in the cloud, not directly on your computer.

You must have apps downloaded on your device before you can access them from Blue Border. When you open the Workplace app, you may notice that some apps appear with a brown download icon. This icon indicates that the app cannot be detected on your computer by Venn. Learn how to download apps that Venn cannot detect on your computer.

The configurations for your hosted applications in Workplace were set on the computer in the cloud where they were installed and running. Now, when you launch an app locally for the first time using Venn's Blue Border, it will be like you are accessing the app for the very first time. It will open with default settings from the app developer and you may need to sign in and configure the application to meet your needs. 

System and Software Requirements

The loading speed for your hosted work applications in Workplace was previously determined by the computer in the cloud where they were installed and running and the speed and consistency of your internet connection.

Now, the loading speed for your work applications in Venn's Blue Border will be determined by your device. Factors, such as your Processor, Operating System, Memory (RAM), and Storage will determine whether or not your work applications run smoothly. For this reason, your device must meet Venn's system and software requirements to experience good performance of your work apps.

If your device doesn't meet Venn's system and software requirements, in most cases, it will make the most sense to run Venn on a different device that meets these requirements. However, there are a few things that you can do to comply with these requirements on an existing device:

• If you don’t have enough available storage on your device, you can optimize how you’re using your storage. Try these tips for your Windows or Mac computer.
• If your Operating System is not supported, review these recommendations to see if you can upgrade.

The Blue Border

The biggest visual difference between older versions of Workplace and Venn's Blue Border is the presence of the blue border around your work applications.

Now, any work apps, websites, or files that you open from the Workplace app will have a blue border around them. This indicates that these applications are open in a company-controlled Secure Enclave on your device.

Applications that you open outside of the Workplace app (for example, from the Start menu on Windows or the Dock on Mac) will open without a blue border. These applications will be open outside of the Secure Enclave and are completely isolated from your work applications, almost as though they were running on separate computers.

Venn does not monitor, track, access, or record any data or activities outside of the blue border on your device, including private personal information, browsing activities, and personal files. Learn more about how Venn protects your privacy.

Your Company Restrictions

New in Venn's Blue Border, your company may choose to put Data Loss Prevention policies in place, which restrict what you can and can’t do in Blue Border.

Every application that you have open in Blue Border will have a round Badge on the side of the application window when the window is active. If you click on the Badge, you can see a list of your company’s Data Loss Prevention policies.

For example, your company may set a policy that restricts your ability to copy and paste content from the Blue Border into a personal window on your computer.

Policies with a lock to the left of them are current restrictions that your company has in place. These policies only apply in Blue Border.