Configuring Omnissa Horizon as a VDI Integration in Island Enterprise Browser
In this blog
Introduction
Enterprise browsers can leverage Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions to significantly enhance the user's experience by delivering secure, consistent and high-performance access to corporate applications and resources — regardless of the user's device or location. By running in a controlled virtual environment, enterprise browsers can maintain uniform security policies, provide optimized performance for legacy or resource-intensive apps, and ensure seamless integration with identity and endpoint management systems. This approach reduces local device dependencies, minimizes data exposure risks and simplifies IT management, all while giving users a familiar, browser-based interface to access their work. The result is a more responsive, secure and flexible digital workspace that supports both remote and hybrid work models effectively.
Integrating the Island Enterprise Browser with Omnissa Horizon creates a secure, efficient and user-friendly environment for accessing virtual desktops and applications. This combination brings together Horizon's centralized delivery of virtual workspaces with Island's built-in Zero Trust security controls, data protection policies, and granular visibility at the browser level. By linking the two, organizations can enforce identity-based and context-aware policies directly within the browser session, ensuring that only authorized users on compliant devices can access sensitive resources. The result is a seamless, secure digital experience that accelerates onboarding, supports BYOD strategies, and minimizes the risk of data leakage, all without sacrificing usability or productivity.
Before we walk you through how to integrate Omnissa Horizon as a VDI application in the Island Enterprise Browser, let's introduce the players and what it is they say they do:
The players
Island Enterprise Browser
Island positions its Enterprise Browser as "work's next chapter," embedding zero‑trust security, granular data‑loss‑prevention controls, phishing protection and deep activity visibility directly in a Chromium‑based browser experience. Because the controls live in the browser itself, IT can onboard third‑party contractors in minutes, give BYOD users a managed workspace, and log every work‑related click, without bolting on extra agents or proxies.
Omnissa Horizon
Omnissa Horizon is a comprehensive virtual desktop and application delivery platform designed to provide secure, high-performance access to digital workspaces from any device, anywhere. It enables organizations to deploy and manage virtual desktops and applications through a centralized infrastructure, improving scalability, security and user experience. Horizon supports a wide range of deployment models — including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid — and integrates seamlessly with identity providers, device compliance tools and endpoint management solutions. With features like remote display optimization, user session management and flexible access options (e.g., HTML5, desktop client, or progressive web apps), Omnissa Horizon empowers IT teams to deliver consistent, policy-controlled access to corporate resources while maintaining robust security and operational efficiency.
Use cases
Now you may ask yourself, what does this integration do for me, and why should I do it? Well, there are lots of them that I can think of, but for the sake of keeping this blog short enough to consume,e here is a list of some of them:
Secure contractor onboarding
Organizations can securely and rapidly onboard third-party contractors by provisioning isolated, policy-controlled browser environments using Just-in-Time (JIT) provisioning. This removes the need for separate accounts or manual syncs while ensuring that each contractor has access only to approved applications and data.
BYOD Access with enterprise-level control
Employees using personal (BYOD) devices can access corporate virtual desktops and applications through the Island Enterprise Browser, with Omnissa Horizon delivering the backend virtual workspace. Thanks to built-in browser controls and device posture checks, this enables flexible work without compromising data security.
Granular policy enforcement based on identity and context
By linking Island with Omnissa as the identity provider, organizations can create highly contextual access policies, such as blocking downloads on unmanaged devices or limiting copy/paste functions for specific user groups. These controls are enforced directly within the browser interface based on real-time identity and risk signals.
Streamlined VDI access from any device
Users can launch Omnissa Horizon virtual desktops via browser tabs, Progressive Web Apps (PWA), or desktop clients directly within the Island Enterprise Browser. This offers a consistent, user-friendly experience across device types while centralizing access through a secure, managed browser.
Reduced risk of data leakage in remote work
With remote work becoming the norm, this integration helps prevent data leakage by combining Horizon's secure delivery of virtual apps with Island's data loss prevention controls. Security teams can monitor all browser activity and enforce restrictions, such as disabling clipboard use or screen capture, to protect sensitive information.
Configure VDI integration in Island using Omnissa Horizon
Okay, so I'm hoping I've got you interested in this integration, and you really want to know how to do it. If that is the case, read on.
To set up VDI integration in the Island Enterprise Browser, perform the following steps:
Note: this integration was performed using Island Enterprise Browser version 1.64.31 and Omnissa Horizon version 2412.
From the Island Management Console, navigate to Modules > Application Access > Application Library.
Click + Create, then select Web App. Enter a meaningful name—for example, Omnissa Horizon 8. To personalize the app, you may optionally add an icon by clicking the image icon, selecting Change Custom App Icon, and uploading the desired image for the application, by clicking on the blue pencil iconin the APP ICON section, selecting the Change custom app icon option, and navigating to the desired image. In Web Configuration, change the TYPE to Wildcard and add the URL that matches your custom web application. In this example, the URL for the Omnissa Horizon HTML5 page.
Click Create to save the custom web application. We can see that the new custom web app has been added to the list of available apps, under the Custom Web Apps category.
Now we can push these changes to the relevant users by selecting Pending Changes, located on the top right of the window, and clicking Apply Changes.
Configure the Browser Homepage
To configure a browser homepage for Omnissa Horizon, navigate to Modules > Browser Experience > Homepage Customization.
Select your organization's default browser homepage policy by moving your cursor over the Default Homepage, clicking on the three dot icon and selecting Edit, or click + Create to create a new one.
Click on + Shortcut in the section you'd like the shortcut displayed to the users and selecting from the available app shortcuts. Expand Custom Web Apps and setup the web app by hovering the cursor over the app and clicking setup or by using the Search for Apps tool to find the desired app. Once found, enter a Name and click on Setup by hovering the cursor over the app.
You can open applications as a browser tab, through a Progressive Web App (PWA) for a desktop-like experience, or Desktop App to launch the Horizon client. The PWA and Desktop App options provide a more immersive interface, like traditional desktop applications, enhancing usability for users who prefer a dedicated app experience.
Click Create Shortcut to save the shortcut. Once you have saved the policy, we can see that the new Policy has been updated in the list of available policies.
Omnissa offers many flexible access options, including support for HTML5-based web access, custom domains, and host-to-client redirection, allowing organizations to tailor application delivery to meet security requirements, branding needs, and diverse user preferences. These options allow organizations to provide secure, seamless, and branded access to virtual applications and desktops across various devices and environments, enhancing user experience while maintaining control and compliance.
End users' experience
Okay, so you've created the integration but what does this look like to the end user?
First, the end user will need the Island Enterprise Browser installed on their endpoint. This can be delivered in many ways, one of which is using Omnissa's Workspace One UEM to deliver the application to enrolled devices.
Once it's installed, the user will open the Island Enterprise Browser Application
If there are multiple profiles, the users will need to choose. If not, this screen will be automatically bypassed and sent straight to the sign-in screen.
Below is an example of the end user experience using the PWA option in the Island Browser:
User double clicks on the Omnissa Horizon 8 icon
From within the PWA app the user will choose their published app or desktop
And finally, from inside a PWA app launched from Island Enterprise Browser the user will have access to their published app or desktop.
Now you could take this to another level and utilize Omnissa Workspace One Access Catalog as an integration with Island but that's for another article.
Conclusion
The integration of Omnissa Horizon with the Island Enterprise Browser delivers a modern, secure and seamless VDI experience tailored to today's hybrid workforce. By combining Horizon's flexible, high-performance access to virtual desktops and apps with Island's policy-driven browser environment, organizations can enforce Zero Trust principles from authentication to user action. The result is a tightly aligned solution that empowers IT with control and visibility, simplifies endpoint management and ensures users can securely access the resources they need — on any device, from anywhere — without sacrificing productivity or experience.