Issues with getting apps installed

One of the biggest issues that I have with my courses is apps.
Trying to get apps installed on our network is like pulling teeth, I waited 5 weeks for being allowed putty on the network, I am still waiting for google chrome to be installed, although we have had some success, though failure seems to be a common occurrence due to the group policies that come with chrome don't seem to want to work.
Notepad++ came, but only after a couple of months.

But I was put onto something that I have used before by another school, portableapps.com, this allows me to intall, setup and just copy the folder onto a read only area of the network and then we will be away. I have done this with XAMPP when developing the subject option choice website, so why can't I do this again... So I will get one developed and talk it over with the tech and see if we can get that as an option.

Why go through this process, IE8 is just not performing, we are unable to do the development that I am pushing for some of my year 13 students through codeacademy.com, also other students would like access to chrome as it does come down to performance. Chrome allows better interaction with the google apps environment.