Citrix Showcases Cloud-first Innovations to Enable Unified Workspace-as-a-Service

Rising global competition and accelerating innovation require businesses to become more agile and digital, harnessing the Cloud, Mobile, Big Data and Internet of Things (IoT) to reimagine business models and change how work gets done. According to IDC, over the next 3-5 years, the percentage of enterprises with digital transformation strategies will more than double. Demands for agility, convenience and accessibility will make the Cloud a cornerstone of these digital strategies, with IDC predicting that at least half of IT spending will be cloud-based by 2018.

Today, at Citrix Synergy, Citrix showcased new products and services that offer the promise to accelerate digital transformation efforts by delivering a unified Workspace-as-a-Service (WaaS) that empowers workers with secure, on-demand access to the apps and data they need to work effectively and efficiently from anywhere. These on-demand workspaces from Citrix also give IT the ability to securely deliver and manage it all from a single, unified control plane. To enable this vision for the workspace of the future, Citrix unveiled new products and innovations for VDI and app virtualization, delivery networking, and secure file-sharing that can be delivered as cloud services from the expanded Citrix Cloud, or deployed on-premises on hybrid IT infrastructure.

The Citrix Cloud securely delivers and helps partners and customers manage services from the cloud that unite the Citrix product portfolio, offered as a service and always up to date. Citrix Cloud services unify every major Citrix product needed to deliver a secure and dynamic digital workspace, including Citrix NetScaler, ShareFile, XenApp ,XenDesktop and XenMobile. These offerings are available - individually, or can be accessed together as a unified Workspace-as-a-Service solution, giving customers the choice to start their digital transformation anywhere and easily expand to the full WaaS suite at their pace. For products with hybrid components, Citrix Cloud also enables customers deploy on to any cloud or infrastructure of their choice, giving businesses the flexibility to secure and manage their data and infrastructure to best meet the needs of their organization and regulatory environment.

The Citrix Cloud is also designed to solve challenges Citrix partners face when building their businesses on Citrix technologies. Within the past quarter, Citrix introduced the Citrix License Usage Insights Service, a cloud service for Citrix Service Providers to help them manage their license usage reporting. To help partners leverage Citrix Cloud, Citrix is developing educational sessions that will enable partners to accelerate their businesses and drive revenue.

Taking Data Security to New Levels with Information Rights Management for ShareFile

Citrix ShareFile has consistently led the way as the only enterprise-class file, sync-and-share solution that can run on any cloud, on-premises and hybrid IT infrastructure. Recognized by industry analysts as one of the most secure and advanced solutions available, ShareFile has taken data protection and security to a new level with information rights management for ShareFile. This powerful new feature lets data security “follow the file” even as it leaves the ShareFile system and finds its way to unprotected devices, USB drives, email attachments and any other file sharing system. When a file is shared with rights management protections, access to the file requires ShareFile authentication – even after the file has been downloaded.

For markets like financial services, federal and state agencies, information rights management for ShareFile provides unprecedented security combined with convenience, keeping people productive while protecting data, files and critical information.

Advancing the App Virtualization and VDI Experience with XenApp and XenDesktop 7.9

Citrix innovation in VDI and app virtualization continues with XenApp and XenDesktop 7.9, which further advances the best secure app and virtual desktop experience in the industry. XenApp and XenDesktop 7.9 take the user experience to new levels of convenience and performance with expanded authentication, enhanced graphics support and advanced printing capabilities, while driving down virtual app and desktop delivery costs. In addition, XenApp and XenDesktop 7.9 provide powerful administrative monitoring and tools to simplify ongoing maintenance and configuration.

For improved security, people who depend on XenApp and XenDesktop at work can use the same authentication method across their virtual and local apps, which dramatically reduces the number of passwords needed each day and reduces IT service calls. For IT administrators, XenApp and XenDesktop simplify the process for managing access for contractors, partners and other third-party vendors who require B2B authentication.

As applications increasingly demand higher definition graphics, XenApp and XenDesktop with HDX delivers enhanced 3D graphics performance for Windows 10 desktops. Citrix has integrated the HDX 3D Pro performance with Intel Iris Pro Server graphics to deliver a superior experience for any app where a virtual GPU is needed.

XenApp and XenDesktop remain the only secure app and desktop delivery solution based on a single architecture that can be deployed on any cloud, any infrastructure or any hypervisor, including Nutanix Acropolis.

Streamlining Business Workflows and Mobile Productivity with the Latest XenMobile Updates

At Citrix Synergy the latest version of XenMobile 10.3.5 (released in early May 2016) will be demonstrated to illustrate the advantage of a mobile application management (MAM) only approach to secure mobility. XenMobile continues to strengthen the Citrix MAM-first option that enables IT to distribute apps securely without requiring the personal device to be enrolled with a company’s mobile device management (MDM) solution. This capability is a key advantage for employees who are more often reluctant to enroll their device and install an MDM client on their personal mobile device. It is also an advantage for companies that are not allowed to install an MDM client on the user’s device due to privacy requirements.

Citrix is also showcasing a powerful new XenMobile feature, Secure Forms, which empower line-of-business managers and IT to easily digitize specific processes, transforming traditional paper forms into secure mobile mini-apps without writing a single line of code. With Secure Forms IT will be able to securely streamline daily tasks, such as police officers writing speeding tickets, hospital patient requests and discharges, aircraft service inspections and insurance claims adjustment reports into quick, easy mobile apps that eliminate paperwork and streamline tedious processes.

With a click, IT can publish the mini-apps that so users enrolled in XenMobile can access them on their mobile phone and tablets. With Secure Forms IT can configure and apply the required security policies as they would for other Citrix mobile apps.

Simplifying App Delivery in Hybrid Cloud and Micro-Services App Architectures with NetScaler Innovations

As enterprises embrace digital transformation, IT organizations need an application delivery network that addresses the new requirements of a Digital enterprise, with three new additions to the Citrix NetScaler family: NetScaler Management and Analytics System (NMAS), NetScaler CPX and NetScaler SD-WAN Enterprise Edition, consolidating all networking offerings under the NetScaler family.

NMAS is an orchestration, automation, visualization and analytics platform to manage both traditional IT and Agile IT ADC infrastructure operating in hybrid cloud and micro services application architectures. For agile IT, NMAS reduces the development cycle with tools that insert load balancing early in development cycle, hence easing transition to production environments. For traditional IT, NMAS allows network operations teams to scale L4-L7 services and dramatically simplifies troubleshooting and managing support containers and micro-services, while providing IT operations with a dedicated view of the app-centric infrastructure.

An industry-first NetScaler CPX is a NetScaler Application Delivery Controller (ADC) in a container form factor, but built on the same code base as the traditional NetScaler ADC. NetScaler CPX runs on Linux and is packaged as a Docker container. Application developers can use NetScaler CPX with the ability to develop their code with the same enterprise-grade ADC and load balancing functionality that they can use all the way through to production. Furthermore, NetScaler CPX can be provisioned and deployed using the Docker command line just like any other container in the system.

Additionally, Citrix unveiled NetScaler SD-WAN Enterprise Edition, as a fully integrated SD-WAN solution that uniquely offers a single pane-of-glass management. Enterprises no longer need to struggle with how to manage multiple devices or components at branch locations for WAN virtualization, optimization, performance management, or security. NetScaler SD-WAN virtualization technology stands apart in the marketplace, offering the fastest failover response, unique path load-balancing capabilities, intelligent extensions for lossless delivery of real-time media and end-to-end enterprise grade security.