Aruba Networks and Citrix Power the Cloud- Based Virtual Branch Office
Just as the global business environment continues to change, the way that work is performed must also evolve to keep organizations competitive. New challenges include retaining the best talent regardless of location, meeting energy and pollution reduction goals,
preparing disaster contingency plans, and outsourcing non-core functions – all while reducing costs. Achieving these goals means that many employees will not work on a central campus or even in a traditional branch office. However, they still require access to
IT services and applications just as if they were at a desk on the headquarters campus. These factors create a perfect storm of conflicting needs that – if handled incorrectly – results in spiraling costs to deliver remote networking and applications.
To solve these challenges, Aruba Networks and Citrix have teamed up to build network and application solutions for distributed enterprises through Aruba’s Virtual Branch Network (VBN) solution and the Citrix XenApp® application virtualization technology. Together, these solutions make it possible to deliver data, video, voice, and centralized applications to remote sites, all with centralized control. The solution is simple enough to be installed by the end user, but powerful enough to deliver a complete ‘headquarters’ experience for remote users. Citrix XenApp solves application delivery, update, and compatibility challenges by virtualizing enterprise applications in the datacenter. A single instance of an application can be delivered to multiple users, reducing the need to install and maintain copies on each remote device. Updates are handled on the XenApp server and pushed out to users, ensuring that software is up-to-date and consistent across the organization. XenApp is not tied to a single OS, allowing employees and contractors to use the technology that suits them without encountering compatibility issues and unsupported platforms. Aruba’s VBN products change the way the network edge is deployed, offering the simplicity and economics of an SSL VPN with the robustness and power of a branch router for wired and wireless connectivity. Using Aruba Mobility Controllers at the datacenter with plug-andplay Remote Access Points (RAPs) at remote sites, the VBN solution creates a secure on-ramp to the enterprise network. This always-on, hardware-based solution can run over any IP wide-area transport, including 3G cellular and consumer-class broadband.
The Aruba/Citrix Advantage
Centralized Policy and Control Aruba and Citrix platforms are both delivered from a centralized location, allowing network and application engineers to keep control at the datacenter while maintaining simplicity at the edge.
Seamless Application Access
XenApp virtualized applications can be delivered to remote locations with prioritized access and without user retraining
Headquarters-Like Experience
Access to enterprise services such as voice, video, and security without additional appliances, configuration, VPN software, token cards, or user retraining
Always-on Connectivity
Automatic discovery and failover within and between the datacenter and remote sites with wired and 3G cellular access over any broadband Internet connection
Zero-Touch Installs
User-installable design dramatically lowers the cost of deployments
Wired and Wireless Security
Role-based policy enforcement and authentication for each user and device
Centralized Management & Compliance Reporting
The AirWave Management Platform® (AMP) provides a single interface from which to manage your entire remote network, including reporting and compliance auditing tools