At Synergy 2017, Citrix announced a new cloud-based service called Citrix Workspace, which changes the way end users access their apps and data.

The need for a Unified Workspace!

Another common request is Workspace Automation — the ability for users to request for specific services that then initiates an approval workflow and automates the provisioning of these resources.

While Citrix has been busy churning out XenApp/XenDesktop and Storefront releases, a large number of customers are still running legacy versions of these products; XenApp 6.5 and WI 5.4 still remain very popular. In the past, feature parity was a major reason that customers chose to remain on these versions, but it’s fair to say that the feature gaps have been addressed over time. Large enterprise customers can sometimes take many years and tie multiple resources to these upgrade projects only to find out that by the time they are done, it’s time to upgrade again! More and more customers want to consume cloud based services and move away from having to maintain and upgrade infrastructure on premises. With that said, customers still want complete control of their apps and data and where the intellectual property is stored.

The Vision

Citrix Workspace is a cloud-based service that helps deliver a unified workspace for secure delivery of ALL apps and data and not just Citrix resources. This new service will replace the existing StoreFront service that is part of Citrix Cloud, and support not only the Citrix Cloud hosted services but on-premises XenApp and XenDesktop deployments, as well as the Azure based XenApp and XenDesktop Essentials offerings. Self-service capabilities to allow users to request and then automate the approval process and provisioning of resources is an important goal. Identity and Access Management is another key element of this offering (details to follow).

A Prudent Approach To Upgrades

On premises customers no longer have to worry about migration from WI 5.4 to Storefront and leverage Citrix Workspace instead. Customers can choose to keep their XenApp and XenDesktop deployments on premises, but in the future if they decide to migrate to a public cloud, Citrix Workspace in conjunction with Citrix Cloud makes that transition seamless. Also for customers on XenApp 6.5, the move to Citrix Workspace can serve as the first step in the upgrade process as Citrix Workspace can be used to deliver XenApp 6.5 resources as well.

Build Your Digital Workspace At Your Own Pace

For existing XenApp and XenDesktop customers looking to consume additional services (Apps and Desktops, XenMobile, Sharefile, XenApp/XenDesktop Essentials, Gateway Service) to build upon their digital workspace vision over time, Citrix Workspace simplifies both the on-boarding and aggregation of these services. It gives customers the flexibility to grow at their own pace with the assurance that they are not locked in to any service and have the freedom to opt out when they please.

Workspace Is For One and All!

In the future, Citrix Workspace could very well be applicable to not just existing Citrix customers but organizations that need to deliver plethora of Web and SaaS apps to their end users, simplifying onboarding, and consumption of these resources and doing so in a cost effective manner.

Citrix Workspace will be rolled out over multiple phases with the capabilities growing over time.

itrix Essentials harnesses the power of Microsoft Azure

The launch and early success of XenApp Essentials and XenDesktop Essentials has been solely dependent on one single factor: the Citrix and Microsoft partnership. The availability of these Essentials services on Azure was based on the integration of Citrix and Microsoft technology, but it was also completely dependent upon the integration of the back office systems that enable you, our customers, to purchase both XenApp Essentials and XenDesktop Essentials directly from Azure Marketplace. The Citrix and Microsoft teams worked in lock-step to make it easy for you to purchase Essentials on a monthly basis directly from Marketplace. Best of all, you get one bill from Microsoft that includes your Citrix Essentials services, as well as your Azure compute costs for which you are hosting your virtual apps and desktops. “Citrix continues its strategic focus on strengthening and executing around its partnership with Microsoft,” said IDC’s Young. “Together, they are both capitalizing on technology integration efforts as well as the business integration efforts making it easier do business with both companies.”

Citrix continues its strategic focus on strengthening and executing around its partnership with Microsoft. Together, they are both capitalizing on technology integration efforts as well as the business integration efforts making it easier do business with both companies.

During Microsoft Ignite, one future Essentials customer stopped by the Citrix booth to share how much easier it would be for him to purchase Citrix technology directly from Marketplace simply because Microsoft was already an approved vendor and purchasing Citrix Essentials services directly through Marketplace meant he could avoid extensive vendor approval processes and focus on the technology. In addition to the massive scale and investment Microsoft has made in Azure, many customers are also in possession of Azure monetary credits which they can use in conjunction with the Essentials services. Azure monetary credits can be used for the Azure compute hosting the virtual app and Windows 10 Enterprise desktop workloads, lowering the total cost of ownership even further.