Citrix snaps up ‘layering’ company Unidesk to strengthen portfolio

10 Jan 2017

Citrix. Image: zimmytws/Shutterstock

In a bid to strengthen its ties with Windows clients, Citrix has acquired Massachusetts-based Unidesk, the company behind a management technology known as ‘layering’.

One month after awarding it the title of ‘Citrix Ready Partner of the Month’, Citrix has acquired Unidesk for an undisclosed fee.

Unidesk’s technology allows it to package every component of a Windows workspace, and claims to be the only one capable of doing so.

Its capabilities are such that Citrix, in a bid to allow clients to securely deploy and manage apps and desktops through XenApp and XenDesktop, has decided to take Unidesk under its umbrella.

The whole idea of layering is that apps and operating systems are separate, so multiple users in an organisation have access to apps, all off the one master OS.

“Unidesk has been recognised by customers and industry analysts as the clear leader in application layering, offering multiple unique advantages that streamline secure app delivery and VDI deployments, and make them easier to manage,” said Jeroen van Rotterdam, SVP of engineering at Citrix.

“By incorporating Unidesk technology into XenApp and XenDesktop, Citrix advances its industry leadership by offering the most powerful and easy-to-deploy application-layering solution available for delivering and managing app and desktops in the cloud, on-premises and in hybrid deployment environments.”

With Unidesk 4.0’s architecture, Citrix customers will be able to leverage the app-layering solution, which essentially allows organisations to use just one app across all users.

Citrix is in an age of growth in the US, with profits rising late last year ahead of a 400-strong expansion to its North Carolina workforce.

“Citrix and Unidesk are a natural combination, and we see tremendous value for customers and partners, along with significant potential for growth for our solution,” said Don Bulens, president and CEO of Unidesk.

“Citrix created the market for VDI, and secure app and data delivery, and is the clear industry leader, so it makes the most sense to integrate our offerings into a comprehensive solution that makes deployment and management easy, while delivering an unbeatable user experience.”

Citrix. Image: zimmytws/Shutterstock

Gordon Hunt was a journalist with Silicon Republic

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