One of the main announcements from the Citrix Synergy 2010 event was the launch of the new XenClient service – client-side virtualisation that allows for centrally managed virtual desktops to run directly on corporate laptops and PCs, that works even without network access.
In a partnership with Intel, Citrix developed the XenClient code to run on its vPro hardware virtual technologies but with the ability for virtual machines to run parallel to themselves and local applications directly on the drive instead of being hosted within the installed operating system.
XenClient extends virtual desktops to mobile laptop users while providing centralised management and security in conjunction with the mobility and flexibility of a laptop device.
“Corporate laptops are the last mile in extending the full benefits of desktop virtualisation to all users in the enterprise,” said Mark Templeton, president and CEO of Citrix Systems.
“Through our collaboration with key partners like Intel, Dell, HP and Microsoft, we are excited to begin delivering client side virtualisation that is secure by design to corporate laptop users, with all of the performance and rich user experience they expect.
“Today’s release of XenClient Express is the first step toward giving millions of mobile workers virtual desktops to go,” he added.
Alongside the XenClient announcement, Citrix unveiled its open, extensible, turnkey cloud solutions in the form of the Citrix Cloud Solutions portfolio that allow for an open framework whereby cloud providers can add their own tweaks and create unique differentiated services in their own right.
“Some vendors would have you believe that the cloud is merely a carbon copy of your enterprise data centre that should be offloaded to someone else,” said Klaus Oestermann, Group VP and GM, Networking and Cloud Product Group, Citrix.
“Citrix believes in a far more open world where customers can choose from a wide variety of innovative cloud services designed to enhance and extend their own internal IT capacity.
“These cloud services should work with whatever enterprise customers currently have – not because they are all built on the same locked-down, cookie-cutter virtualisation platform, but because they are designed around an open framework that encourages both innovation and interoperability.”
Citrix also announced support for Microsoft Office Web Apps with its NetScaler VPX virtual appliance as well as support for Sharepoint 2010 and Exchange Server 2010 so that Microsoft data centre administrators will now be able to apply all the same NetScaler acceleration, load balancing and security features that power many of the world’s largest data centres, as a native Hyper-V workload from directly within System Centre – with no networking knowledge or configuration required.
By Marie Boran
