Citrix And Cisco To Offer Desktop Virtualisation

Citrix XenDesktop virtualisation software and Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS) networking have been combined as a prepackaged offering. The companies claim that this creates a cost-effective way for businesses to deploy high-definition virtual desktops and applications.

With businesses tending towards a decentralised IT model and with employees and their varied devices spread over a wide geographical area, virtualisation has been seen as a vital tool for managing systems and distributing applications.

Faster And Easier To Implement

The companies’ angle is that the combination of their technologies offers a way for businesses to accelerate and simplify their virtualisation adoption. For end-users, the universal Citrix Receiver software client for mobile devices allows access to corporate desktops and applications from not only PCs but also smartphones and tablets. From the IT administrators’ viewpoint, the packaged tools allow them to control, install and update devices across a business from a central location.

“By combining our innovations in unified computing with industry-leading desktop virtualisation from Citrix, we are delivering an integrated solution that drives down the cost and complexity of virtual desktop environments while improving security and operational control,” claimed Prem Jain, senior vice president of Cisco’s Server, Access and Virtualisation Technology Group.

Package offering

The package leverages Cisco’s UCS to reduce data centre infrastructure costs per user through a combination of higher user density per system and tight integration of network computing and virtualisation.

Citrix’s XenDesktop technology can be used to customise users’ systems for virtual applications that fit specific security and performance needs. A series of customised kits for XenDesktop user scenarios are available to accelerate deployment times.

Overall, the merging of technologies is meant to increase security and enterprise-wide virtualisation support, while reducing the overall cost for such services.

Cisco Desktop Virtualisation Solution with Citrix XenDesktop is available through joint channel partners. Both Cisco and Citrix are offering coordinated support, in addition to hardware and software.