Citrix Buys Migration Specialist App-DNA

Citrix is buying application migration software specialist App-DNA, to help its customers accelerate their deployments of desktop virtualisation.

App-DNA’s AppTitude product enables organisations to review their application portfolio and work out which applications can be easily upgraded and virtualised, and which need further remediation. App-DNA can also provide information to organisations on how certain applications will work in new environments, allowing them to implement their migration strategy quickly and efficiently.

This is particularly important as Microsoft prepares to end service and support for Windows XP in 2014. With millions of companies around the world still relying on XP, there is a huge task ahead to bring those organisations’ application portfolios forwards onto Windows 7, or even Windows 8, while ensuring that everything remains compatible.

Beating the countdown clock

“When you try to migrate these apps forward it’s tough. We find out some work some don’t but the biggest problem is you can’t predict what is going to work and what isn’t. So that’s why we’re bringing on board App-DNA,” said Mark Templeton, president and CEO of Citrix, at the company’s Synergy event in Barcelona.

“This is an important piece of technology to help customers beat the countdown clock, whether it’s moving apps to physical desktops on Windows 7 or virtual desktops, or moving apps from a more of a physical distribution methodology to a more virtual distribution methodology.”

Bob Schultz, group vice president and general manager of enterprise desktops and applications at Citrix, added in a statement that App-DNA provides customers with a clear roadmap and the ability to automate the migration of their applications to new virtual environments.

“As part of a complete desktop transformation strategy with a proven methodology for deploying virtual desktops across all users, Citrix and App-DNA together help customers more quickly realize the business benefits and operating efficiencies of creating a virtual computing environment,” he said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Earlier this week, Citrix released a new version of its popular VDI-in-a-Box solution, developed together with Kaviza, the virtual desktop software company it bought last year.  VDI-in-a-Box runs on a single server and enables IT administrators to deliver centrally-managed virtual desktops to any user, on any device.