Citrix is targeting cloud service delivery with NetScaler CloudConnectors that extend the networking footprint beyond the data center to points of presence globally. Available in November, the first offering, NetScaler CloudConnector for CDN (cloud delivery network)--offered in partnership with Cotendo, a provider of cloud acceleration and CDN services--is expected to accelerate the delivery of static and dynamic content by up to five times, while reducing network bandwidth requirements by up to 95%. Additional connectors for optimizing HDX and for hybrid security systems will be available in 2012. The company is also enhancing CloudBridge with a validated list of cloud data centers that can be tapped for additional capacity and wizard-driven one-sided setup with cloud providers.
The company also unveiled its Citrix HDX Ready SoC initiative, which is expected to enable a new generation of devices to deliver high-definition virtual apps and desktops at low cost, breaking the sub-$100 price point for high-definition zero clients. Citrix says incorporating its HDX technology into silicon will enable non-traditional devices such as network monitors, phones, smart keyboards, consumer set-top boxes, shop floor equipment, kiosks and hospital workstations on wheels to display virtual apps and desktops directly, without the need for a full PC at the endpoint. The first devices using the new silicon are expected to hit the market in early 2012.
What's most significant about the announcements is that we're no longer talking about mere desktop virtualization, says Rachel Chalmers, research director, The 451 Group. "We're talking about a complete transformation of the way desktops are managed."
She says VDI is just one of the tools organizations will use to transform the way they provision and manage all workspaces--not only desktops but also smartphones and tablets. "Kaviza's VDI-in-a-box fits because small and midsize businesses will use some VDI, and that technology allows them to scale it without effort. App-DNA fits because it tests all applications, fixes those that can't be migrated easily, and identifies targets for application virtualization as well as desktop virtualization."
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