June 15, 2016
The small-to-medium sized business (SMB) faces many of the same kinds of challenges as their larger counterparts. Issues of technology adoption, improving workforce productivity, and expanding the business’s capabilities are experienced by every company under the sun. When a business is smaller, however, the potential for sweeping improvements for low-cost investments are drastically higher. Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop, Citrix’s application virtualization and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solutions, are a perfect example of this dynamic and offer numerous advantages to the SMB market.
What is a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure?
Desktop operating system software is traditionally installed locally on the computer, tablet, or smartphone itself. When working with a single device, this is not much cause for concern, but a professional IT team must manage dozens if not hundreds of devices all at once. This creates a logistical nightmare when, for example, the team wishes to perform software updates or install a new version of the operation system. Each device must then be manually and individually updated one at a time.
Conversely, VDI offers the IT team the opportunity to centrally host their desktop operating system software virtually. The operating system software resides within a virtual machine in the data center. Users can then access their desktop environment through the company network or internet connection, thereby creating a wide array of benefits and efficiencies for the organization.
Benefits of Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop
- Anywhere, Anytime, Any Device Access: Imagine empowering your workforce to access business critical applications anywhere, anytime, and on any device they choose. Salesmen on the road or employees working from home, the team can utilize their business applications exactly as if they were sitting in a cubicle at the main office.
- Secure Remote Access: Citrix XenDesktop enables secure access to company data and applications across any type of network connection. Users can remain mobile or remote and maintain a consistent experience across locations and devices.
- Simplified Desktop Management: A VDI deployment streamlines the management responsibilities of the IT team. Now, desktop software can be centrally managed and disseminated across the breadth of your organization. Apply OS updates to every desktop instance simultaneously, run newer applications on older hardware, and reduce the complexity involved in managing multiple devices at once.
- Business Continuity: Using remote access capabilities, Citrix XenDesktop contributes to your business continuity strategy. If a calamity befalls the central office and the team cannot access their work PCs, they can still achieve the exact same desktop experience through their home computer, phone, or tablet and keep operations running until the issue can be addressed.
- Bring Your Own Device: BYOD capabilities enable a company to save on equipment costs, while offering their employees the freedom to work with the devices with which they are most familiar—their own. Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop can be run on any device in tandem with the existing operating system. Whether running Windows, iOS, Android, or Linux, the employee will still be able to use their business applications securely.
Reduce IT Costs with Citrix VDI
When these competitive advantages are combined, they yield a solution that both expands the capabilities of the organization, while also reducing the complexity of administration. By centrally managing and deploying the operating software as a service, the IT team saves time on software patching, updating, and installation on various endpoints. Furthermore, new employee onboarding and newly acquired can be connected to key business applications at a much faster rate.
Overall this creates a more efficient, more powerful IT infrastructure and provides a distinct advantage over the competition.
Secure Your VDI Deployment with Citrix Netscaler
A virtual desktop infrastructure creates an ideal system of security. Data and applications are now centrally managed and accessed, there is no longer a need to store sensitive files on local devices, and VDI paves the way for easy policy standardization across the enterprise. Yet, even though Citrix VDI lends security to your environment, you must ensure the VDI deployment itself is secure.
That’s where Citrix NetScaler comes in.
Citrix Netscaler is an application delivery controller. It provides load balancing while optimizing the performance and security of an application. When used in conjunction with Citrix XenDesktop, Netscaler can control which users and devices can access the VDI, deliver multi-layer threat protection, and provide security management and visibility for the administration team.
Schedule a 15 Minute Discovery Call with the Mindsight Consultants
Organizations of all sizes can take advantage of the security and management efficiency of Citrix VDI, and the SMB company is no exception. Book a brief discovery call with one of our consultants and further explore the possibilities of VDI in your environment.
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About Mindsight
Mindsight, a Chicago IT services provider, is an extension of your team. Our culture is built on transparency and trust, and our team is made up of extraordinary people – the kinds of people you would hire. We have one of the largest expert-level engineering teams delivering the full spectrum of IT services and solutions, from cloud to infrastructure, collaboration to contact center. Our highly-certified engineers and process-oriented excellence have certainly been key to our success. But what really sets us apart is our straightforward and honest approach to every conversation, whether it is for an emerging business or global enterprise. Our customers rely on our thought leadership, responsiveness, and dedication to solving their toughest technology challenges.
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