Citrix has unveiled the latest iteration of its XenDesktop virtualisation solution, claiming it will enables business to port Windows applications to mobile devices quickly and easily with minimal ongoing support.
XenDesktop 7 was unveiled by Citrix CEO Mark Templeton at the company's Citrix Synergy conference in LA this week. He said around 90 per cent of the apps used by businesses today are Windows-based so believes Citrix needs to offer something to help address the shift from the desktop to greater mobility.
"This is application and desktop virualisation re-imagined for simplicity and mobile," he said of the tool that is the first borne out of the company's Project Avalon initiative which is focused on mobilising apps and services and making them fit for purpose in the cloud era.
With an increasingly mobile-hungry workforce, XenDesktop 7 will help business respond by enabling them to deliver Windows applications and desktop services as cloud-based services across any device, according to Citrix.
It can be as few as eight clicks to go from scratch to basic set-up and it could be just 20 minutes until you get started. It's pretty amazing.
XenDesktop 7 features HDX technology that boosts WAN bandwidth efficiency by 100 per cent, thanks to the incorporation of H.264 compression, which also optimises full HD video bit rates to enhance the 3G viewing experience.
There's also touch screen capabilities that ensure multi-touch gestures/swipes into scrolling commands and easy navigation as well as native menu controls that make complex mouse navigation requests and pull down menus a simple affair on mobile devices.
Furthermore, Citrix believes it is helping "take your enterprise mobile in a secure and productive way" by utilising tools such as the Citrix StoreFront interface and Citrix Netscaler Gateway offering.
"Do you know what I hate about it?" Templeton said. "Absolutely nothing!" as he said the solution eradicates the need for three previously resource draining tasks: workload provisioning, app-by-app publishing and Windows app migration.
"There's only one package to download and you get automated installation and deployment. It can be as few as eight clicks to go from scratch to basic set-up and it could be just 20 minutes until you get started. It's pretty amazing," Templeton said, highlighting the new solution's ease of use which is claimed to reduce the time it takes to deploy new services by up to 80 per cent.
XenDesktop 7 will be available from June in Enterprise, Platinum and VDI editions with a choice of per-user, per-device and concurrent licensing options.
