BARCELONA, Spain–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, at Citrix Synergy™, the conference where cloud computing, networking and virtualization meet, Citrix (NASDAQ:CTXS) announced a new “Citrix HDX™ Ready System-on-Chip (SoC)” initiative, designed to enable an entirely new generation of devices to deliver high-definition virtual apps and desktops at an unprecedented low cost using the company’s market-leading HDX technology. By incorporating Citrix HDX technology directly into silicon, the new program will expand the market for virtual apps and desktops beyond traditional computing devices like PCs, tablets and smartphones. For the first time ever, non-traditional devices like network monitors, phones, smart keyboards, consumer set-top boxes, shop floor equipment, kiosks and hospital workstations-on-wheels will be able to display virtual apps and desktops directly, without the need for an a full PC at the endpoint (see graphic).

Unlike alternative approaches, this is not just a protocol accelerator that gets added to existing devices. It is, in fact, a full computing system – including Citrix HDX technology – delivered as a single chip to device manufacturers. As a result, the program is expected to dramatically reduce the cost of high-definition zero clients, ultimately breaking the sub-$100 price point. The first devices using the new HDX System-on-a-Chip technology are expected to hit the market in early 2012.

Lighting Up an Entirely New Class of Devices

The market for traditional computing devices like PCs, tablets and smartphones is growing rapidly worldwide, fueling an increased demand for solutions like Citrix XenDesktop® and Citrix XenApp® to deliver business apps and desktops as a cloud-like service to any device, in any location. Citrix Receiver™, the company’s universal software client, makes it easy for end users to receive business apps, desktops and data, and is now available on more than one billion different devices – a number that grows ever day.

While the market for traditional computing devices will continue to expand rapidly, the Cloud Era is giving rise to the need for easy access to business apps and data from a far wider range of devices, locations and use cases – in the office, in the home, on the road, and in non-office work environments like factories, hospitals and field services. With the new HDX Ready System-on-Chip initiative, Citrix will enable a new class of device manufactures to tap into the vast array of business apps and data companies use today, increasing employee productivity, while reducing the cost of delivery.

Designed for Flexibility and Extensibility

Citrix worked closely with key partners like Texas Instruments and NComputing to design a highly flexible HDX SoC reference architecture that is based on industry standard, and leverages off-the-shelf components. In addition to powerful, hardware-assisted HDX optimizations, the SoC reference implementations will feature a flexible design that can be updated as Citrix advances its HDX technology, and as hardware vendors update their products. It is currently designed for ARM-based chipsets, and will be expanding in the future to support x86 based systems. (See partner support below)

Steve Lalla, Vice President and General Manager, Mobility Products and Solutions, Dell

“At Dell, we are committed to helping organizations simplify and accelerate desktop virtualization deployments so that workers can access their desktop data and applications anytime, from anywhere. We expect the Citrix HDX Ready SoC initiative to offer organizations of all sizes with a rich, high-definition virtual desktop and application delivery experience and provide customers with a superior desktop virtualization experience.”

Joe Makoid, President, Devon IT

“The SoC architecture has the best MIPS to dollars ratio in the industry and all the necessary computing capability coupled with a very attractive price point. With Citrix direction, the SoC’s performance as an HDX ready device makes it a perfect fit for today’s thin client computing needs and, just as importantly, it is inexpensive and low in power consumption. Devon IT strongly supports the Citrix HDX Ready SoC initiative and we look forward to bringing to market exciting new thin client devices based on the HDX Ready SoC architecture.”

Dieter Heiss, Head of Workplace Systems at Fujitsu Technology Solutions Fujitsu

“Citrix is a preferred Fujitsu partner, providing desktop virtualization solutions for our highly-successful and very popular FUTRO thin client line. We welcome the introduction of the HDX Ready System-on-Chip technology, since this helps make it possible for Fujitsu to build and deliver new FUTRO systems even more efficient, and will further accelerate and broaden the adoption of thin client technology.”

Jeff Groudan, Director of Marketing for HP’s thin client group

“As the established market leader in thin clients, HP welcomes Citrix’s innovative HDX Ready System-on-Chip approach, which will help IT managers easily identify devices that work best with XenDesktop and XenApp. Citrix’s initiative is perfectly in line with HP’s strategy to deliver innovative, powerful, and easily managed thin computing solutions at attractive prices.”

Xiaohai Yuan, Vice President, Cloud Platform IT product line, HUAWEI

HUAWEI is excited to be part of Citrix HDX Ready System-on-Chip announcement. HUAWEI supports the concept of high performance, low cost HDX devices to drive the virtual desktop market. We are looking forward to working with Citrix on this initiative to provide our joint customers innovative new high definition experience devices.

Mr. Si-hwan Park, Vice President of LG Electronics Monitor Business

“Citrix HDX Ready System-on-Chips significantly raise the bar for client virtualization innovation. Incorporating the Citrix technology in LG monitors is a clear example of how we’re delivering better value to our customers who will benefit from this collaboration in the form of higher-performance and better cost-effectiveness in the virtual desktop space.”

Raj Dhingra, CEO, NComputing

“We applaud Citrix and embrace this initiative. The enterprise will too. Combining the power of Citrix HDX with NComputing Numo™ SoC virtual desktop technology will solve the cost and complexity issues of traditional thin clients, as well as provide the blueprint for future virtual desktop devices and form factors. Historic barriers to deploying VDI in the enterprise will be removed; at the same time paving the way for entirely new and more powerful VDI architectures and environments – to deliver a rich user experience, at radically lower costs of acquisition.”

Gerard Andrews, Product Manager for Thin Clients, Texas Instruments

“Cloud-based desktops and applications should be accessible by users where they want them and when they need them. TI is excited to help Citrix deliver on this vision by tightly integrating HDX technology with our high-performance SoCs. As a result of the initiative and collaboration, we expect to see innovative client products that will deliver uncompromised HDX experience.”

Frank Noon, Vice President of Sales at VXL

“VXL is delighted with this new initiative from Citrix. Having been involved in the Citrix Ready program since its inception, we and our customers appreciate real benefits from this association. We are committed to the SoC strategy and anticipate bringing a low-cost HDX Ready SoC device to market in the first quarter 2012.”

Citrix Quote

Sumit Dhawan, Group Vice President & General Manager, Receiver and Gateways Group

“Citrix continues to expand the power of virtual computing, enabling people to work and play from anywhere. The new HDX Ready System-on-Chip initiative is core to expanding ways for end users to access and use virtual apps and desktops with the highest levels of user experience on a whole new range of devices. By enabling our partners to deliver very low-cost endpoints from thin clients to network displays and tablets, we will continue to drive down the cost of virtual desktops to be the same or less than physical desktops. Users benefit from anytime access to their desktops and applications with a high-definition user experience.”

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About Citrix

Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS) is a leading provider of virtual computing solutions that help people work and play from anywhere on any device. More than 250,000 enterprises rely on Citrix to create better ways for people, IT and business to work through virtual meetings, desktops and datacenters. Citrix virtualization, networking and cloud solutions deliver over 100 million corporate desktops and touch approximately 75 percent of Internet users each day. Citrix partners with over 10,000 companies in 100 countries. Annual revenue in 2010 was $1.87 billion. Learn more at www.citrix.com.

For Investors

This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Those statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks associated with the impact of the global economy and uncertainty in the IT spending environment, revenue growth and recognition of revenue, products and services, their development and distribution, product demand and pipeline, economic and competitive factors, the Company’s key strategic relationships, acquisition and related integration risks as well as other risks detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Citrix assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein.

The development, release and timing of any features or functionality described for our products remains at our sole discretion and is subject to change without notice or consultation. The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not a commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any material, code or functionality and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions or incorporated into any contract.

Citrix®, Citrix Synergy™, XenDesktop®, HDX™, Citrix Receiver™ and XenApp® are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50043534&lang=en

Contacts

Citrix Systems
Karin Gilles, 408-790-8544
karin.gilles@citrix.com
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King of Prussia, PA, October 17, 2011 – Devon IT, a leading provider of thin client and VDI hardware and software solutions, today announced at Educause the availability of free VDI Blaster™ software for any current Dell K-12 and higher education customers. This offer is valid for 20 copies of VDI Blaster™ available through November 30, 2011.

Devon IT VDI Blaster™ is the most popular software tool that enables a PC to act as a thin client currently available in the growing VDI market. VDI Blaster™ converts PCs into secure and centrally manageable desktop appliances, enables organizations of all sizes to realize benefits of thin client computing, and extends capital investment in PCs. VDI Blaster™ offers the benefits of a thin client at a smaller cost than a new device.

There are many benefits that VDI Blaster™ offers. Once a PC reaches the end of its useful life, VDI Blaster™ provides a simple plug-and-play solution to transform the PC into a thin client, which is still able to run Windows OS and applications. It also allows the PCs to return to their previous state if necessary. It minimizes the risk of switching to a fully virtualized architecture. VDI Blaster™ makes centrally-managed desktops possible, which reduces risk and allows for synchronized system updates. Devon IT VDI Blaster™ will connect thin clients to Microsoft Terminal Services, shared services, and virtual desktops from Citrix XenDesktop, Microsoft, or VMware View.

“Virtualized desktop computing is gaining momentum in the education market as a cost-effective, secure, and manageable way to gain the advantage of a thin client in PC environments, and Devon IT is leading the charge,” says Joe Makoid, President, Devon IT. “Our offer of free VDI Blasters will help schools of all sizes realize the benefits of a VDI solution. Devon IT is running this promotion to expose customers to the power of virtualizing desktops with Dell servers and storage. By centralizing the management of all client devices, users will reduce operational cost by up to 50% while implementing leading virtual desktop approaches. This promotion will allow customers to test the VDI environment with very little upfront cost.”

VDI Blaster™ can be managed by Devon IT Echo™ – a universal thin client management software platform. Devon IT Echo™ ties everything together and is compatible with the entire Devon IT software stack. It manages every device running Devon IT VDI Blaster™ software and comes included with each VDI Blaster™ license. Features include thin client system image updates, maintenance and management functionality, including inventory, status, and remote service as well as profiling, logging, and shadowing.

“Customers will be able to experience the value of some of the world’s largest banks and corporations are already seeing,” concluded Makoid. “We are committed to expanding the market potential for server-based and virtual technologies, and are thrilled to share this offer to Dell customers at Educause.”

School districts, colleges and universities should contact their Dell sales representative to confirm eligibility for this program. For more information about virtual desktop hardware and software solutions orderable through Dell, or to schedule a private demonstration, email info@devonit.com or call 610-757-4220 or 888-524-9382. For more information about Devon IT DeTOS, Echo™, and VDI Blaster™, please visit www.devonit.com/software.

Last week Devon IT made the long flight to Las Vegas for VMWorld. The theme for 2011 was “Your Cloud.  Own It,” which featured 175 break-out sessions and exhibits centering around virtualization technology.

Dell, our partner in virtual desktop computing, was a diamond sponsor this year with a huge display in the center of the floor.  We visited their impressive booth and saw their FX130 and FX170 OptiPlex thin clients in action as part of their health care solution.  The FX130 and FX170 thin clients are modeled after our TC2 and TC5c devices, which Dell recently rebranded along with our VDI Blaster and Echo Thin Client Management software. These HIPPA-compliant desktop devices provide the security and flexibility that health care institutions rely on every day.

We visited our other partners’ exhibits, including VMware and Microsoft, and were pleased to see our thin clients being utilized for various industries and verticals.  The devices were connected with secure, centrally managed data centers throughout the show floor.

After we left the show on Tuesday, we hosted an event at B.B. King’s Blues Club in the Mirage.  We met many more Dell employees and customers, and thank them for joining us at a fun night out!

Our next stop will be Dell World in Austin, Texas, in October. We look forward to seeing more of our Dell friends soon!

Did you attend VMWorld?  What did you think?  If you have comments about the VMWorld show, please share them with us below.

Follow Devon IT on Twitter @DevonIT and our president, Joe Makoid @jmakoid.

Devon IT has worked closely with Dell to launch their FX130 and FX170 thin clients and Dell edition Devon IT software. Join us to understand how you can take advantage of Dell’s new desktop virtualization solutions.   Act now – webinar space is limited.

What You Will Learn

• Why You Should Consider Thin Clients & VDI
• How to Re-Purpose PCs into Thin Clients
  
• How Different Users Utilize VDI
• The Costs & Benefits of VDI
• Energy Efficiencies from Thin Clients

Webinar Series Dates

Register for a time below:

• Wednesday, August 24, 10:00AM – 11:00AM (EST)
• Wednesday, August 24, 12:00PM – 1:00PM (EST)
• Wednesday, August 24, 3:00PM – 4:00PM (EST)
• Thursday, August 25, 10:00AM – 11:00AM (EST)
• Thursday, August 25, 12:00PM – 1:00PM (EST)
• Thursday, August 25, 3:00PM – 4:00PM (EST)
• Tuesday, August 30, 10:00AM – 11:00AM (EST)
• Tuesday, August 30, 12:00PM – 1:00PM (EST)
• Tuesday, August 30, 2:00PM – 3:00PM (EST)
• Thursday, September 1, 10:00AM – 11:00AM (EST)
• Thursday, September 1, 12:00PM – 1:00PM (EST)
• Thursday, September 1, 3:00PM-4:00PM (EST)

Private Webinars Available: Devon IT offers private webinars to end users. Email us at webinars@devonit.com to schedule yours.

Check out Dell for industry leading VDI desktops and management    http://content.dell.com/us/en/business/d/sb360/fx170-thin-client.aspx

Read Devon IT’s technical blog “Thin Tank” at http://www.devonit.com/blog and follow Devon IT on Twitter @DevonIT and @jmakoid.

First, it is very important to test VDI solutions.  Devon IT offers a great way to do this with our VDI Blaster Software.  We developed VDI to be a simple, cost effective way to re-purpose PCs into thin clients.  However, it has evolved into much more than that.  One of the ways our customers are using VDI Blaster is as a test platform for VDI and virtual desktop computing.  This way you can test scalability, manageability, latency network issues, and application compatibility.  Finally, you can test whether PC re-purposing is a viable strategy for you.  VDI Blaster can maintain your Windows OS while running VDI Blaster in a seprarte partition.  This is a very easy and basic way of testing comparative performance.  Using VDI Blaster along with our Echo management platform can help you understand, in your own environment, how VDI will work.  And you can test VDI without breaking the bank.

The other way is to read and research VDI through current publications and on the net.  Once great starting point (which we have already mentioned and continue to give away to customers) is a short book by Michael Fox called DeMystifying the Virtual Desktop: Starting with Desktop Virtualization.  There are plenty of great articles, blogs, research reports and technical books available but this one is a great starting point.

It’s time to blast off to a new VDI world!

Joe Makoid
President
Devon IT

Read Devon IT’s technical blog “Thin Tank” at http://www.devonit.com/blog and follow Devon IT on Twitter @DevonIT and @jmakoid.

We just finished passing around a book written by Michael Fox in 2010 called DeMystifying the Virtual Desktop: Starting with Desktop virtualization. It was fantastic. Fox raises a number of interesting points, and one in particular really hit home with us.

Right off the bat Fox discusses how important the end user at an organization is when it comes to deciding to switch to virtual desktops – and how sometimes they are forgotten in the grand scheme of strategic IT infrastructure planning. While CEOs and CIOs think about the bottom line, the users – who are both people and employees – ultimately determine how successful the organization will be based on their productivity.

In thinking about “end users,” many current solutions involve desktop PCs or laptops with generic applications, perhaps some cloud/SaaS applications such as Salesforce, and some common settings. These solutions are developed with the idea that many users are the same. Virtual desktops can mimic these basic setups, often at a fraction of the total cost.

In thinking about end users as “people,” Fox stresses that we should take the time to think about how individual users – no matter their job role – have differences: Different screen resolutions, different hours sometimes, different color variations on monitors. Maybe some people would want to work from home, but cannot due to financial constraints of setup and deployment. Virtual desktops could make working from home very easy and inexpensive, but also allow the flexibility to change 1,000 users’ settings or just one person’s settings very quickly and from the same one place.

In thinking about end users as “employees,” Fox notes that employees have standards – and that they need to be taken into consideration. Organizations should ask their employees what applications are fast or slow. What software would they like to use? What IT brands would they use at home? The wrong virtual desktop deployment could erase years of training and familiarity that could produce unhappy, inefficient works producing less on a day-to-day basis.

We like Fox’s ideas around thinking about the user first when it comes to considering virtual desktop deployments. With all the tremendous cost, security, and manageability benefits of desktop virtualization, it’s no wonder why some many companies are making the switch from desktop PCs. At the end of the day keeping the user in mind – and their preferences – is key.

Follow Devon IT on Twitter
@jmakoid and @DevonIT

Devon is offering a Webinar series detailing the many features of dells new vdi solutions

This Webinar will clearly defines the key benefits of using the new VDI solutions from, and simplifies how virtual desktop infrastructure can help them improve IT standards.

By leveraging our partnerships with leading companies such as Dell and Mainline, we look forward to helping companies take advantage of the tremendous potential of VDI. Coupled with thin client technology, it is clear that VDI is the future of corporate IT.

Some of the topics we will cover include: The new new Dell thin clients, The new Echo Dell edition management software, DeTOS Dell edition, WES 2009 and WES 7,
VDI Blaster dell edition

Subject matter experts will help simplify and explain these offerings including the fit, the scalability, and the ROI

Tune in for a fast paced and informative webinars. Sessions will be help on Thursday June 18 and Thursday June 23.

This, and other industry news from Microsoft, VMware and others means that VDI is fast becoming the preferred approach to corporate desktops. We have be touting the benefits of hosted and virtual desktops for years, (security, lower TCO, manageability, flexibility etc.,) but there have been perceived drawbacks from certain end users and customers. Today, however, the drawbacks are gone and the benefits clearly outweigh and lingering prejudgements. Thin client endpoint devics are more powerful that ever (see the Dell FX170) have a robust selection of operating systems (such as DeTOS or Windows Embedded) are easily and effectively managed (such as Devon IT Echo) and come with full support from the leading desktop companies (Dell and others).

In addition, Citrix, Microsoft and VMware have made VDI a clear priority and customers can expect continued advancements in remoting protocols and useability across the network. Finally, the transition to VDI now includes the ability to repurpose PCs with products such as our VDI Blaster.

For anyone looking at VDI solutions for any size company or organization, the time has never been better.

Read more news about the Dell announcement on the Devon IT News Page.

Follow Devon IT on Twitter
@DevonIT and @jmakoid

You walk in the front door of the Moscone Center in San Francisco and the first thing you see is a glass enclosed server rack with Dell servers, Equallogic iSCSI SAN storage units, two hi-resolution monitors, and a tiny black box thin client!

This display sends a powerful message to anyone who has ever been involved in the desktop marketplace. A paradigm shift/sea change/tipping point/(insert corporate speak here) has arrived without question.

Dell Inc., one of the industrys most powerful, respected, and iconic players, announced a soup-to-nuts VDI solution.  That rack was running 1,000 virtual desktops all over the show floor – and it wasn’t even sweating. Videos, spreadsheets, you name it.

The beauty of the Dell solution is that they have all the goods.  They make VDI turnkey. The storage, the servers, the thin clients, the management software, everything.

This will drive more ecosystem players, more adoption, more investment. This will ultimately result in better solutions and better pricing. The virtual desktop market is simply poised to explode.

Here’s to us and our partners who have seen the light in this market. And here’s to Dell – offering the right solutions at the right time!

-Joe Makoid, President

Follow Devon IT on Twitter
@DevonIT and @jmakoid

“We’re moving much more into the core of IT and into the data center, increasingly with our own intellectual property,” Dell told analysts on Tuesday. (See the full article in MarketWatch.)

Today, Dell announced an expansion of its desktop virtualization solutions portfolio. Included in this release are Devon IT hardware and software products. (View the press release.)

We are excited and proud to be working with such an IT innovator as Dell. And, as pioneering veterans in the thin client hardware and virtualization industries, we are ecstatic that our vision for virtual desktops in various industries is coming into fruition.

Follow Devon IT on Twitter
@DevonIT and @jmakoid