Citrix Cloud
Citrix Cloud is a workspace management platform for IT administrators to design, deliver and manage virtual desktops and applications and other services, such as file sharing, on any device.
Administrators can use Citrix Cloud to deploy and manage workloads from a public cloud, private cloud, on-premises hardware or a combination of all three.
To deliver resources to users, administrators use the Citrix Cloud management console to click on the services they want users to be able to access, and the users receive a link which takes them to Citrix StoreFront, an enterprise app store where users can see all the resources they are allowed to use, including email and third-party apps.
History of Citrix Cloud
Citrix first announced its Citrix Workspace Cloud service in May 2015. It hit the market in August of the same year. Citrix rebranded it as Citrix Cloud in May 2016, offering these main components: XenApp and XenDesktop Service, ShareFile and XenMobile Service.
Citrix Cloud's key features
Citrix Cloud provides centralized management for XenDesktop, XenMobile, ShareFile and NetScaler Gateway. It also uses single sign-on.
The Citrix Cloud Connector, which ties the platform into Microsoft Active Directory, enables you to configure which users can access which applications and data based on their specific locations.
Citrix Cloud also includes Smart Tools, which aim to help with lifecycle management, automated resource deployment and migration to the latest versions of XenApp and XenDesktop. In addition, Smart Tools monitor an organization's XenApp and XenDesktop deployments for problems, and then resolves them when they arise.
Citrix Cloud pricing
Citrix Cloud uses subscription-based pricing through which organizations pay per user per year. There are six packages to choose from: File Sync and Share, Networking and Security, Mobility, Secure Browser, Apps and Desktops, and a full Workspaces offering.
Prices range from $62 per user per year for File Sync and Share up to $338 per user per year for Workspaces. That offering includes XenApp Service, XenDesktop Service, Citrix App Layering, XenMobile Service, ShareFile and Smart Tools, with NetScaler Gateway available for an extra cost.
Products similar to Citrix Cloud include IndependenceIT's Cloud Workspace Suite and VMware Workspace One.
