1. Windows 7: Traditional upgrades to the newest and fastest-selling Microsoft operating system in history tend to be costly and painful. Via desktop virtualization – and particularly with XenDesktop – it becomes significantly easier. Since Windows 7 migrations are coming for many companies, virtual desktop infrastructures are also being considered, to make the process easier.

2. Availability and management: The Citrix virtual desktop solution improves desktop availability through increased control and automated policy enforcement. Centralization streamlines management and support. All of this translates to lower operating and support costs for your desktop environment.

3. Device flexibility and self-service: Since XenDesktop can push an image to any device at any time, mobile end users can gain the benefits of your in-house IT infrastructure wherever they are. Even newer devices, such as the iPad, are supported. Also, your business users can take advantage of application self-service via Citrix Dazzle.

1. DNSSEC: This is supported in the software. The FIPS equipment supports Secure DNS, making it possible to accept certificate-based resolutions and exchanges.

2. ICA Rewrite: If you want to rewrite the ICA file directly with NetScaler than through Citrix SmartAccess, you can use the option allowing you to control ICA features without having to create policies on your Citrix XenApp servers for each application.

3. Customizable VPN Pages: You can use this to display a “message of the day” or “warning/legal” banner prior to authentication, which can facilitate regulatory requirements for some sectors. This resolves a previous limitation in NetScaler.

4. VPN Portal Customization: You can now use NetScaler to customize pages using the GUI, affording flexibility and independence from other CAG-EE VPN vServers. This user-friendly feature lets you customize every page for CAG-EE VPN vServer portals using SAC, ActiveX and Java/embedded.

5. LDAP and RADIUS Discovery/Browse: Now, you don’t need to know all the containers in LDAP and where users are located. You can use the GUI to brows the Active Directory when the user enters the IP address, username and password. This means that you can select what containers, groups or machines to use for authentication. For RADIUS, you can search groups and select from a list when the IP and shared secret is entered and validated on NetScaler.

6. Memory Scrubbing: The NetScaler MPX FIPS equipment cleanses memory that was used for processing SSL requests. According to Citrix, “Private keys don’t reside in memory when running the NetScaler in FIPS mode. Hence, overall security is enhanced.”

[Source: Citrix]

To make the different virtualization layers work together, a variety of solutions may be necessary. The result is a streamlined infrastructure and improved business user experience, but it can create complications when something goes awry. This is the case when any environment relies on integrated systems for disparate technology vendors, and there are measures you can implement to protect your company.

There’s no substitute for internal communication, of course. If your systems are going to talk, your people should, too! Devise a plan for cross-solution issue resolution, and you’ll be a step ahead of your competitors. It’s important to make sure the key team members assigned to each platform know each other and engage regularly. But, this is only part of the answer. The other involves the vendors themselves.

The major virtualization companies – such as Citrix, VMware and Microsoft – are working on ways to improve the integration of their products, but this is a long-term effort. Results will take time. Until then, IT teams need to be ready to become the support hubs and call different vendors for assistance, managing the effort internally. And, solution providers must be prepared to step into the mix. We make it a priority to help your clients navigate cross-vendor challenges, from scoping and planning through post-live support.

Ultimately, the results you need are most likely to come from your partnership with your solution provider. Collaborate on the challenges you face, and the combined knowledge and experience you and your solution provider bring to the table become a powerful tool in diagnosis and remediation. We’re ready to help you drive ROI for the long run.

In just about every business, it’s your existing clients that have the greatest potential for new revenue. New client acquisition is extremely valuable, but it’s also hard-won and far more expensive than engaging your existing client base for new business opportunities. So, if you can deliver a superior experience to your clients, especially if they interact directly or indirectly (e.g., through a call center) with your systems, the IT department has a profound opportunity to influence overall business performance.

This situation ties datacenter performance to your company’s brand. Slow systems can lead to awkward silences and copious excuses on customer care calls, for example, which can erode confidence in your company and make your competitors start to seem like more attractive alternatives. Systems that operate effectively, on the other hand, remove one more risk point from client interaction, which increases the odds of a positive experience and makes it easier to close future sales.

This is where server virtualization can help. An agile datacenter can facilitate resource reallocation a needed, without costly, time-consuming provisioning activities or the need to over-invest in resources to meet periods of peak demand … even though it would sit dark most of the time. The result is a cost-effective IT infrastructure that is designed to meet demand as it arises. This means your clients won’t have to suffer long lags because of internal budgetary constraints.

MTM Technologies has deep experience with the three leading server virtualization companies: Citrix, Microsoft and VMware. Working with these solutions, we have found ways to reduce a datacenter’s physical footprint significantly, cut operational costs by up to 50 percent and improve management efficiency in the IT department. The results are tangible internally and visible to the marketplace.

Technology can make a difference where you least expect it. Use server virtualization to run your datacenter more efficiently, and your clients will notice the difference – even if they have no idea why.

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A hybrid approach blends the flexibility and cost savings of cloud computing but implements the model in-house, where the IT department can retain complete control of the environment. The agility afforded by cloud computing reduces costs through on-demand computing resource availability, while the private rollout removes a dependency for the organization in regards to risk (and potentially regulatory) management.

Private cloud computing – with solutions such as Vblock from EMC, Cisco and VMware – doesn’t provide the full cost-reduction advantage of an external cloud computing solution, but it does extend the benefits of a virtual infrastructure to a larger scale. As a result, infrastructure costs can be controlled more easily, especially in the early days of a company’s existence. The capital that is preserved can be used for the core activities that help a startup propel from oblivion to th front of its target market’s mind, not to mention product development and improvement.

Traditional IT models don’t always translate to startups – their needs are fundamentally different. Instead of having to raise additional capital and deploy it in a way that invites disproportionate business (and survival) risk, a private cloud computing solution can provide the panoply of IT capabilities needed, but at a cost that is far more manageable.

Much of the resistance to adopting a virtual desktop infrastructure is similar to that regarding migrating to Windows 7: both technologies require a significant amount of change and effort. Put the two together, however, and you minimize disruption and accelerate ROI for both solutions. In the end, you gain a much larger set of benefits for comparatively little disruption.

So, how can Citrix XenDesktop facilitate a Windows 7 migration and rollout? Here are five ways:

1. Legacy application access: virtualize with XenDesktop, and you can deliver applications on demand to make sure that even legacy apps are accessible from the Windows 7 operating system

2. Clean image: through desktop virtualization, you can implement a “desktop-as-a-service” infrastructure to deliver a pristine Windows 7 image to any endpoint at each login

3. Device independence: with virtual desktops, you can deliver Windows 7 to any device, anywhere, including: thin clients, home PCs, Linux, MAC or even mobile devices … with only a simple network connection (and other corporate login requirements, as necessary)

4. Rapid provisioning: provision Windows 7 desktops in seconds, and attain fast office moves, accelerate employee on-boarding and address other corporate changes and structures, from temporary and contract workers to post-merger integration

5. Centralize corporate data: remove your intellectual property and other sensitive information from the Windows 7 endpoint in order to mitigate security risks and keep it all safe in the datacenter.

1. Storage media: from drives to backup tapes, you’ll have less data to store, which translates to lower expenses.

2. Servers and other storage devices: reductions of stored data by up to 60X means lower cost, particularly by obviating the need for new equipment.

3. Backup timing: you can lower operational complexity and risk by meeting backup windows more easily, while freeing up your staff.

4. Disaster recovery: data deduplication allows you to simplify and accelerate disaster recovery and business continuity procedures, alleviating complexity and reducing overhead.

5. The future: you can reinvest saved budget dollars from data deduplication in high-impact IT initiatives – no need for incremental investment to move your company forward!

1. Have a “preface” ready: explain that the technology is a bit complicated and that you are committed to making it comprehensible. Also, mention that it has been implemented across industries and companies of all sizes and types: your company won’t be the first.

2. Be patient: you will have to repeat yourself – often. Be ready for this, and make it clear that you welcome all questions and requests for clarification.

3. Emphasize the benefits: do this in business terms, with a particular focus on employee productivity, cost containment and desktop support responsiveness. Executives need to know that desktop virtualization will be better for everybody, not just the IT department.

4. Talk security: risk mitigation, malware protection and the automated enforcement of policies are essential … but don’t stop there. Talk about what this means for network and desktop speed – and how that affects your employees and their productivity.

5. Drive home “seamless”: business users will not notice much of a difference, if any (aside from the benefits, of course). There is no change to how they log in and use their computers, and there is no learning curve.

According to Citrix, the new features in XenDesktop 4 SP1, which were customer-driven (rather than analyst-driven) include:

VDA update (strongly recommended for all customers to implement as soon as possible): this contains improvements to the VDA (Virtual Desktop Agent) and is focused on improving its reconnection stability. It also has the already-released hotfixes 1, 2 and 3, plus other improvements. The new VDA underwent some pretty extreme testing to ensure the reliability benefits. 64-bit and 32-bit downloads are available.

Optional delegated administration and configuration logging features (intended for large enterprise IT organizations): If you are familiar with how these features work in XenApp – these are practically identical. We already had these in the works by customer request when Burton published the criteria and noted that XenDesktop was missing these features.

via Gartner, Citrix

The premise behind data deduplication is pretty straightforward. You have more data taking up space in your infrastructure than you need to store. Duplicates are all over the place. Find and remove the dupes, and you can defer additional equipment expenses and derive more value from your previous technology investments.

Because of how the technology works, the cost savings is direct and easy to measure. With solutions from EMC, NetApp and CommVault, for example, data deduplication can:

• Accelerate backup times by up to 90 percent
• Reduce daily backup bandwidth usage by up to 98 percent
• Lower the amount of data stored by 60X
• Protect all physical and virtual servers within the narrowest backup windows

If you want to gain steam into what looks like an economic recovery, this is the place to start. Use data deduplication to cut costs. Then, develop a business case for the resources or products you’ll need to advance the business going forward … and use your dedupe-drive cost savings to fuel it!

Do the math: data deduplication makes it easy.