Citrix Systems, Inc. is an American
multinational cloud computing
Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage ( cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over mul ...
and
virtualization
In computing, virtualization or virtualisation (sometimes abbreviated v12n, a numeronym) is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, stor ...
technology company that provides server, application and
desktop virtualization
Desktop virtualization is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it.
Desktop virtualization can be used in conjunction with applicati ...
, networking,
software as a service
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is con ...
(SaaS), and
cloud computing
Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage ( cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over mul ...
technologies. Citrix products were claimed to be in use by over 400,000 clients worldwide, including 99% of the Fortune 100, and 98% of the
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
.
The company was founded in
Richardson, Texas
Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas.
It is home to the University of ...
in 1989 by
Ed Iacobucci
Edward E. Iacobucci (September 26, 1953 – June 21, 2013) was an Argentine-American businessman who founded VirtualWorks and co–founded Citrix Systems. He is also known for his work as the architectural designer of the OS/2 and IBM DOS syst ...
, who served as chairman until his departure in 2000. It began by developing remote access products for
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
s, licensing
source code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...
from
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
, and has been in partnership with the company throughout its history. By the 1990s, Citrix came to prominence as an industry leader in
thin client
In computer networking, a thin client is a simple (low-performance) computer that has been optimized for establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. They are sometimes known as ''network computers'', or in th ...
technology, enabling purpose-built devices to access remote servers and resources. The company launched its first
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
in 1995 and, with few competitors, experienced large revenue increases between 1995 and 1999.
Citrix acquired Sequoia Software Corp. in 2001 and ExpertCity, a provider of remote desktop products, in 2003. This was followed by more than a dozen other acquisitions from 2005 to 2012, which allowed Citrix to expand into server and desktop virtualization, cloud computing,
infrastructure as a service
The first major provider of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) was Amazon in 2008. IaaS is a cloud computing service model by means of which computing resources are supplied by a cloud services provider. The IaaS vendor provides the storage, net ...
, and
software as a service
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is con ...
offerings. In 2014, Citrix acquired Framehawk and used its technology to improve the delivery of virtual desktops and applications over wireless networks. In 2016, as part of a US$1.8 billion product deal with
LogMeIn
GoTo, formerly LogMeIn Inc., is a flexible-work provider of software as a service (SaaS) and cloud-based remote work tools for collaboration and IT management, with products including GoTo Connect, GoTo Resolve, Rescue, Central, and more, built ...
, Citrix
spun off the GoTo product line into a new business entity, entitled GetGo. In 2017, Citrix completed the merger of GetGo with LogMeIn's products.
Citrix had its corporate headquarters in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
, with
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
operations in California and Massachusetts, and additional development centers in Canada, Denmark, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom. In 2021, Citrix generated $3.2 billion in revenue and had 9,700 employees.
Following the completion of acquisition by
Vista Equity Partners
Vista Equity Partners is an American investment firm focused on financing and forwarding software, data, and technology-enabled startup businesses. Vista has invested in hundreds of companies, including Misys, Ping Identity, and Marketo.
The ...
and Evergreen Coast Capital Corp on September 30, 2022, Citrix merged with
TIBCO Software
TIBCO Software Inc. is an American business intelligence software company founded in 1997 in Palo Alto, California.
It has headquarters in Palo Alto, California, and offices in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South A ...
under the newly formed Cloud Software Group. Citrix spun off the re-branded Citrix ADC back into a standalone entity
Netscaler under the same parent.
History
Early history
Citrix was founded in
Richardson, Texas
Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas.
It is home to the University of ...
in 1989 by former
IBM developer
Ed Iacobucci
Edward E. Iacobucci (September 26, 1953 – June 21, 2013) was an Argentine-American businessman who founded VirtualWorks and co–founded Citrix Systems. He is also known for his work as the architectural designer of the OS/2 and IBM DOS syst ...
with $3 million in funding.
Following its initial setup and development, Iacobucci moved the company to his former home of
Coral Springs, Florida
Coral Springs, officially the City of Coral Springs, is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. C ...
.
[ The company's first employees were five other engineers from IBM that Iacobucci convinced to join his team. Iacobucci served as chairman of the company and Roger Roberts became the ]CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of Citrix in 1990.[ Citrix was originally named Citrus, but changed its name after an existing company claimed ]trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
rights. The Citrix name is a portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[Citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...](_blank)
and UNIX
Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...
.
The company's first product was Citrix Multiuser, an extension of OS/2
OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 ...
developed over two years. Citrix licensed the OS/2 source code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...
from Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
, and developed its own Independent Computing Architecture
Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) is a proprietary protocol for an application server system, designed by Citrix Systems. The protocol lays down a specification for passing data between server and clients, but is not bound to any one platfo ...
(ICA) protocol for Citrix Multiuser. Multiuser allowed multiple users working on separate computers remote access to software on a server, even from computers not built to run OS/2. Three days before the product launched in 1991, Microsoft announced they would be switching from OS/2 to Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. The switch made Multiuser nearly unusable without significant changes to make it compatible with Windows or DOS
DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems.
DOS may also refer to:
Computing
* Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel
* Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...
. The company discussed closing in 1991, but investments from Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
, Microsoft and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Kleiner Perkins, formerly Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), is an American venture capital firm which specializes in investing in incubation, early stage and growth companies. Since its founding in 1972, the firm has backed entrepreneurs ...
among others, allowed the company to work on a new version of Multiuser.[
Multi-Win version 2.0 was released in 1992. It was compatible with DOS applications and allowed up to five users.] In 1993, Citrix released a new remote applications server, WinView, which had the ability to run DOS and Windows applications. By 1994, the company's yearly revenue equaled US$10 million.[
The company launched WinFrame, a ]multi-user
Multi-user software is computer software that allows access by multiple users of a computer. Time-sharing systems are multi-user systems. Most batch processing systems for mainframe computers may also be considered "multi-user", to avoid leaving t ...
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
based on Microsoft's Windows NT
Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems sc ...
, in 1995.[ The new product allowed up to 15 users and was the first ]thin client
In computer networking, a thin client is a simple (low-performance) computer that has been optimized for establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. They are sometimes known as ''network computers'', or in th ...
for Windows.
Rise in popularity
Citrix had its initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
in December 1995. The company's share price doubled from $15 to $30.[ During the mid-1990s, Citrix became the leader of its growing industry with very few competitors, and the company's revenues doubled year over year between 1995 and 1999.][
Following weeks of discussions, Iacobucci was able to persuade Microsoft to agree to license Citrix technology for Windows NT Server 4.0, which resulted in Windows Terminal Server Edition in 1998.][ This agreement allowed Citrix to keep its position in the marketplace and be NT 4.0 compatible.][ Citrix also earned $75 million through the agreement, along with a royalty arrangement that was valued at approximately $100 million.][
Citrix released MetaFrame 1.0 in conjunction with Terminal Server Edition. Due to weaknesses in Microsoft's ]Remote Desktop Protocol
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft which provides a user with a graphical interface to connect to another computer over a network connection. The user employs RDP client software for this purpose, while t ...
(RDP), Terminal Server Edition worked best using the ICA protocol developed by Citrix and found in MetaFrame. This meant that Citrix technology was purchased and installed on most machines running Terminal Server Edition.
In 1997, the company opened a new headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
. It also opened offices in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
that same year.[
In 1998, Mark Templeton became the CEO of Citrix after serving as vice president of marketing.][ Also in 1998, it licensed its ICA protocol to IBM and Key Tronics.][ Citrix licensed its ICA protocol to ]Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
for use in digital wireless handsets in 1999.[
During 1999, the thin-client model Citrix used, became a software trend and the company's customers increased to 15 million.][ Major clients included ]Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
, AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
, and Chevron
Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to:
Science and technology
* Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines
* Chevron (anatomy), a bone
* '' Eulithis testata'', a moth
* Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...
.[ A sudden drop in stocks in 2000 led to Iacobucci leaving the company and CEO Mark Templeton being demoted to president and senior executive officer. Templeton was later reinstated in 2001.]
Expansion
In 2001 Citrix acquired the Sequoia Software Corp. for $185 million.[ That same year it released MetaFrame XP, a new platform using MetaFrame technology.] This was later rebranded by Citrix as Presentation Server, in 2005.
On July 9, 2002, Citrix announced a 10% job cut. At the time the company employed about 1,900 workers. After the announcement the stock hit a five-year low.
Citrix acquired ExpertCity, a provider of remote desktop products, in December 2003 for $225 million in cash and stock. The acquisition was the largest for the company up to that date. Through the acquisition, Citrix gained ExpertCity's existing products GoToMyPC
GoToMyPC is remote desktop software that allows users to access computers remotely using a web browser. It was developed by ExpertCity and launched in 1998. Citrix Systems acquired ExpertCity in 2004 and maintained the GoToMyPC brand and services. ...
and GoToAssist
GoTo Resolve (formerly GoToAssist & RescueAssist) is a cloud-based remote support platform designed and targeted at IT support teams and customer support organizations. In 2018, LogMeIn's GoToAssist was rebranded to RescueAssist creating the Resc ...
, and ExpertCity became the Citrix Online division of the company. In 2004, the company introduced Citrix GoToMeeting.[
Between 2005 and 2012, the company acquired over a dozen companies that allowed them to expand in new markets. Citrix acquired acceleration hardware maker NetScaler in 2005, which allowed the company to offer optimized application delivery.] The company entered the server
Server may refer to:
Computing
*Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients
Role
* Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...
and desktop virtualization
Desktop virtualization is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it.
Desktop virtualization can be used in conjunction with applicati ...
market with the purchase of XenSource in August 2007.
Citrix expanded cloud and Infrastructure as a Service
The first major provider of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) was Amazon in 2008. IaaS is a cloud computing service model by means of which computing resources are supplied by a cloud services provider. The IaaS vendor provides the storage, net ...
(IaaS) offerings in August 2010 with the acquisition of VMLogix. In February 2011, Citrix entered the European Software as a Service
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is con ...
(SaaS) market with the acquisition of Netviewer
Netviewer AG was a German IT company headquartered in Karlsruhe. The company's software products provide web conferencing, desktop sharing, and remote maintenance capabilities. According to market research companies Frost & Sullivan and Gartner ...
.
In 2007, the company opened a headquarters in Silicon Valley. In 2008, the company changed the name of its Presentation Server product line to XenApp. Also in 2008, Citrix announced an expanded alliance with Microsoft on desktop virtualization. On January 29, 2009, Citrix announced that 460 employee positions would be cut, comprising 10% of its workforce. In August 2010, Citrix announced a partnership with Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
to bring the company's products to ChromeOS
ChromeOS, sometimes stylized as chromeOS and formerly styled as Chrome OS, is a Linux-based operating system designed by Google. It is derived from the open-source ChromiumOS and uses the Google Chrome web browser as its principal user interfac ...
devices. On July 14, 2015, Citrix added full support for Windows 10
Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on J ...
to its desktop virtualization
Desktop virtualization is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it.
Desktop virtualization can be used in conjunction with applicati ...
products.
The company became a leader in IaaS after the acquisition of Cloud.com, provider of cloud infrastructure for companies, in July 2011. Citrix began offering VDI-in-a-box to small and medium businesses with the acquisition of Kaviza in May 2011. The company acquired technology for cloud-based file sharing and storage through its purchase of ShareFile
ShareFile is a secure content collaboration, file sharing and sync software that supports all the document-centric tasks and workflow needs of small and large businesses. The company also offers cloud-based or on-premises storage, virtual data ...
in October 2011.
In May 2012, Citrix acquired Virtual Computer, maker of intelligent desktop virtualization. The technology is used in the company's XenClient Enterprise edition. Citrix entered the mobile video and telecom markets in June 2012 when the company acquired ByteMobile. Also in 2012, the company acquired Zenprise
Zenprise provided Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to enterprises. The company's solutions were available in both on-premise and cloud-based (SaaS) versions. Zenprise MobileManager and Zencloud allowed companies and government agencies t ...
. Zenprise's Mobile application management (MAM) technology was released as XenMobile
Citrix Endpoint Management (formerly XenMobile) is an on-premises and cloud-based software developed by Citrix Systems that provides unified endpoint management for corporate- and employee-owned devices for business use. It is part of the Citr ...
in February 2013.
Citrix acquired Framehawk in January 2014 in order to use the company's technology to improve the delivery of virtual desktops and applications over wireless networks, including cellular
Cellular may refer to:
*Cellular automaton, a model in discrete mathematics
* Cell biology, the evaluation of cells work and more
* ''Cellular'' (film), a 2004 movie
*Cellular frequencies, assigned to networks operating in cellular RF bands
*Cell ...
, where speed and quality may be poor. In May 2014, Citrix acquired Scalextreme to bolster its cloud capabilities for its core business unit of XenDesktop and Xenapp such as auto scaling, patching and automation of complex deployments from the cloud.
On January 29, 2015, Citrix announced that 700 full-time and 200 contractor positions would be eliminated. This constituted about 10% of its workforce. The cuts were expected to save between $90 and $100 million a year. Two hundred of the layoffs occurred in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the company is headquartered.
The company had 10,081 employees as of February 2015. In December 2015, Citrix employed approximately 9,500 people, but noted that its November restructure was due to eliminate nearly 700 full-time jobs. As of December 31, 2021, Citrix had approximately 9,700 employees.
Recent history
Citrix reported net income of $251.7 million in 2014, down from $339.5 million in 2013. In July 2015, the company announced several changes to its board of directors, including Robert Calderoni's becoming executive chairman and adding Jesse Cohn as a senior partner of activist hedge fund Elliott Management. That same month the company announced that president and CEO Mark Templeton would retire after a replacement was found, and on October 21, the company named its executive chairman, Robert Calderoni, as interim president and CEO.
In January 2016, Kirill Tatarinov, a former Microsoft executive, was named the president and CEO of Citrix and joined the company's board. Calderoni remained executive chairman of the board.
In July 2016, as part of a deal with Boston-based SaaS company LogMeIn
GoTo, formerly LogMeIn Inc., is a flexible-work provider of software as a service (SaaS) and cloud-based remote work tools for collaboration and IT management, with products including GoTo Connect, GoTo Resolve, Rescue, Central, and more, built ...
, Citrix announced it had spun off its GoTo product line, which included GoToMeeting
GoTo Meeting (formerly GoToMeeting) is a web conferencing software by GoTo. It is an online meeting, desktop sharing, and video conferencing software package that enables the user to meet with other computer users, customers, clients, or colle ...
, GoToWebinar, GoToWebcast, GoToTraining, GoToAssist and GoToMyPC, into a wholly owned subsidiary called GetGo. In February 2017, Citrix completed a merger through which GetGo became a subsidiary of LogMeIn. The transaction was valued at approximately $1.8 billion. David Henshall became the company's CEO in July 2017.
Also in 2017, Citrix expanded its partnership with Google. In May, Google announced it would add support to run Citrix XenApp on its Chrome web browser
A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on ...
, including graphics processing unit acceleration. In July, the companies announced they were working to allow Citrix Cloud to deploy virtualized apps and desktops on Google Cloud.
In October 2017, Citrix told regulators of plans to lay off staff "across most functions" and consolidate offices in the fall 2017 into 2018. The company carried out layoffs in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
, and office closures in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...
, and Tempe, Arizona
, settlement_type = City
, named_for = Vale of Tempe
, image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg
, imagesize = 260px
, image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...
.
Citrix unveiled its Citrix Analytics security software at the 2017 Citrix Synergy conference in Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
, in May 2017. The software detects and responds to security threats by relying on artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
.
Citrix unveiled its Citrix Analytics for Performance at the 2019 Citrix Summit conference in Orlando, Florida, in May 2019. The software quantifies User experience for Virtual applications and desktop users and leverages machine learning to troubleshoot performance issues
In 2018, Citrix changed the names of some of its products to represent its shift to a cloud operating model. The company stated that it made the name changes to present a unified product line so that end users can create, manage, and deploy workspaces with apps and data from a single console. The company dropped its Xen and NetScaler brand names: XenApp and XenDesktop became Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops; XenMobile became Citrix Endpoint Management; ShareFile integration became Citrix Content Collaboration; XenServer became Citrix Hypervisor; Cedexis became Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management; and NetScaler products kept their identities, yet the "NetScaler" brand name was replaced with "Citrix ADC" for Application Delivery Controller.
Henshall stepped down in October 2021, and Calderoni was again named interim CEO.
In September 2022, Citrix announced a $4.55 billion-equivalent cross-border term loan to back Vista Equity and Evergreen Coast Capital’s $16.5 billion buyout of Citrix and merger with Vista portfolio company TIBCO Software
TIBCO Software Inc. is an American business intelligence software company founded in 1997 in Palo Alto, California.
It has headquarters in Palo Alto, California, and offices in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South A ...
.
Operations
Citrix is governed by a ten-member board of directors. Citrix has headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
. Its other United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
offices are in California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. Citrix research and development centers are located in the U.S., Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
Citrix licenses its services and products directly to clients, including IT professionals, SMEs, and through companies called value-added reseller A value-added reseller (VAR) is a company that adds features or services to an existing product, then resells it (usually to end-users) as an integrated product or complete "turn-key" solution. This practice occurs commonly in the electronics or IT ...
s that resell the products and services after adding additional features.
Citrix is publicly traded under the ticker symbol
A ticker symbol or stock symbol is an abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. In short, ticker symbols are arrangements of symbols or characters (generally Latin letters ...
CTXS. In 2020, the company ranked 779 on the Fortune 1000
The Fortune 1000 are the 1,000 largest American companies ranked by revenues, as compiled by the American business magazine ''Fortune''. It only includes companies which are incorporated or authorized to do business in the United States, and for ...
and 1,267 on Forbes Global 2000
The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by ''Forbes'' magazine. "The Global 2000" annual ranking is assembled by ''Forbes'' using a weighted assessment of four metrics: sales, profi ...
. In 2019, Citrix generated $3.01 billion in revenue.
On January 31, 2022, it was announced that Citrix had been acquired in a $16.5 billion deal by affiliates of Vista Equity Partners
Vista Equity Partners is an American investment firm focused on financing and forwarding software, data, and technology-enabled startup businesses. Vista has invested in hundreds of companies, including Misys, Ping Identity, and Marketo.
The ...
and Evergreen Coast Capital. The all-cash acquisition will see Citrix merge with TIBCO
TIBCO Software Inc. is an American business intelligence software company founded in 1997 in Palo Alto, California.
It has headquarters in Palo Alto, California, and offices in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South A ...
, a Vista portfolio company. It has already been reported that Citrix will go private through this deal.
Acquisitions
Citrix has expanded and added new products, technologies, and services through a number of acquisitions.[ Its first acquisition was DataPac in 1997, which Citrix purchased in order to utilize DataPac's technology and its position in the Asia-Pacific region.] Other major acquisitions include ExpertCity in 2004, NetScaler in 2005, XenSource in 2007 and ShareFile
ShareFile is a secure content collaboration, file sharing and sync software that supports all the document-centric tasks and workflow needs of small and large businesses. The company also offers cloud-based or on-premises storage, virtual data ...
in 2011. As of 2015, Citrix has acquired nearly 50 companies.
In November 2018, Citrix paid $200M to acquire Sapho, a software startup that develops micro apps for workers. In January 2021, Citrix announced its intention to acquire Wrike
Wrike, Inc. is an American project management application service provider based in San Jose, California. Wrike also has offices in Dallas, Tallinn, Nicosia, Dublin, Tokyo, Melbourne and Prague.
History
Wrike was founded in 2006 by Andrew File ...
for $2.25 billion. The acquisition was completed in March 2021.
Products
Citrix creates software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
that allows the individuals of an enterprise to work and collaborate remotely regardless of device or network. The main areas the company works in are desktop
A desktop traditionally refers to:
* The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor)
Desktop may refer to various compu ...
and apps; Desktop as a Service
Desktop virtualization is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it.
Desktop virtualization can be used in conjunction with applicatio ...
(DaaS); networking and cloud
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...
; and Software as a service
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is con ...
(SaaS).[
]
Desktops and apps
Citrix offers a number of products related to desktop
A desktop traditionally refers to:
* The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor)
Desktop may refer to various compu ...
and application virtualization
Application virtualization is a software technology that encapsulates computer programs from the underlying operating system on which they are executed. A fully virtualized application is not installed in the traditional sense, although it is sti ...
. These tools allow access to Windows desktops and applications independently of the machine they are actually on, and from any device with any operating system. Citrix XenApp provides application virtualization (now integrated as part of XenDesktop), and Citrix XenDesktop, Citrix VDI-in-a-Box and XenClient all provide desktop virtualization.[ The DesktopPlayer for Mac allows online and offline access to Windows virtual desktops from Macs.] Citrix Workspace Cloud is a platform for building and delivering desktops and applications
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
from the cloud
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...
. ShareFile allows companies and organizations to sync and share files.[ XenMobile offers ]mobile app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
and device management, Citrix Receiver is a client software
In computing, a client is a piece of computer hardware or software that accesses a service made available by a server as part of the client–server model of computer networks. The server is often (but not always) on another computer system, i ...
that allows universal access to virtual applications and desktops, and AppDNA, software that provides application migration and management.
Citrix users interact with the HDX protocol on top of the RDS. So, this protocol acts as a buffer between the users and the server, compressing the data in the meantime as well.
Desktop as a service (DaaS)
Citrix technology enables service providers to provide Desktop as a Service
Desktop virtualization is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it.
Desktop virtualization can be used in conjunction with applicatio ...
(DaaS) offerings to their customers, including business apps and desktops. These products include: Worx Mobile Apps for secure email
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...
, browser, and document sharing; and Citrix Workspace Suite for mobile workspaces.
Networking and cloud
Citrix products related to cloud computing and networking include Citrix XenServer for server virtualization and its NetScaler brand of network appliances, including WAN optimization devices, Software-Defined WAN delivery equipment, Application Delivery Controllers (ADC), Gateways, and AppFirewall web application firewall. All this are managed by their cloud management software Citrix Cloud. The company also has ByteMobile Adaptive Traffic Management, which aims to optimize mobile video services through traffic management, policy control and caching, and ByteMobile Insight, which provides mobile data and subscriber analytics.
Software as a service (SaaS)
Citrix software as a service
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is con ...
(SaaS) products are focused on collaboration and communications. The offerings include Podio
Podio supplies a web-based platform for creating no code solutions and automate workflows. The feature set includes organizing team communication, business processes, data and content in project management workspaces according to project needs.
Hi ...
, a cloud-based collaboration service, and OpenVoice, which provides audio conferencing.
Corporate responsibility
The company's philanthropic activities include corporate giving—such as corporate donations of in-kind gifts—and employee match programs. In addition, Citrix employees are allowed to take two paid volunteer days each year and participate in the company's annual "Global Day of Impact"—an event that encourages Citrix employees to volunteer in their local communities.
Near its Fort Lauderdale headquarters, Citrix has provided business training to non-profit teams. In particular, the company helped a local non-profit organization launch a computer on wheels to offer training to low-income neighborhoods. In 2007, the company connected a Broward County, Florida
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...
neighborhood with Agogo, Ghana
Agogo is a town in the Asante Akim North Municipal District of the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
Agogo is approximately 80 kilometers east of Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, and had a population of 28,271 in the 2000 census. Computer p ...
through donated technology and training. Furthermore, the company's Raleigh office began a program called "Project Code" in 2014, which leads youth from local Boys & Girls Clubs through coding exercises and teaches them about computer science.
In addition to its philanthropic activities, Citrix has donated some of its open-source technology to non-profit software organizations to continue its development and gain more contributors. Citrix gave Cloudstack
CloudStack is open-source cloud computing software for creating, managing, and deploying infrastructure cloud services. It uses existing hypervisor platforms for virtualization, such as KVM, VMware vSphere, including ESXi and vCenter, and ...
to the Apache Foundation
The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) is an American nonprofit corporation (classified as a 501(c)(3) organization in the United States) to support a number of open source software projects. The ASF was formed from a group of developers of the ...
in 2012 and Xen hypervisor
A hypervisor (also known as a virtual machine monitor, VMM, or virtualizer) is a type of computer software, firmware or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines. A computer on which a hypervisor runs one or more virtual machines is calle ...
to the Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation (LF) is a non-profit technology consortium founded in 2000 as a merger between Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group to standardize Linux, support its growth, and promote its commercial adoption. Additi ...
in 2013.
See also
* Citrix Workspace
Citrix Workspace (formerly Citrix Workspace Suite) is a digital workspace software platform developed by Citrix Systems. Launched in 2018, it is Citrix Systems' flagship product. Citrix Workspace is an information retrieval service where users c ...
, their SW, the solution to virtual access
References
Further reading
* Keith Schultz (December 14, 2011
VDI shoot-out: Citrix XenDesktop vs. VMware View. Citrix XenDesktop 5.5 and VMware View 5 vie for the most flexible, scalable, and complete virtual desktop infrastructure
''InfoWorld
''InfoWorld'' (abbreviated IW) is an information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a web-only publication. Its parent company today is International Data Group, and its siste ...
''
* Keith Schultz (December 14, 2011
VDI shoot-out: HDX vs. PCoIP. The differences between the Citrix and VMware remote desktop protocols are more than skin deep
''InfoWorld''
* Colt Agar (January 19, 2018
Grasshopper Phone Review - Virtual Phone System for Entrepreneurs
''TheTechReviewer.com''
External links
*
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